Thank you everyone for all the suggestions! I've made a list of everything to discuss with the financial aid office. I'm also going to look into private loans with my husband as cosigner and see if there are any emergency funds or special scholarships I might qualify for. Will try calling FSA directly too using that Claimyr service - worth a shot at this point. I'll update once I figure something out in case it helps others in my situation.

My wife had this EXACT problem when we got married!!! She ended up getting a small private loan ($5,000) through Sallie Mae with me as cosigner for her summer classes, and then once her SSN came in (took almost 4 months!) she could do FAFSA for the fall semester. Interest rate was higher than federal loans but we didn't have much choice. Check with Discover and Sallie Mae, they both have options for this situation.

Just to clarify something important - the professional judgment process doesn't actually change your FAFSA or your official SAI number. What happens is: 1. Your FAFSA submission with 2022 data creates your official SAI 2. Schools receive this SAI as your official one 3. When you request professional judgment, schools individually recalculate what your SAI would be with updated information 4. They then adjust your financial aid package at THEIR institution based on this recalculated SAI Your official SAI on studentaid.gov will never change, which confuses many people. Each school effectively creates their own internal modified SAI for you.

One more thing - start the professional judgment process as soon as possible after submitting your FAFSA. Many schools allocate their institutional funds (grants, scholarships) early in the cycle. If you wait until close to enrollment time, they may have already committed most of their discretionary aid funds, leaving mainly loans as options for you. Timing really matters!

jst wnt 2 say the whole FAFSA process is SO BAD this year omg. took my family like 3 weeks to finally submit. hang in there

UPDATE: Finally got it working! After trying the account recovery process again and getting nowhere, I used the Claimyr service that someone suggested above. Got connected to an actual FSA agent in about 15 minutes! They confirmed my identity and found that my account had been automatically locked due to "suspicious activity" (which was just me trying to log in multiple times). They manually unlocked it and helped me reset everything properly. Was able to complete my portion of my son's FAFSA last night. What a nightmare this has been, but thank you all for your help and suggestions!

Update: I finally got through to someone at Federal Student Aid after trying for WEEKS! The agent confirmed they're seeing unusual verification rates for NYC zipcodes (validation that we're not imagining this!). I've submitted the additional documentation they requested:\n- Rent stabilization rider from our lease\n- Letter from my daughter's school confirming her address\n- A statement explaining our housing situation \n- Birth certificate and tax returns showing dependent status\n\nThe agent said to expect 2-3 weeks processing time, which pushes us past NYU's deposit deadline. I called NYU financial aid and explained everything, and they've granted us a 3-week extension pending our FAFSA verification! Relieved but still stressed about getting everything resolved in time.

This is great progress! I'm glad NYU extended your deadline. That documentation package looks thorough and should resolve the flags. One more tip: follow up weekly by phone until it's resolved. The squeaky wheel approach really does help move verification cases along faster.

From what I understand based on the Department of Education's public statements, the 2025-2026 FAFSA will likely open on December 1st, 2024. This isn't just a temporary change - the December opening is now part of the permanent FAFSA calendar following the implementation of the FAFSA Simplification Act.\n\nThe key dates you should be aware of:\n- December 1, 2024: FAFSA likely opens\n- Using 2023 tax information (prior-prior year)\n- Most state aid deadlines remain in February-March 2025\n- CSS Profile (required by some private schools) typically opens October 1\n\nMy advice would be to prepare your tax documents and other financial information in advance, and set a calendar reminder for December 1st. Also check your specific colleges' financial aid deadlines, as they may have adjusted their timelines to accommodate the new FAFSA schedule.

Thank you for the detailed information! I didn't realize the CSS Profile opens earlier - my son is applying to a couple private schools so that's good to know. I'll mark my calendar for both dates.