UPDATE: I took everyone's advice here and did two things: 1) Used Claimyr to actually get through to FSA after waiting 3 days on their callback list with no response, and 2) Contacted my school's financial aid office. Turns out there was an issue with how my parent's tax info transferred from the IRS! The agent said there was a data mismatch that wasn't visible on my end. They fixed it right away and said I should get my official SAI within 3-5 business days. The financial aid office also told me they'd make a note in my file that I submitted before the priority deadline despite the processing delay. Thanks everyone for your help! I'll update when I finally get my SAI!

Pro tip for next year: submit your FAFSA at least 4-6 weeks before your school's priority deadline. Even in normal years there can be processing delays or verification requirements that take time to resolve. I've worked with hundreds of students and the ones who submit early almost never have deadline issues.

my cousins best friend went to nyu for free with some scholarship thing and hes not even that smart lol. the whole system is just about who you know and having the right connections. my loans are even worse than yours and i dont even work in my field so at least you got that going for you

After reading through all the comments, I wanted to add one more thing: document EVERYTHING in your interaction with loan servicers. Keep records of all phone calls (date, time, who you spoke with), save all emails, and take screenshots of important account information. I've seen too many teachers get burned when servicers make mistakes in tracking qualifying PSLF payments or misapply payments. Having detailed records saved my colleague nearly $40K when she had to prove she had made qualifying payments that weren't being counted properly. And on a personal note - your frustration is completely justified. The system IS unfair. But please don't let that stop you from taking advantage of every program available to you now. The SAVE plan plus PSLF could potentially save you tens of thousands of dollars.

awesome! glad it worked out for you!

That's a significant improvement! Be sure to notify all the schools she applied to that there was a meaningful correction to her FAFSA. Some schools might have already downloaded her initial data, and they won't automatically get the updated information unless they pull her FAFSA again.

they only care aobut the tax return from 2 yrs ago none of the other stuff matters

Just wanted to update everyone - I finally got through to someone at FSA who explained everything clearly. For 2025-2026 FAFSA, we'll use our 2023 tax info as many of you mentioned. I'll need to report special circumstances to each school individually - there's no standard form. Apparently, even though our income is higher now, they still want to know because it affects the overall financial picture (assets, retirement status, etc.). The agent recommended documenting the change with a simple letter explaining the retirement and new income sources, along with current pay stubs and pension statements. Thanks everyone for your help! This process is so much more complex than I expected.

has anyone had any luck just straight up asking schools to push back their deposit deadline?? i'm tempted to just email all 7 of my daughters schools and ask for a june 1 deadline instead

Update in case it helps others: We finally started making progress! The financial aid advisor at my son's top choice university told us they're actually processing packages by major right now. So if your student applied to a popular major (business, engineering, nursing), your package might come later than others. Once we understood this, we called and specifically asked if they could prioritize his application since we have the May 1 deadline, and they were actually pretty helpful!