Hi Kristian! Welcome to the community! As a newcomer here, I found your question incredibly helpful since I'm also trying to navigate FAFSA for the first time. Your -1500 SAI is fantastic news for Pell Grant eligibility! From all the excellent responses you've received, it's clear that at 9 credits (three-quarter time), you'll get about 75% of the maximum Pell Grant, which equals roughly $5,546 for the full academic year or about $2,773 per semester. That's substantial help for your education costs! What really stood out to me from this thread was learning about all the additional resources available - TRIO programs, first-gen scholarships, state grants, work-study opportunities, and even financial literacy counseling. As someone also figuring this out without family guidance, it's reassuring to discover there are so many support systems designed specifically for students like us. I'm definitely taking notes on the advice about bringing your SAI calculation sheet and enrollment documentation to your financial aid appointment. Being well-prepared seems to make a real difference in getting accurate, personalized information. Thanks for asking such a thorough question - your post has created an incredibly educational discussion that will help many other newcomers understand the FAFSA process better!

Hi Kristian! Welcome to the community! As a newcomer myself, I wanted to thank you for posting such a detailed question about SAI and part-time Pell Grant eligibility. Your situation is really helpful for those of us just starting to understand how financial aid works. From all the excellent responses here, it's clear that your -1500 SAI puts you in the best possible position for Pell Grant eligibility! The breakdown that several knowledgeable members provided about receiving approximately 75% of the maximum award at 9 credits ($5,546 annually, split into roughly $2,773 per semester) gives such a clear picture of what to expect. What I found most valuable from this discussion was learning about all the additional support available to first-generation students - TRIO programs, emergency aid funds, financial literacy counseling, and state grants that can stack with federal aid. I had no idea these resources existed before reading through everyone's responses. I'm also planning to schedule a financial aid appointment at my school and will definitely bring my SAI documentation as everyone suggested. It's amazing how supportive and knowledgeable this community is - your question has created an incredibly educational thread that will help so many other newcomers navigate the FAFSA process with more confidence. Thanks for being so proactive in asking these important questions and creating such a helpful discussion for all of us who are just starting this journey!

I went through this exact nightmare with my stepmom a few years ago! She was convinced that filling out FAFSA would somehow make her liable for my college costs (spoiler alert: it doesn't). What finally worked for me was getting my high school guidance counselor to call her directly and explain the process. Sometimes parents will listen to an "official" person when they won't listen to their kids. Also, your sister should absolutely push harder with the financial aid office. Don't let them brush her off with "we need parent info" - that's lazy advice. She needs to specifically ask about: - Provisional independent status - Emergency aid funds - Work-study opportunities that don't require completed FAFSA - Payment plan options One thing that saved me was finding out my community college had a "student emergency fund" that I never would have known about if I hadn't kept pushing. They used it to cover my first semester while I worked on getting the FAFSA situation resolved. Keep fighting! The squeaky wheel gets the grease, especially in financial aid offices.

Your sister might also want to look into whether her community college participates in any "last-dollar scholarship" programs or has partnerships with local organizations. I work at a community foundation and we specifically have emergency education grants for situations like this - students whose families won't cooperate with FAFSA but who desperately need help. Many community colleges also have "completion grants" or "textbook voucher programs" that can help reduce overall costs even if she can't get traditional financial aid. These are often funded by local donors and don't require FAFSA. One more thing - if your dad is self-employed or has complex taxes, he might be worried about additional scrutiny. You could offer to have him speak with a tax professional who can reassure him that FAFSA submission doesn't trigger audits or create any additional tax liability. Sometimes it's just about addressing the underlying fear. Don't let her give up on her education because of this bureaucratic nightmare. There are people and programs out there specifically designed to help students in exactly this situation!

