FAFSA call center forcing me to submit 22-page paper application - is this normal?

That's definitely not right. What specific error are you getting when trying to submit online? I work in a college financial aid office and we rarely need to resort to paper applications unless there's a very unusual circumstance. Did they explain exactly why the online submission isn't working for your particular situation?

OMG SAME THING happened to my daughter!!!! We had to do the stupid paper form last year. It was AWFUL and took forever to process. Like 12 weeks. Her SAI score wasn't calculated until late April and she almost lost her housing spot because of it. The whole system is broken!!

I had a similar issue with the identity mismatch. Before you go the paper route, have you tried contacting the Social Security Administration to verify your information is correct in their system? Sometimes there's a discrepancy between what the SSA has and what's in the FSA database. Also, check that your name is entered EXACTLY as it appears on your social security card - including hyphens, spaces, etc. Even a minor difference can trigger that error.

I used to work at Federal Student Aid call center, and I can tell you that paper applications should be the LAST resort, not the first solution. The "conflicting identity information" error usually means one of four things: 1. Name mismatch with SSA records 2. Birth date mismatch with SSA records 3. SSN typo in your FAFSA 4. You recently changed your name legally and SSA hasn't updated yet The first three can be fixed online without paper. Only #4 sometimes requires paper documentation. The fact they jumped straight to paper form suggests the rep either didn't know how to troubleshoot properly or was trying to clear the call quickly.

i had this issue last semester... turned out my birth date was entered wrong (put 1 instead of 01 for january). the call center people kept transferring me around until finally someone just told me paper form. what a joke

Have you tried using Claimyr to reach someone higher up at FSA? I was getting the runaround from basic call center agents for weeks until I used Claimyr (claimyr.com) to get through to a supervisor. They connected me directly to a senior agent who actually knew how to fix my identity verification issue without paper forms. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ - saved me so much time. The regular call center staff often don't have access to the right tools or knowledge to fix complex issues.

Wanted to add - be sure to contact your college financial aid office about this situation too. They can often put a note on your account about the FAFSA delay and might be able to extend their internal deadlines for you while this gets sorted out. Many schools have contingency processes for students with FAFSA processing issues.

This is why the whole FAFSA system needs a complete overhaul. The "simplification" they implemented just created new problems. When I called about my daughter's similar issue, I got a different answer from EACH of the THREE people I talked to. Nobody seems trained properly. My daughter ended up having to submit both ways - online AND paper - because different departments told us different things. What a mess!

just be prepared for them to lose your paper application too... they "lost" my son's TWICE and we had to resubmit. make copies of EVERYTHING!!!!

UPDATE: Based on some of the advice here, I called FSA again today and specifically asked for a supervisor who specializes in identity verification issues. After explaining I had already called multiple times, they transferred me to someone in the "identity resolution team" who immediately spotted the issue - my middle name was showing up in their system but I'd left it blank on my FAFSA. Such a simple fix that previous reps never caught. Try this specific approach before resorting to paper!