my nephew was in this exact situation!!! he applied for like 20 private scholarships specifically for seniors and ended up getting enough to cover most of what fafsa wouldnt. try looking at fastweb and also check with your sons specific department at school - sometimes they have emergency funds for students about to graduate.

One thing no one has mentioned is that your son should immediately schedule an appointment with both financial aid AND the Dean of Students office. The Dean often has discretionary emergency funds specifically designed for students at risk of not completing their degree due to financial hardship. Since this is his senior year, they have a vested interest in seeing him graduate (it affects their completion rate statistics). Have him prepare a brief one-page summary of his academic achievements, campus involvement, and career plans to bring to these meetings. This approach, combined with your formal appeal, maximizes your chances for additional assistance.

Let us know if that Claimyr thing works!!! I might try it too if it actually helps you get through!

UPDATE: I used the Claimyr service that was recommended and finally got through to a FAFSA agent! The call wait was about 25 minutes (instead of the infinite hold I was getting before). The agent found the issue - turns out there was a glitch where my dad's retirement account was being counted as available assets even though it should have been excluded. They're correcting it and reprocessing my FAFSA. My SAI should drop by about 8500 points, which will make a HUGE difference for aid eligibility. So relieved to have this resolved before scholarship deadlines!

For anyone worried about making decisions without financial aid information, I recommend taking these steps: 1. Contact your schools' financial aid offices directly to ask about their contingency plans 2. Ask if they're extending their May 1 deposit deadlines 3. Request an estimated aid package based on last year's FAFSA if you're a returning student 4. If you're a first-year student, ask if they can provide a preliminary estimate based on your self-reported information 5. Document all communications in writing when possible Most institutions want to work with students during this unprecedented situation, but they need to hear from you directly about your concerns.

I'm still confused why they changed the whole system this year anyway? The old FAFSA worked fine for me last year...

One final tip - when you fill out the FAFSA, make sure you list ALL schools your daughter is applying to. You can add up to 20 schools on the application, and all of them will receive her financial aid information. This lets you compare aid packages from different schools before making a final decision.\n\nAlso, don't be afraid to contact financial aid offices directly after you receive offers. If your circumstances change or if another school offers better aid, some institutions will match or improve their offers. They won't tell you this openly, but it's worth asking!

That's super helpful advice! I had no idea you could negotiate with financial aid offices. And the tip about listing all schools will save me from having to figure that out the hard way. Thanks so much!

Based on your responses to everyone's suggestions, this does sound like a system error that will require FSA intervention to fix. When you do connect with them, make sure to have the following ready: 1. Your FSA ID login information 2. Your son's FSA ID (but not his password) 3. The exact date/time he sent the invitations 4. Confirmation that your husband successfully completed his portion The agent will likely need to manually link your account to your son's FAFSA application. They might also need to send a special invitation link directly to you. Good luck!

UPDATE: Problem solved! I used the Claimyr service that @profile5 recommended to get through to FSA without the long wait. The agent found that there was a system glitch where my FSA ID wasn't properly linking to the invitation even though my email was correct. They had to manually link my account to my son's application. Now I can see and complete my portion! Thanks everyone for your help and suggestions.