I'm a newcomer here but dealing with a very similar situation right now! Just wanted to add that I called my school's financial aid office this morning after reading through these responses, and they were incredibly helpful. They confirmed that as long as your SAI number is showing in your studentaid.gov account and your status says "Processed Successfully," you're good to go. The financial aid counselor I spoke with mentioned that they've been getting a lot of calls about this exact issue - students panicking after receiving outdated letters. She said their office actually tracks when they receive updated FAFSA information from students, and there's often a 2-4 week lag between when corrections are processed and when the old "incomplete" letters stop going out. One tip she gave me: if you're still worried, you can also check the "School Information" section in your FAFSA account to see the transmission dates to each school. If those dates are recent (after your corrections), then your schools definitely have your complete information. Thanks to everyone who shared their experiences here - it really helped calm my nerves!

As a newcomer to this community, I'm so grateful to find this discussion! I'm actually going through the exact same thing right now - got my SAI number last week and then received what looked like an official "incomplete application" letter yesterday. Reading through everyone's experiences here has been incredibly reassuring. I was honestly panicking because I thought something had gone wrong after I finally saw that SAI number appear. The timing everyone is describing matches exactly what I'm experiencing - I made some corrections about a month ago related to tax information, then got the SAI, and now this scary letter shows up. Based on all the advice here, I checked my FAFSA status page and it does say "Processed Successfully" with a date that's definitely after my corrections were submitted. No red alerts or action items in my message center either. I'm going to follow the suggestion to call my school's financial aid office directly rather than trying to get through to Federal Student Aid - that seems like the most practical approach. It's really comforting to know this is such a common experience and that the system just has these timing issues with outdated notices. Thank you to everyone who shared their stories - it's made me feel so much less alone in dealing with this confusing process!

Hey Sasha! I just wanted to jump in and say that reading through all these responses has been so encouraging - it's clear you've gotten amazing advice from people who really understand what you're going through! As someone who also panicked about my SAI last year, I can tell you that the anxiety you're feeling right now is totally normal, but it's also premature. One thing I'd add to all the great advice here is to make sure you're looking at schools' "average net price" data when researching - this shows what families in different income brackets actually end up paying after aid, not the sticker price. For families making $60-75k like yours, many schools end up costing way less than you'd expect. Also, don't forget about your state's grant programs! Depending on where you live, there might be additional state aid available that works on top of federal aid. Some states have really generous programs for families in your income range. You're going to be amazed at how different your actual aid offers are from what you're imagining right now. Hang in there - the hardest part is this waiting period before you know what schools will actually offer you! 🤞

Hey Sasha! I can totally understand your panic - that SAI number is SO misleading when you first see it! I went through the exact same thing two years ago and thought my college dreams were over. But here's the reality: your SAI is NOT your bill - it's just a starting point for schools to calculate your aid. With your family's income of $68k and those medical expenses, you're actually in a really good position for need-based aid. I had a similar situation (SAI of $16k, parents making $72k) and ended up paying only $8,500 out of pocket at a school that costs $31k per year after all grants and aid kicked in. The key is applying to multiple schools because their aid offers will vary wildly. Some gave me packages where I'd pay $12k, others brought it down to $6k. Also, those medical bills are PERFECT for special circumstances appeals - that's exactly what they're designed for and can make a huge difference in your final aid package. Don't give up on your dream school yet! Wait to see what they actually offer before making any decisions. Run their net price calculator online for a more realistic estimate than your SAI. You've got this! 💪

I'm so sorry you're dealing with this SAI nightmare - I can only imagine how shocking it must be to see such a massive increase overnight! As a newcomer to this community, I've been reading through everyone's experiences and it's both heartbreaking and reassuring to see how many students are facing similar situations with family businesses. Your situation with your dad's business losses sounds exactly like what @Aurora St.Pierre described regarding the new Schedule C calculation changes. It's incredibly frustrating that legitimate business operating expenses are now being treated as "available income" when that's absolutely not the reality for small business families. Based on everything I've read here, I'd definitely recommend: 1. Try the 8 AM FSA calling strategy that multiple people have confirmed works 2. Contact UC Berkeley's financial aid office immediately about emergency aid options while your appeal is pending 3. Reference the official DOE Schedule C review that should start processing corrections in early April 4. Start documenting everything now for your appeal The fact that this is affecting thousands of students nationwide and has official recognition gives me hope that you'll get this resolved. Don't give up - you have a strong community here supporting you through this process!

