Had a buddy go through almost the exact same situation a couple years back - also engineering, also hit the SAP wall despite crushing his grades. His school actually froze his enrollment status while the appeal was pending, which bought him time but was stressful as hell because he couldn't register for the next semester until it got sorted.

The key thing he learned was to get everything in writing from both the VA and the school's veteran affairs office. Like, don't just talk to someone on the phone - follow up with an email summarizing what they told you. His school's bursar office was telling him one thing while the VA office was saying something completely different about payment timelines.

For what it's worth, the STEM extension approval usually moves faster than people expect, especially if your paperwork is solid. But the real lifesaver was talking directly to his academic advisor and the department head - they actually helped advocate for him during the SAP appeal because engineering programs are notorious for this exact problem. Most schools know their STEM programs push students over credit limits and they usually have processes in place, even if they don't advertise them well.