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This happened to me! I finally got through to someone at FSA and they said my FAFSA was flagged because my parents' reported income on the FAFSA didn't match what the IRS had. It was only off by like $230 because my dad got some small retirement adjustment or something that he forgot about. Had to submit verification docs and then waited another 2 weeks. So annoying! Try calling them to see what's actually happening.
That's what I'm worried about, that there's some tiny discrepancy we don't know about. How did you finally get through to FSA? Every time we call we just get stuck on hold forever.
Just wanted to update everyone - our "in review" status finally changed today! It took exactly 18 days after the signature corrections to get the SAI. We didn't do anything special, it just updated on its own. The school had already given us an extension on accepting the aid package, so everything worked out. Hang in there!
That's great news! Congrats! That gives me hope that ours will update soon too. Was your son selected for verification in the end, or did it just take time to process?
It was indeed a verification issue, but we didn't have to submit any additional documents. The agent I spoke with said they were verifying his info against government databases, and it just took time for the systems to talk to each other. When the SAI finally appeared, we also got an email saying verification was complete.
my brother got ripped off by one of those private loan companies few years back... they had all these hidden fees and the interest was wayyy higher than they first said. make sure u read EVERYTHING before signing!!!!
Just wanted to add that when comparing private loan options, look beyond just the interest rate. Some important factors to consider: 1. Repayment flexibility - can you get forbearance if needed? 2. Death/disability discharge provisions (federal loans have these automatically) 3. Cosigner release options - how long until your cosigner can be removed? 4. Customer service reputation - check reviews from current borrowers Also, consider taking only what you need for this year rather than borrowing for multiple years at once. Your financial situation might improve, or you might qualify for more aid or scholarships next year.
These are really good points I hadn't thought about. I was just focusing on getting the lowest interest rate possible. I'll definitely look into the forbearance options and cosigner release timeline. And you're right - I'll just figure out this year for now and hopefully things will be better next year. Maybe I can find more scholarships or work more hours next summer.
That's great news! The extension should give you enough time based on current processing speeds. If you need to follow up with FSA, definitely try doing it sooner rather than later, as call volumes tend to increase dramatically in March.
So glad they were understanding! Most schools are pretty flexible if you explain the situation.
might sound dumb but did u check ur email? sometimes they send a special link to complete signatures that bypasses the regular login process. i ignored mine for like a week then finally found it lol
Not dumb at all! Checking email folders now... you never know! These days I'm willing to try absolutely anything to get this resolved.
UPDATE: We finally got it working!! It was actually a combination of things: 1) Having my parent use the "Fill out a parent form for a student who has already started a FAFSA form" option 2) Using incognito mode to prevent cookie issues 3) Making sure the email address matched exactly what was on the initial application. Thanks everyone for your help! The new FAFSA system is such a maze to navigate.
Glad you got it resolved! For anyone else reading this thread with similar issues, I recommend taking screenshots of each step of the FAFSA process in case you need to backtrack later. The new system sometimes loses information between sections.
Congrats! Now prepare yourself for the verification process - that's a whole new level of paperwork fun 🙃
Butch Sledgehammer
update us when u start getting packages! curious if calling actually helps speed things up
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Sara Unger
•Will do! Going to try calling all of them tomorrow. Fingers crossed!
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Amy Fleming
Hey just wanted to update - I called my financial aid offices after seeing your post because I was having the same issue. One of them told me they have a huge backlog this year because of the FAFSA Simplification Act changes. They said April is now their target for sending out most packages, which is way later than normal. Might be worth asking your schools if they have specific timeline estimates this year.
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Sara Unger
•Thank you so much for sharing that! It's frustrating but at least if it's happening to everyone I can stop worrying that something's wrong with my specific application.
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