FAFSA
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Where to find my son's FAFSA SAI score when only my daughter received hers?
I've been dealing with this FAFSA nightmare since February 7th and I'm at my wit's end! My son will be a sophomore this fall, and I just did a live chat with FAFSA this morning. The agent told me his application is complete and everything was sent to his college. Great, right? But when I asked what his SAI score is, she said I need to contact the school directly to get that information.\n\nWhat's frustrating is that my daughter (who'll be a senior this fall) had no issues - her process was smooth, and she actually received an email from FAFSA with her SAI score. We have all her financial aid info from her school including her Pell Grant amount.\n\nSo why can't we see my son's SAI score directly from FAFSA? Is this normal? The whole process seems to be different between my two kids and I'm confused why one would get the score directly while the other doesn't. Has anyone else had this experience with different siblings applying for FAFSA in the same year?
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FAFSA submission button missing after 'review' section - urgent deadline May 2nd!
I've been battling with the FAFSA website for DAYS and I'm about to lose my mind! Everything is complete - both my section and my parents' info - but I'm stuck at the "take a moment to review" page. The instructions clearly say "select continue once you're ready to proceed with submission" but THERE'S NO CONTINUE BUTTON ANYWHERE?? I've tried everything - refreshed the page, used different browsers, logged out and back in, re-signed all signatures at least 15 times, even removed and re-added my school choices. Nothing works! My application is just stuck on "in progress" status and I can't find any way to actually submit it. My school's priority deadline is May 2nd (only 5 days away!) and I'm seriously panicking. Has anyone run into this glitch before? Any solutions??? This is for the 2025-2026 application if that matters.
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my sister had this issue and it turned out she didn't complete the "additional financial information" section even though it didn't show as incomplete anywhere. check that section maybe? also does your SAI calculation show up anywhere? if not something is definitely still incomplete
What exactly is a Parent PLUS loan and should I use it to cover remaining FAFSA balance?
I'm confused about something I keep seeing all over this forum. What exactly is a Parent PLUS loan? I'm trying to figure out how to cover my daughter's remaining tuition after her financial aid package, and people keep mentioning this Parent PLUS thing. Is this something that's automatically offered in the financial aid package from her school? Or do I need to specifically apply for it separately? And more importantly - is this actually the best option for covering the remaining balance after grants and student loans? Her EFC came in higher than we expected and we're looking at about $8,500 we need to figure out how to cover. Any insight would be super helpful!
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One thing I haven't seen mentioned yet - Parent PLUS loans can be eligible for Income-Contingent Repayment (ICR) if you consolidate them into a Direct Consolidation Loan. This can make monthly payments more manageable if you're struggling. Not a reason to take the loan necessarily, but good to know the option exists.
wait really? my financial aid advisor never mentioned this! my dad is struggling with the payments and this could really help us
Update: I called my daughter's school and asked about payment plans. They offer a 10-month interest-free plan that would make our payments around $850/month. That's actually doable for us! So much better than taking on more debt. Thank you all for pointing me in the right direction!
That's fantastic! School payment plans are often the hidden gem of college financing. Just make sure to confirm if there's any enrollment fee (sometimes $50-100) and what happens if you need to miss a payment. But overall, you're making a smart choice by avoiding unnecessary debt!
FAFSA signature complete but can't add schools - technical glitch?
Feeling stuck with my son's FAFSA right now. He successfully signed the application using his FSA ID yesterday, but now we're hitting a roadblock because he can't add any schools to his application. The school selection page either freezes or gives an error message saying "unable to process request at this time." We've tried different browsers (Chrome and Edge) and even my phone, but still no luck. Has anyone else encountered this issue with the 2025-2026 FAFSA? Any suggestions on how to get past this problem? His SAI calculation can't proceed without adding schools, and application deadlines for his top choices are coming up fast.
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UPDATE: For those still struggling with this issue, I found another workaround. If you can't add schools after signing, try this: 1. Log in with the PARENT'S FSA ID (not the student's) 2. Go to the "FAFSA Status" section 3. Select the student's application 4. Click "Make Correction" 5. Navigate directly to the School Selection page 6. Add schools there 7. Re-submit with electronic signatures This worked for us when nothing else would. It seems there's a bug specifically in the student view of the application but not in the parent correction pathway. Hope this helps someone!
Thank you SO MUCH! This actually worked! I logged in with my FSA ID instead of my son's, went through the correction process, and was able to add all his schools. Then we both had to re-sign, but it went through immediately. What a relief!
For anyone still having issues, I want to clarify an important point: if you're working on the 2025-2026 FAFSA and experiencing the school selection bug, this is happening because the new SAI formula implementation is still being optimized. The best approach is: 1. Document the error with screenshots 2. Email the financial aid offices at your target schools explaining the technical issue 3. Most schools are well aware of these problems and have provisional processes in place And remember, even if you do get the application submitted with schools listed, your SAI calculation may still be delayed due to processing backlogs. The good news is most schools have adjusted their internal deadlines to accommodate these widespread system issues.
This is reassuring. I emailed my son's top choice school and they responded saying they're granting extensions for anyone experiencing technical difficulties with FAFSA. They asked us to document the errors and submit proof of attempts to complete the application.
Where to find SAI score and available aid after FAFSA shows 'processed'?
So my twins' FAFSAs both say they're 'processed' (submitted them back in January), but I can't figure out where to actually see what aid they qualify for? I thought there was supposed to be a Student Aid Index (SAI) number or something? I've been clicking around the studentaid.gov site for hours and can't find anything showing dollar amounts or what schools they can afford. Is there another step we're missing? Do the colleges contact them directly? This is our first time doing this and I'm completely lost.
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dont forget CSS profile too!! some private schools need that ON TOP OF fafsa and its different formula. my kid applied to 7 schools & 3 needed CSS plus other random forms. total mess.
We did complete CSS for the schools that required it. What a hassle that was - asked for so much more detailed financial info than FAFSA!
One more important thing - make sure your twins check their email regularly (including spam folders). Many schools will email when aid packages are ready or if they need additional documentation. Also, if the May 1 decision deadline is approaching and you still don't have aid information from their top choices, you can request an extension. Most schools will grant a reasonable extension if the delay is due to pending financial aid information.
That's really good to know about the extension possibility! They've been checking emails daily, but I'll remind them to look in spam folders too. I appreciate everyone's help - this community has been more informative than the actual FAFSA website!
Mae Bennett
I wanted to add one more thing that might be helpful. The timing of when SAI scores are calculated and displayed can vary widely depending on when the FAFSA was submitted and if there were any verification requirements.\n\nIf your daughter submitted her FAFSA earlier or had a less complex financial situation, her application might have been processed in an earlier batch. The Department of Education has been rolling out features of the new system gradually.\n\nAlso, do check if your son's FAFSA was selected for verification. If it was, the SAI might not be finalized until that process is complete, even if the application shows as \
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Gemma Andrews
This is really helpful context. We actually did submit both FAFSAs on the same day (Feb 7th), but my son's took much longer to process initially. I'll check if he was selected for verification - that might explain the difference in how they're handling his application vs. my daughter's.
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