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!

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...

hi there, just wanted to share that i work at a financial aid office and we've been seeing this issue a LOT with the new fafsa. basically the system doesn't always properly validate parent relationships when there's a spouse situation. the manual save method mentioned above sometimes works. if it doesn't, you can actually call and request them to remove the current parent contributor completely, then add them back fresh which often resolves it. might be worth trying if nothing else works!

UPDATE: The manual save method worked!!! I went back through each parent contributor page, manually hit save (not continue) on each one, logged out, waited about 45 minutes, and when I logged back in I was able to add the spouse info without the error message! Thank you all SO MUCH for your help. This was driving me completely insane for days.

Update: Finally got through to University A's financial aid office! After explaining the situation, they said they need to process a "Return to Title IV" calculation for the spring semester funds and then notify University B. Apparently the issue was that since my son officially withdrew after December 15th (he was waiting for final grades), University A's system was still showing him as enrolled for spring. The financial aid officer said it would take 7-10 business days to process the return and release the remaining eligibility. University B said once that happens, they can process his spring financial aid package within about 2 weeks. Cutting it close with classes starting next week, but at least there's progress!

my nephew ended up having 2 take out a private loan for a few weeks cuz the money didnt transfer in time. make sure ur son talks to university B financial aid about emergency options!

my sons fafsa got accepted without my wifes ssn too!!! she doesn't have one, shes not a citizen. they still gave him a good aid package 🙌 depends on ur situation tho

This is actually an important distinction. If OP's wife doesn't have an SSN because she's not a citizen or eligible non-citizen, that's a different situation than having an SSN but failing to include it. In your case, you correctly completed the application because you can't provide information that doesn't exist. In OP's case, it sounds like they need to submit a correction since their wife does have an SSN.