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Have you checked your credit report to see what's being reported there? That might help clarify things. If MOHELA is showing paid in full but DOE isn't, your credit report might show which version lenders are seeing. Really important to get this fixed if you're planning any major purchases in the near future.
ok everyone keeps saying this is normal but MY COUSINS FAFSA got totally rejected after getting one of these emails!!!! they had already gotten a big aid package from State and then after this "verification" their SAI went up by like $8000 and they lost a grant!!!
That situation is different - it sounds like your cousin's FAFSA had incorrect information that was caught during verification. If you use the IRS Data Retrieval Tool and report all income correctly, verification won't change anything. The only time SAI numbers change dramatically is when there's unreported income or incorrect figures on the original application.
when i did my fafsa they just asked for my adjusted gross income from my taxes, not all the schedule c stuff separately? maybe its different for different people idk
You're right that the FAFSA asks for AGI from your tax return, but the system also looks at other forms like Schedule C for business owners. Your AGI already includes your net business income/loss, but they may request additional information about business assets over certain thresholds. The simplified FAFSA has made this less complicated, but self-employed people often still need to provide more details.
I wanted to update everyone - we got our 2023 tax transcript directly from the IRS website and were able to complete our daughter's FAFSA yesterday! We didn't need to wait for our accountant at all. The process was much easier than I expected once we had the right information. Thank you all for your help and advice!
That's great news! Make sure to save a PDF copy of your submitted FAFSA in case there are any verification requests later. Some schools will ask for additional documentation, especially for self-employed parents. Having everything saved in one place makes that process much smoother.
anyone else think its weird that we have to do this every year? my cousins in canada just fill out one form for their whole college time, not this yearly nonsense with all these glitches and problems. the whole FAFSA system needs to be redone from scratch tbh
UPDATE: We figured it out! After trying everything suggested here, we found the issue. My daughter had a typo in her email address on the FAFSA, so the verification emails were going nowhere. We fixed the email, then I was able to complete the signature process WITHOUT the loop! Just got confirmation that it's processing now. We also contacted the financial aid offices at her top schools like @financialaidpro suggested, and they've been super helpful. They're going to prepare preliminary aid packages while we wait for the official SAI. Thanks for all the suggestions! For anyone else stuck in signature loop hell, check every single detail on your application - one tiny error can cause the whole system to break.
Ethan Clark
i always do semester loans bc i sometimes take summer classes and it's easier to keep track of which loan is for which term but that's just me lol
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Mateo Sanchez
•Thats smart!!! I get confused with all the different loan stuff on my account... wish they'd make it easier to see which is which!
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Nia Wilson
One more consideration: if you're uncertain about whether you'll attend both semesters (perhaps due to an internship opportunity, study abroad, or other reasons), semester loans give you more control and prevent overborrowing. Just remember that each semester loan will have its own origination fee (around 1.057% for Direct Loans in the 2025-2026 award year), but that's applied regardless of how you structure the loans.
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NebulaNinja
•Thanks for all the help everyone! I think I'm going to go with the annual loan since my plans are pretty set for the full year, and it seems like it'll be simpler for repayment later. Really appreciate all the different perspectives!
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