I'm new to this community and currently a freshman dealing with federal student loans for the first time. This thread has been incredibly eye-opening! I haven't received any of these Aidvantage interest emails yet, but after reading everyone's experiences, I'm definitely going to start monitoring my accounts much more closely. A few questions for those who've been through this: Is there a way to set up alerts or notifications when changes are made to your loan status? And should I be proactive about contacting my school's financial aid office to confirm they're properly reporting my enrollment to NSLDS each semester, or is that something that typically happens automatically? I'm also wondering if there are any patterns to when these errors tend to occur - like specific times during the semester or academic year when the system is more likely to glitch? Thanks to everyone for sharing such detailed advice. As someone completely new to navigating this system, having this kind of community support and real-world guidance is invaluable. I feel much better prepared to handle any issues that might come up with my loans now!

I'm also new to dealing with federal student loans and just joined this community after experiencing the exact same issue! My daughter is a sophomore and we started getting these alarming Aidvantage emails about interest accruing on her subsidized loans just last week, even though she's currently enrolled full-time. After reading through everyone's experiences here, I feel so much more informed about what we're dealing with. It's both reassuring to know this is a widespread system error and concerning to see how many people have had actual interest charges appear on their accounts. I'm planning to follow the excellent advice shared here: getting an enrollment verification letter from her registrar today, taking screenshots of her studentaid.gov account showing current enrollment status, and calling Aidvantage tomorrow morning asking specifically for a "Federal Student Aid specialist." Thank you to everyone who has shared their experiences and solutions - this thread has been incredibly helpful for someone like me who is completely new to navigating these kinds of loan servicing issues. It's unfortunate that families have to become experts in catching system errors, but at least there's a clear path forward based on what everyone has shared here!

I'm new here but wanted to share my experience since I just went through this exact situation with my daughter who receives survivor benefits. After reading all these helpful responses, I can confirm what everyone is saying - the survivor benefits DO get reported as your daughter's untaxed income on the FAFSA, not yours. I was initially confused about this too since the benefits are based on a parent's work record, but the rule is straightforward: whoever receives the payment reports it as their income. Make sure you use the 2023 amounts from her SSA-1099 form when filling out the 2025-2026 FAFSA. Don't stress too much about the impact on aid - my daughter still qualified for a good financial aid package despite having similar monthly benefits. The Student Income Protection Allowance helps shield some of the benefits from the calculation. The most important thing is accuracy from the start to avoid verification headaches later!

I'm new to this community and currently navigating this exact situation with my 16-year-old daughter who receives survivor benefits from her father's Social Security record. After reading through all these incredibly helpful responses, I finally understand that her benefits need to be reported as HER untaxed income on the FAFSA, using the 2023 amounts from her SSA-1099 form. I was initially panicking that these benefits would completely eliminate her chances for financial aid, but learning about the Student Income Protection Allowance and hearing from other families who still received good aid packages despite similar situations has been so reassuring. This thread has been more helpful than hours of trying to navigate the FSA website or waiting on hold to speak with someone. Thank you all for sharing your experiences and expertise - it's made what seemed like an impossible task feel completely manageable now!

As someone who just went through this process with my oldest last month, I can confirm it's much easier than it seems! One thing I'd add is to make sure your daughter has her FSA ID password handy - I spent 20 minutes helping my son reset his because he couldn't remember it. Also, the federal school codes are usually 6 digits and can be found easily by searching the school name in the FAFSA school search tool. The whole process took us about 15 minutes once we had everything ready. Don't stress too much - the system is actually pretty user-friendly for adding schools!

Just wanted to chime in as someone who literally did this yesterday! My son needed to add 3 schools after getting into a few more through regular decision. The process was super straightforward - logged into his studentaid.gov account, clicked "Make FAFSA Corrections," then selected "Add or Delete Schools." The key thing is to make sure you have those 6-digit federal school codes ready beforehand (you can search for them right on the FAFSA site). Took maybe 10 minutes total, and we got the confirmation email within an hour. The schools he originally listed were completely unaffected. Don't overthink it - the system walks you through each step pretty clearly!