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Has anyone else noticed that the new FAFSA system seems to be creating way more problems than it's solving? Between the signature issues, the SAI calculation errors, and now this submission date problem... it's like they launched a half-finished product. I feel for the OP - this should not be so complicated!
UPDATE: I finally got through to the financial aid office at my daughter's first-choice school! The amazing woman I spoke with confirmed they CAN see our original January submission date in their system, but their automated process had flagged us for missing the priority deadline. She manually overrode it in their system and said we'll be considered as meeting the deadline! Still working on her other schools, but this gives me hope. For anyone with similar issues - be persistent and keep trying to reach a human at the financial aid office!
That's fantastic news! The human touch always makes the difference in these bureaucratic nightmares. Thanks for updating us!
This new FAFSA is SUCH a disaster!!! 😡 I've been dealing with this exact problem for TWO WEEKS now and still no correction button. Called them 4 times and got 4 completely different answers. One said wait 3 days, another said 5 business days, another said 14 days, and the last one said I need to submit a special form that doesn't even exist on their website!!! The whole system is BROKEN and they keep lying to cover it up. I'm convinced the "correction" feature is just completely broken right now and none of them want to admit it. My daughter's financial future is at stake and these incompetent bureaucrats can't even get a basic website function to work. BEYOND FRUSTRATING!!!
UPDATE: The correction button appeared today (6 days after submission)! We were able to add the custodial investment account without any issues. The system recalculated our SAI and it went up by about $1,800, which isn't as bad as I feared. Thank you all for the reassurance and guidance - this forum has been more helpful than the official customer service!
Great news! And now you won't have to worry about verification flags for unreported assets. Always better to be accurate upfront!
told ya!! glad it worked out!!
used safari on my macbook and it worked fine but my brother couldnt get the parent plus loan section to load on chrome so maybe avoid that one? idk tho could just be random
FYI - If you run into trouble regardless of browser, the FAFSA customer service number is basically useless right now. Been seeing 3-4 hour wait times all month because of the new FAFSA rollout issues. Just be prepared with snacks and movies if you need to call them! 😂
Thanks everyone for the helpful responses! I'm relieved to know I'll be creating a completely new FSA ID as a parent contributor and don't need to worry about my ancient account from college. We'll make sure to: 1. Create our FSA IDs at least a week before starting the application 2. Use separate email addresses and phone numbers for each of us 3. Have my son create his first, then I'll create mine 4. Save all the login information securely for future use with my daughter I appreciate all the advice! This community has been incredibly helpful.
Sounds like you've got a solid plan! One last tip - when you're entering income information on the FAFSA, be prepared with your 2024 tax return information (for the 2026-2027 school year application). The FAFSA now uses the tax return from two years prior to the academic year. Good luck to you and your son!
just wondering does anyone know if parents still have to report their assets on the new FAFSA? I heard they simplified it but im not sure what that means exactly
Yes, parents still report assets on the new simplified FAFSA, but fewer families have to report them now. If your adjusted gross income is below $60,000 AND you file certain tax forms (1040 with no schedules, 1040A, or 1040EZ), you may qualify for the simplified formula that skips asset questions entirely. However, most families will still need to report assets including cash, savings, investments, and real estate (excluding your primary residence).
QuantumQuasar
btw has anyone else noticed that the new fafsa portal is like 10000x more glitchy than the old one?? like why would they launch a completely broken system in the most important financial aid year ever?? my counselor said they've never seen this many problems in 15 years working in financial aid
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Keisha Johnson
•YES! constantly freezing, weird timeout errors, and the save feature almost never works right. i have to complete sections in one sitting or risk losing everything 🙄
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Ava Martinez
UPDATE: I finally got this resolved! I want to share what worked in case anyone else has a similar issue. First, I took the advice about making a tiny correction (I added my middle initial) instead of adding a school code. After doing that, I called my school's financial aid office and specifically asked to speak with a financial aid counselor, not just the front desk. The counselor was able to see that my application was in their system but was stuck in a processing queue because of a flag related to my parents' marital status (which was correct in my application, just flagged for some reason). She manually reviewed it and cleared the flag. Three days later, I got my official financial aid package with the full Pell Grant amount ($7,395) intact! So thankfully all that worry was for nothing, but the stress was real. Thanks everyone for your help and advice!
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Miguel Ramos
•That's great news! Thanks for updating us. This is a perfect example of why speaking directly with a financial aid counselor (rather than a general office assistant) can make all the difference. I'm glad you got the full Pell amount you're entitled to!
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