the whole system is designed to trip ppl up i swear. my wife had her hyphenated last name in the system but FAFSA only took PART of her last name in the transfer to the IRS database for verification. took 2 months and 3 calls to fix. they do this on purpose to reduce how many ppl get aid imo

Update: I was able to get through to FSA this morning! The agent was actually really helpful and said this happens all the time. They've put in a correction for my husband's last name, and I should be able to resubmit for verification in 3-5 business days. They also noted our account for priority processing since our school's payment deadline is coming up. Thanks everyone for your help!

Since you specifically mentioned nursing, I wanted to add that nursing students at community colleges often qualify for special aid programs beyond the standard FAFSA offerings. The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) offers Nursing Workforce Development programs that provide funding specifically for nursing students, including those in associate degree programs.\n\nAdditionally, many hospitals and healthcare facilities offer tuition assistance or loan repayment programs for nursing students who commit to working with them after graduation. These opportunities are especially common for community college nursing programs since they're designed to address local healthcare workforce needs.\n\nSo not only can you apply for FAFSA, but you may have additional funding sources available specifically because you're pursuing nursing at a community college. I'd recommend speaking with both your school's financial aid office and the nursing department coordinator about these opportunities.

Oh wow, I had no idea about the nursing-specific programs! That's really helpful information. I'll definitely talk to the nursing department about those options too. Thank you so much!

THE FINANCIAL AID SYSTEM IS RIGGED!!! Even with a so-called "good" SAI score, they STILL make middle-class families take out MASSIVE LOANS!!! My nephew had -1200 SAI and is still drowning in debt!!! The whole system is designed to trap students in debt!!

Just to provide some balance here - while a negative SAI doesn't guarantee a free education, it does put your daughter in the strongest possible position for financial aid. Many selective private colleges actually provide better aid packages than state schools for low-income families. I'd recommend: 1. Apply to a mix of schools, including some known for generous aid 2. Use each school's specific net price calculator 3. Appeal your financial aid offers if they don't seem adequate 4. Consider schools with "no-loan" policies for lower-income students With your SAI, your daughter has excellent potential for significant grant aid at many institutions.

When I was applying last year my SAI was 17500 but then my dad lost his job and we had to do a special circumstances appeal thing and it dropped to like 5000 and I got way more aid. So definitely look into that if anything in your family situation changes!

Based on this discussion, it sounds like you should take three actions: 1. Submit a FAFSA correction to remove the retirement accounts as assets (only report contributions made during the tax year as untaxed income) 2. Contact your school's financial aid office to discuss your specific situation and see what institutional aid might be available 3. Ask about their Professional Judgment process if you have special circumstances not reflected on your FAFSA Your SAI of 19725 isn't unusually high for a family income of $72,000, but the retirement account issue could be artificially inflating it. After correction, you might see a meaningful reduction.

Just a quick update on the multiple signatures issue - I attended a financial aid webinar last week where they explained this is happening because of how the new FAFSA handles parent contributions. Apparently, when you initially sign, you're signing for submission, but the additional signatures are required after each processing stage (initial review, IRS data match, SAI calculation, etc.). It's definitely a design flaw in the system, but it's happening to almost everyone this year.

Update: I finally got through to someone at FSA! The agent explained that the multiple signature requests happen when different verification processes complete at different times. For anyone dealing with this - they told me to clear my browser cache completely, use a private/incognito window, and try again. That actually worked! The signature finally went through properly. For anyone wondering about skipping FAFSA for a final semester - I've decided to push through and complete it. Between the Pell Grant and subsidized loans, it's about $6,500 for his final semester that we would have lost. Thanks everyone for talking me down from my frustration!