UPDATE: We tried incognito mode on Chrome AND disabled Norton password manager - IT WORKED! We were able to complete the spouse section without any cursor jumping. Thanks everyone for all your suggestions. For anyone else with this problem, definitely try disabling any password managers or autofill programs first.

my daughter had this problem too but in her case it was because she was using an older version of Safari. its amazing how poorly tested the new FAFSA system is when so many families depend on this for college!!!! govt should be embarrassed.

I just want to add that my daughter's college financial aid office is holding special FAFSA workshops to help parents navigate the new system. Maybe check if your son's school offers something similar? Our college financial aid officer said they've been getting HUNDREDS of calls about the exact same issues you're describing.

One final tip to keep in mind - the new FAFSA calculates the Student Aid Index (SAI) differently than the old Expected Family Contribution (EFC). Even with the same financial information, your son's aid eligibility might be different than in previous years. The new formula adjusts for family size differently, changes how multiple students in college are counted, and modifies asset protection allowances. So don't be surprised if your final aid offer looks different than previous years, even if your financial situation hasn't changed much. The good news is that the overall Pell Grant eligibility has expanded under the new system, so many students may qualify for more federal grant aid than before.

Update: I verified this is legitimate by logging directly into my studentaid.gov account (not through the email link). There was a notification about the beta test in my message center. I've started the test application and it does look much improved! The contributor section especially seems way more straightforward than last year's confusing mess.

wait i'm confused...is this different from teh regular FAFSA? i thought the FAFSA always opens in october...so is this like a early version or something totally different?

is anyone else FURIOUS about this???? like we did everything right, submitted everything on time (even with their delayed launch) and now suddenly there's a "problem" with the IRS data?? I don't trust any of this. They're probably just looking for ways to give us all less money. Every year there's some new excuse.

Just to provide an update: The Department of Education released additional information today. They've confirmed that the reprocessing will begin May 15th and they expect to complete all affected applications by June 10th. They've also established a dedicated hotline for this specific issue: (833) 945-3278 This line is separate from the general Federal Student Aid number and should have shorter wait times for those specifically affected by the IRS data exchange error.

One thing to consider - he may be subconsciously afraid of going to college and this was an avoidance tactic. My brother did something similar ("forgot" to register for housing until all dorms were full). We later learned he was dealing with serious anxiety about leaving home. Might be worth a deeper conversation about if he's actually excited to go or just going through the motions because it's expected.

u should make him pay the late fee from his own money. thats what my parents did when I messed up deadlines and I learned QUICK to pay attention to that stuff lol