FAFSA showing completed SAI but college says SSN issue needs fixing - confused!

ya this happened to my daughter too. the school kept saying her FAFSA wasnt done but the website showed it was. turns out there was a tiny mistake in how her SSN was entered (like one digit was wrong) but the system still generated the SAI anyway. weird system

Just because you can see the SAI doesn't actually mean everything is properly submitted! The system calculates your SAI based on the information provided, but there are technical verification steps that happen AFTER that calculation. Your son probably needs to fill out the verification form the school sent and correct his SSN. Did you check both your son's and your email for a message about this? The schools often send verification requests directly to the student.

This is actually a common issue with the 2025-2026 FAFSA. The new system allows the SAI calculation to complete even if there are verification issues that need to be resolved. Here's what you need to do: 1. Log into your son's studentaid.gov account (not yours) 2. Go to the "My FAFSA" section 3. Click on "View Submitted FAFSA" 4. Look for any yellow warning icons 5. If there are none, contact the school directly and ask for the specific verification form they need In most cases, the school will have a specific SSN verification form that requires your son to physically bring his Social Security card to the financial aid office or submit a notarized copy.

I went through this EXACT situation last month with my daughter's FAFSA. Called FSA for hours and couldn't get through. Finally used Claimyr (claimyr.com) to get a callback from an agent in about 20 minutes. They explained that the new FAFSA system has a bug where it shows as complete on the dashboard but actually has flagged issues. The agent helped us fix the SSN issue right over the phone. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ - saved us weeks of back and forth with the school!

THE FAFSA SYSTEM IS A DISASTER THIS YEAR!!!! My son had the EXACT same problem and we spent 3 WEEKS trying to fix it!!! The system is BROKEN and no one at FSA even understands their own rules. We finally had to go IN PERSON to the financial aid office with his social security card, birth certificate, AND drivers license just to get it fixed. Even after they processed the correction it took another 10 DAYS for the system to update!!!!!

FYI - I work in financial aid (not at your son's school). This happens constantly. The FAFSA system generates an SAI based on the information provided, but schools can't accept applications with SSN issues because it affects how we match your son's FAFSA to his actual school records and could result in missing aid. Don't panic though! Just call the school's financial aid office directly and ask specifically what form they need. Usually it's a quick fix.

Just a quick update - I got the SSN issue fixed with my daughter's application after we used that Claimyr service. The agent said nearly 40% of applications this cycle have similar verification issues because of how the new system processes things. The good news is that once it's fixed, the aid package usually comes through within 5-10 business days since the SAI calculation is already done.

UPDATE: We called the financial aid office this morning and they were super helpful! Turns out there was a transposed digit in my son's SSN. They're sending a specific verification form that he needs to complete and submit with a copy of his social security card. They said it should be processed within 3-5 business days after they receive it. Thanks everyone for your help!