I'm so sorry you're going through this - that kind of SAI jump is absolutely devastating when you're counting on financial aid! As a newcomer who's been following this thread closely, I wanted to share that I'm dealing with a very similar situation. My SAI went from -$500 to $16,800 last month and my family also has a small business (landscaping), so this is definitely sounding like the widespread Schedule C calculation issue everyone's been discussing. What's been most helpful from reading everyone's experiences is knowing there are concrete steps to take and real hope for resolution. The 8 AM calling strategy that multiple people mentioned actually worked for me yesterday - I finally got through to FSA after failing all week with afternoon attempts. The agent confirmed my recalculation was related to the new business income formula and mentioned that automatic corrections are expected to start processing soon. I've also already contacted my school's financial aid office about emergency aid while my appeal is pending - something I never would have known was possible without this thread. They were incredibly understanding and are working on a temporary aid package to bridge the gap. For anyone else just discovering this issue, don't panic! While it's incredibly stressful, there's clearly an official recognition of the problem and multiple pathways to get it resolved. This community has been such a lifeline for understanding the process and staying hopeful. Hang in there, and definitely don't hesitate to reach out for support here!

As a newcomer to this community, I just want to say thank you to everyone who contributed to this thread! I'm starting my FAFSA journey with twins who will be college freshmen next year, plus a younger daughter in dual enrollment, and I was definitely planning to count all three as "college students." Reading through everyone's experiences - especially the verification nightmares - has been a real eye-opener. The distinction between being a high school student taking college classes versus being an actual degree-seeking college student makes perfect sense now, but it's not intuitive at first glance. @Finley Garrett's advice about keeping documentation is gold, and I love @Sofia Rodriguez's approach of quoting the exact FAFSA language. I'm printing that out right now! It's also reassuring to know that services like the one @Ava Thompson mentioned exist for when you need to actually talk to a human at FSA. This community is amazing - thank you all for sharing your hard-earned wisdom and saving future families from making these costly mistakes!

As someone new to this community and just starting the FAFSA process, this entire discussion has been incredibly valuable! I'm dealing with a similar situation - one child in college full-time and another doing dual enrollment through our local community college while finishing high school. What really stands out to me is how the FAFSA system seems to penalize families for being thorough and trying to include all students who are technically taking college courses. The verification horror stories from @Dylan Hughes and @Fatima Al-Sayed are eye-opening - it sounds like the system assumes you're trying to game it rather than just being confused by unclear instructions. The key takeaway for me is @Sofia Rodriguez's point about the official language requiring "at least half-time in a program that leads to a degree or certificate." That makes it crystal clear that dual enrollment students don't qualify since they're primarily high school students, even though they're earning college credits. Thanks to everyone for sharing your experiences and saving newcomers like me from making these mistakes. This thread should honestly be pinned as required reading for anyone with kids in concurrent enrollment programs!

I'm in the exact same situation and this thread has been such a lifesaver! I submitted my FAFSA in mid-January and have been radio silent from all 4 schools I applied to. What's been really helpful is reading everyone's experiences and realizing this is truly a nationwide issue with the new FAFSA system, not something wrong with our individual applications. I actually just got off the phone with my state university's financial aid office (after waiting on hold for 45 minutes!) and the counselor confirmed they're running about 6-8 weeks behind their normal timeline. She said they're still importing data from the Department of Education and expect to start releasing award letters in mid-to-late April. She also mentioned that many schools are extending their deposit deadlines or making them more flexible given these unprecedented delays. One tip that worked for me: I called right when they opened at 8am on a Tuesday, which seemed to have shorter wait times than calling later in the day. The counselor was really understanding and said they've been getting tons of calls about this, so don't feel bad about reaching out for updates. Hang in there everyone - sounds like we just need to wait a bit longer, but at least we're all in this together! The waiting is definitely stressful when you're trying to make such a big decision, but knowing it's not our fault helps a lot.

I'm also in the same waiting situation and this entire thread has been incredibly reassuring! I submitted my FAFSA in late January and have been anxiously checking my portals from all 5 schools with zero updates. Like many others here, my SAI appeared on studentaid.gov several weeks ago, but it feels like the schools are completely stuck in processing mode. What's been particularly nerve-wracking for me is that I'm comparing a mix of private and public schools with very different sticker prices, so the financial aid packages will literally determine which option is feasible. My family has been asking me to start narrowing down choices, but without seeing the actual aid offers, it's impossible to make any informed decisions. I'm planning to try the early morning phone call strategy that @Aidan Percy mentioned - 8am on a weekday seems like it might be the key to actually getting through. I'm also going to check my schools' social media accounts for updates like @Caleb Stone suggested, since that seems to be where some of the most current information is being posted. Thanks to everyone who has shared their experiences and timelines here. It's such a relief to know this is a widespread systemic issue with the new FAFSA rollout rather than something wrong with our individual applications. Hopefully we'll all start seeing some movement in the next few weeks!