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dont schools look at CSS profile more than fafsa anyway? my kids college said they use CSS for deciding their own aid.
This depends entirely on the school. Many public universities use only the FAFSA, while many private colleges use both FAFSA and CSS Profile. Federal aid (Pell Grants, direct loans, work-study) is exclusively determined by FAFSA, while institutional aid may use either or both forms. If your son is applying to schools that require the CSS Profile, you should check if you made the same error there and correct it immediately.
UPDATE: I finally got through to someone at Federal Student Aid! The agent confirmed this is a known issue with the new FAFSA. Apparently some sections lock after initial processing. She submitted a correction request on her end and said it should update within 7-10 business days, and that I should also notify schools of the error. Thank you all for your help and suggestions!
Great news! Did you end up using that Claimyr service someone mentioned or did you just keep trying the regular number?
I used Claimyr after my 4th attempt calling directly ended with another disconnection. It worked exactly as described - got connected to a real person in about 15 minutes instead of waiting for hours or getting disconnected.
Here's an update: I spoke to a financial aid administrator yesterday who explained that there are actually THREE different processing steps happening now: 1. The initial submission verification (which generates the first "processed" email) 2. The data matching verification (where they compare your information with IRS and other systems) 3. The final SAI calculation (which is when your application is truly complete) She said at least 40% of applications are getting stuck between steps 2 and 3 right now. The good news is that colleges are aware of these issues and many are extending their priority financial aid deadlines. You might want to check with your daughter's school to see if they've announced any extensions due to the FAFSA delays.
UPDATE: Finally got through to FSA this morning! The problem was that my husband's social security number had an incorrect digit in the system, even though we entered it correctly on our form. They said their OCR system sometimes misreads numbers during processing. The agent fixed it immediately and said our application should be fully processed within 3-5 business days. Thank you everyone for your help and suggestions! This forum saved my sanity.
SEE?? Their "OCR system" conveniently making errors that delay people's applications. How many students just give up when this happens?? The whole system is rigged.
I'm going to share something that might save you time later - after you and your daughter resign, take a screenshot of the confirmation page. Then about 5 days later, check that the DOB is actually updated in the system. I had a similar situation with my son's FAFSA (wrong address), and even after resigning, the change didn't go through the first time. Having that screenshot of the confirmation helped when I had to call FSA to get it sorted out.
UPDATE: Just wanted to let you know that after I resigned both myself and my mom yesterday for our DOB correction, the new FAFSA report was ready this morning! So it didn't take 3-5 days like they said - it was less than 24 hours. Hope yours is as fast!
Actually my cousin works for fsa and she said they might push it back til april they are having system wide issues with the contributor stuff and the non ssn parents is just one of many problems. But she said they are prioritizing it because so many immigrants are affected. If u call enough times you might get through to someone who can put a note on ur account.
Good news! There's an update on the Federal Student Aid website as of yesterday. The parent non-SSN issue should be fixed by March 23rd according to their latest timeline. They're rolling out the update in phases starting tomorrow. I'd recommend checking your FAFSA account daily starting this weekend.
Zadie Patel
Anyone know if you can see which schools were actually saved? My daughter is in the same boat and she needs her FAFSA to go to 6 different schools but we're worried only the first 3 we entered got saved before this verification thing started.
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Sean Matthews
•Unfortunately, you can't see the school list during the verification process. However, the system typically saves school selections as you go. Once verification completes, you'll be able to review and adjust your school list before final submission. If you're concerned about deadlines, contact the schools directly - many are being flexible given the FAFSA rollout challenges.
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Logan Stewart
Just to add some clarity on the "waiting for SSA verification" status: 1. SSA verification checks that your SSN, name, and date of birth match Social Security records 2. It happens automatically when demographic information is complete 3. Most verifications complete in 3-5 business days 4. Once verification completes, you'll get an email notification 5. At that point, you can log back in to review and complete your application For your school selection concern - once verification completes, you'll be able to see which schools were saved and add any that are missing before final submission.
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Diego Castillo
•This is really helpful information! I just got the email that verification is complete, and you were right - I can now see the partial school list we had entered. I'm adding the remaining schools right now and will make sure to hit the ACTUAL submit button this time. Thank you everyone for the help!
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