FAFSA PIN problem

<p>My son has decided he may go back to college full time this fall after being out for a while so we have completed his FAFSA and are ready to file. Applied for and got his PIN yesterday (already have ours from our daughter's FAFSA) but when we try to use it to sign his FAFSA it comes back with 'no match found'. Has anyone else had this happen? I am wondering if it takes a couple of days for the PIN number it to be valid?</p>

<p>Try this link to see if you can find anything out:</p>

<p><a href="https://pin.ed.gov/PINWebApp/PINServlet?state=600&locale=en_US%5B/url%5D"&gt;https://pin.ed.gov/PINWebApp/PINServlet?state=600&locale=en_US&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>Thanks. Already tried that. It is frustrating - when we try to use the PIN to sign FAFSA or try any of the options like check status it comes back with 'no match found'. So thinking maybe we made an error on the original application we tried re applying - and you guessed it - 'you already have a PIN on file'. grr. So there is a match and there isn't a match depending on what we try to do. Maybe it is because the weekend.</p>

<p>Just have to wait for a response to his email I guess. But I want it submitted now. The internet has spoiled us - can't stand to wait for a day to get things sorted out!!</p>

<p>That IS frustrating! I know how you feel ... I am also internet-spoiled. </p>

<p>I think it is possible the PIN might work tomorrow. Maybe it's like the bank ... you can make your online transfer between accounts on the weekend, but it won't show up in the right account until Monday! Hopefully, it's something that simple.</p>

<p>I think I ran into a problem that's slightly similar before, and worked it out with the "rerequest" of a pin option. They'll simply give you the one they have on file, so if theres already one there it will be sent to you instantly I believe.</p>

<p>Thanks kkiiji - but I already tried that and got the 'no match' message.</p>

<p>kelsmom - I am thinking/hoping the same thing. Trying again in the morning. Really want everything to go smoothly and speedily so I am gnashing my teeth a bit. It is pretty late in the day and we want to make sure all the financial aid ducks (expecting full Pell and some loans but need to see it in print) are in a row in time for him to give notice so he can quit his full time job and concentrate on school this time round!</p>

<p>Glad to hear he's back at it! :)</p>

<p>Swimcatsmom,</p>

<p>If you do not get the email you seek early tomorrow, you might try 1-800-4FEDAID. I have had some luck with this when helping kids in the past.</p>

<p>Swimcatsmom, can you still file a FAFSA this late and expect any aid at all? I'm just asking because my younger kid decided this summer to start college this fall at the local state U. We did all the FA filing for my older kid early in the year (FAFSA and Profile) and his aid is all worked out for 2008-09 --his freshman year-- at his private college.</p>

<p>Then younger kid decides she's going to start college a year early (she's met the testing and academic requirements for the local univ, has been accepted, and already registered for classes), but I was thinking it was just all too late for her to apply for any aid at this point. Is there any point in filing a FAFSA at this late date? (This is a FAFSA only school, and their own deadlines for institutional aid have passed.)</p>

<p>His EFC s/b zero and he should qualify for a full Pell grant which, as far as I know, does not have a deadline (I hope or the plans may fall apart). Stafford loans will also still be available. He will probably miss out on aid that has limited funding such as the Perkins loan, a State grant he would have qualified for if we'd applied a couple of months earlier, or SEOG all of which require early applications. If only he had decided a little earlier! We had talked to him about it but he did not realize his financial aid could be used toward his rent. The State Us here don't seem to have any institutional aid outside of merit scholarships which he probably would not qualify for.</p>

<p>I would certainly go ahead and apply if I were you.</p>

<p>aaaaaaahhhhhhh! I feel like I am going mad! Same problem continues today. Try to use the PIN, retrieve the PIN, check the PIN status and we get the 'no match in database message'. Try and apply for a new one and we get the 'you already have an application on file' message. Tried calling FAFSA and was told you have no match - apply again - even though we told her we already did that.</p>

<p>THIS IS SO FRUSTRATING</p>

<p>For assistance with problems or difficulties while using FAFSA on the Web, or for specific questions about the FAFSA, call the Federal Student Aid Information Center at 1-800-4-FED-AID (1-800-433-3243) or 1-319-337-5665. If you are hearing-impaired and have questions, contact the TTY line at 1-800-730-8913. </p>

<p>From the FAFSA "Contact us." From my experience, these folks are very nice. But you need a live person. Maybe you only "spoke" to a computer?!</p>

<p>I feel your frustration!</p>

<p>I did call that number and I did talk to a real person. She said we could mail it in (not something I want to do because of time issues) or reapply - have tried reapplying with no luck. Tried emailing and got a response saying to phone. Tried using the live chat and got a message saying internet explorer 7 and firefox do not support live chat. I am stumped. Will try calling again and see if I get someone different.</p>

<p>Well I called back and got a different lady. She went away and checked with someone and came back and said she thought it was because we applied on a Saturday and the application had not been through the full process yet (verification with SS etc takes 1-3 business days) which is why the database does not show it - in fact she was surprised we had already been able to access the PIN number. So she said to give it a day or 2 and try again. So I will have to be patient (but I want to get it done NOW!! Stamps foot) for a day or two. Fingers crossed.</p>

<p>
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but I want to get it done NOW!! Stamps foot

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</p>

<p>Isn't that just the way it is now with the internet?! :) I am EXACTLY the same way. I have a hard time waiting anyway, and I guess we forget that all of this stuff is really run by people.</p>

<p>I hope it works for you. I remember last year I made a really stupid mistake by entering a wrong number on my SS# for the PIN. I had to go through all kinds of night sweats, etc before it got fixed, including fedexing the corrected signature page. I thought it would take about two weeks to get the correction and new PIN sorted out, thereby missing the priority deadline. But it was all done in three days, start to finish. The FAFSA people are (mostly) very nice and helpful. Sit tight. Watch some TV. I saw a great movie yesterday-- "The Fall." Highly recommended for taking stress off. Or see something else. It will all be OK.</p>

<p>Thank you.</p>

<p>But now we have had an email saying it could not be processed because either his SS number, birthdate or name do not agree with what is on the SS records. I am pretty sure we entered it all correctly but am waiting for him to get back to me to double check the info on his SS card. Unfortunately we stupidly did not print out the page before submitting it so cannot be sure the mistake is not at our end.</p>

<p>So I called SSA and they said all the information I gave them was correct and agrees with what is on their records. Nothing they can do from their end (exact words -if it aint broke I can't fix it) and that I would have to contact FAFSA again. By now i was actually in tears of frustration after talking to FAFSA 3 times and SSA once and being on the phone all morning and getting nowhere. So being too upset to talk to anyone else on the phone (I am not easily driven to tears but was so frustrated and at a loss as to how to get help) I decided to try for about the 10th time to see if we could re apply for the PIN - amazingly this time it worked. We got the FAFSA submitted. But now I am waiting to see if some other problem occurs. Anyways fingers crossed.</p>

<p>Oh, I feel so bad for you!! I really hope it does all work out for you. BTW, there is no deadline for Pell ... at least that's one thing you can rest easy about.</p>