<p>I'm currently working on the FAFSA application for the first time, and every time I try to save, it displays the following:</p>
<p>FAFSA on the Web has encountered an error. This could be due to normal database maintenance. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause. </p>
<p>You may return to the last page before the error occurred by selecting Continue, then try again. We recommend you save your application/correction. </p>
<p>Select Home Page to return to the FAFSA on the Web main page. If you have a saved application/correction and would like to open it, follow the directions on the Home Page. We will save your application for 45 days. </p>
<p>Has anyone else experienced this, and have any suggestions??? Thanks</p>
<p>what happened when you tried to go to the previous page?
If I remember correctly, every time you change pages you get a prompt to save your work, so you should only be losing one page.
In my experience, FAFSA works best with Explorer. I don't do Windows, but be sure you have latest version, have your disk defraged, PRAM zapped, and cache dumped before you start the FAFSA. It also helps if you do it after hours as their server may not be as overcrowded then.</p>
<p>Early, aren't you. Had similiar problems 3 years ago. The Help Desk is also literally swamped this time of year because of returning students applying for more $$ and new students trying to make a deadline of Jan 15 or there abouts. It doesn't get better. </p>
<p>The filing deadline to school if you are just applying is pretty soft (at least at Carnegie-Mellon) because the adcoms are just beginning to look at the the RA applications. To be sure, call the schools.</p>
<p>Keep saving the form. You probably did make an error somewhere and you just need to find it. You can print it out if you need to, Get and REMEMBER your Pin and send in the signature pages. Your Pin will stay with you as long as you need to file a FAFSA (could be all undergrad and grad years.)</p>
<p>Well, went all the way back to first page and tried to save it then, but still getting the same error on every page, including the first. Luckily, I've only entered student's info, so I think I'll just stop for the night and try it again tomorrow, when at least I'll be able to get tech support. The online interactive help stopped at midnight. Oh well, that's what I get for being a nightowl I guess. Thanks for your help, though!</p>
<p>Update: I lost all the information I had entered last night, but tried it again this morning and it is now saving. I guess 2:00 a.m. is not the time to work on your FAFSA!</p>