FAFSA CA deadline today but system errors blocking submission - any hope for state aid?

omg this FAFSA disaster is criminal!! My daughter spent 3 weeks trying to get hers submitted too. We finally got through at 2am when the system wasn't so overloaded. Tell ur students to try submitting between 1-4am if they can. That worked for us after 8 failed attempts during normal hours.

California college financial aid counselor here - I just got off a call with the CA Student Aid Commission this morning. They're aware of the widespread FAFSA technical issues and while there's no official extension YET, they're documenting cases where students made legitimate attempts to submit before the deadline. Have your students take screenshots of their errors and the completed application pages. They should also use the FAFSA help center to report the specific technical errors. The Commission is collecting this data to potentially make accommodations for affected students. Also, if any of your students are undocumented or have DACA status, remind them they can use the CA Dream Act Application instead, which hasn't had the same technical issues.

have they tried using different browsers?? my nephew couldnt submit on chrome but it worked on safari. also clearing cookies helped for some reason. the whole system is garbage but maybe worth a try

As someone who works for a college financial aid office, I recommend documenting EVERYTHING. Take screenshots showing the completed application with timestamps, save confirmation emails from any successful parent signatures, etc. For Cal Grants specifically, I know CSAC is discussing potential accommodations, but students should also immediately contact the financial aid offices at each California college they applied to. Many institutions have emergency aid funds they can use to help students who miss state deadlines due to technical issues beyond their control. Also worth noting - even if they miss the March 2nd priority deadline, students should still submit ASAP. They may not get Cal Grants, but would still be eligible for institutional aid at many colleges, and the federal deadline is much later (June 30th).

Why are people always waiting till last minute??? The FAFSA has been available since December! This happens every year with Cal Grants, people procrastinate then blame system.

Just wanted to share that I had the EXACT same issue with my son's FAFSA last week. We were going crazy trying to submit! After being on hold with Federal Student Aid for over 2 hours (got disconnected twice), I discovered Claimyr.com which got us through to an actual FAFSA agent in about 15 minutes. They helped us troubleshoot the submission error and got it fixed on the spot. They have a video explaining how it works: https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ Might be worth it to get those applications submitted today. The agent we spoke with also documented in our file that we had been attempting to submit before the deadline in case there were any questions later.

Update from someone with insider info: CSAC is meeting TODAY to discuss an extension for CA students facing technical issues. Nothing official yet, but the word is they're considering a 2-week grace period where students who can document attempts before March 2nd would still qualify for Cal Grants. Don't quote me, but announcement could come as early as tomorrow.

**EDITED TO ADD:** After being on hold for nearly an hour, I finally got through to the CA Student Aid Commission. For students who have both parent and student with SSNs but are having FAFSA submission issues, they said students can submit the CA Dream Act Application as a backup. They will still need to complete the FAFSA by June 30th and submit an Application Conversion Form (G-55), but this ensures they won't miss Cal Grant eligibility. Hope this helps!

As a California parent who just went through this nightmare with my twins, I wanted to share what finally worked for us after days of submission errors. We kept getting the "cannot continue processing" error even though everything was complete. What saved us was calling the Federal Student Aid hotline at 1-800-4-FED-AID and specifically asking them to check for "backend data corruption" on our applications. Turns out there was some kind of glitch with how our tax information was being processed that wasn't visible to us. The agent fixed it on their end and we were able to submit immediately after. For anyone still struggling - make sure to mention "backend data corruption" when you call. The first-level support didn't know what that meant, but when I got transferred to a technical specialist, they knew exactly what to look for. Both my kids' applications went through within minutes after the fix. Also documenting everything is crucial - I took screenshots every step of the way showing our completed applications with timestamps, which the agent noted in our file as proof of our attempts before the deadline.