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Anyone tried filing a complaint with the Department of Education or contacting their congress person? After 3 months of this garbage with my twins' FAFSAs, I filed formal complaints everywhere and suddenly their applications started working. Coincidence? I think not.
I hadn't thought about contacting our representative! That's a great idea. Where exactly did you file the formal complaints? Was there a specific website or form you used?
I filed complaints through the Federal Student Aid Feedback Center (studentaid.gov/feedback-center/) and also emailed our congressional representative's office with specific details about the ongoing issues. The congressional office actually assigned a caseworker who followed up with me! Worth trying both approaches.
update: we just tried the early morning thing that someone mentioned and IT WORKED!!!!! logged in at 5:15am and everything went through fine. after 2 months of nothing working. what a stupid system but at least its done now
wait tho can't u just call each school directly and give them ur fafsa confirmation number? i thought that works too
Unfortunately, that's not how the FAFSA system works. Schools can only access your FAFSA information if you specifically list them on your FAFSA application. The confirmation number is just for your records - it doesn't grant schools access to your data. The only way to share your FAFSA with additional schools is to add them to your FAFSA through the studentaid.gov website as others have described.
Thank you everyone for the amazing advice! I've started rotating schools in batches of 10 after removing the original set (except for his top choices). I'm keeping a detailed spreadsheet with dates of when each school was added and plan to follow up with financial aid offices to confirm receipt. I've also discovered that 4 of the schools actually don't require the FAFSA at all (they use CSS Profile exclusively), so that reduced my list a bit. For the remaining schools, I'll probably try that Claimyr service mentioned earlier if I run into any issues confirming everything went through properly. This process is so much more complicated than I expected, but I feel much better equipped now. Thank you all again!
Parent PLUS loans are only available if you're a dependent student, and the OP mentioned they're an independent student without the option for parents to cosign. Also, as the name suggests, PLUS loans are taken out by the parent, not the student - they're in the parent's name and are the parent's legal responsibility to repay.
UPDATE: I just wanted to thank everyone for the amazing advice! I followed the suggestions here and: 1. Called my financial aid office and discovered I could access an additional $5,000 in federal Direct Unsubsidized loans I didn't know about 2. Found a $2,000 scholarship through my engineering department that still had open applications 3. Used Claimyr to reach someone at FSA who helped explain why my SAI was calculated incorrectly - turns out there was a reporting error on my FAFSA that they're helping me fix Between these three things, I should be able to cover almost the entire gap without private loans! I might need a small one for the remaining $1,750, but that's WAY better than the $8,750 I was looking at before. This forum is seriously a lifesaver. Thank you all!
The CSS Profile is different from the FAFSA - it's administered by the College Board rather than the federal government. It typically opens on October 1st regardless of when the FAFSA opens, and it's generally more detailed about your financial situation. You'll need to pay a fee for the first school and a smaller fee for each additional school, though fee waivers are available for eligible families. Since it asks for more detailed financial information, I'd suggest allowing at least 45-60 minutes to complete it.
Nathan Dell
When I filled out my son's FAFSA last week, I got confused about the tax questions too. I DO file taxes, but it still skipped a bunch of questions I remember from previous years. I think they just simplified the whole system for everyone, not just people on disability. My son's SAI calculation came through fine though, so I guess they got what they needed?
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Jessica Nolan
•You're exactly right. The 2025-2026 FAFSA was completely redesigned to be simpler for everyone. They're pulling more information directly from the IRS for tax filers and other federal agencies for benefit recipients, which means fewer questions overall. They also eliminated questions about some assets that used to be counted in the old formula.
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Leo McDonald
Thanks everyone for the reassurance! I submitted the application as is, and it went through without any errors. The confirmation page showed my daughter's SAI score, which actually looks better than I expected. I guess the new system is working in our favor for once!
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KingKongZilla
•That's great news! Just remember to check her student aid account regularly in case they request any additional information later. The verification process can happen anytime in the next few months, even after aid offers go out.
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