Hey Malik! I'm actually in a very similar situation - I completed a dental hygiene certificate program a few years ago and I'm now applying for a BSN program. From what I've learned through my research and talking to financial aid counselors, you should definitely still be eligible for Pell Grants! The key things that matter are: 1. You haven't exceeded the 600% lifetime eligibility limit (your 2-year vocational program likely only used about 200% of that) 2. You meet the financial need requirements based on your SAI 3. You haven't already earned a bachelor's degree I'd strongly recommend scheduling an appointment with the financial aid office at your prospective nursing school. They can do a preliminary review of your situation and even help estimate how much Pell funding you might receive. When I did this, they were able to pull up my previous Pell usage and confirm exactly how much eligibility I had remaining. Also, don't forget to submit your FAFSA as early as possible - some nursing programs have limited spots and financial aid is often awarded on a first-come, first-served basis after you meet the eligibility requirements. You've got this! The healthcare field really needs more dedicated people like you who are willing to go back to school to advance their careers.

Hey Malik! I'm a recent nursing graduate and went through the exact same process you're describing. I had completed a pharmacy tech certification program before starting my ADN, and I was definitely still eligible for Pell Grants. One thing I wish someone had told me earlier is to also look into state-specific nursing grants and scholarships. Many states have programs designed to address nursing shortages and will provide additional funding beyond federal aid. For example, some states offer loan forgiveness programs if you commit to working in underserved areas for a certain period after graduation. Also, when you're filling out your FAFSA, make sure you select "working on my first bachelor's degree" since your vocational certificate doesn't count as a degree. This ensures you're evaluated correctly for maximum aid eligibility. The nursing shortage is real, and schools and states are really incentivized to help people like you make this career transition. Don't let financial concerns hold you back - there are more funding options available than most people realize!

my roommate had this EXACT problem and it turned out his bank was blocking the verification attempts from the school!! call your bank and ask if they're blocking any verification attempts from your school. some banks have super strict fraud prevention especially for student accounts

Just wanted to add that if you're still having trouble after trying all these suggestions, check if your school requires you to accept your aid package first before setting up direct deposit. At my university, I had to log into the financial aid portal and formally "accept" each component of my aid (Pell Grant, loans, etc.) before the direct deposit option would even appear. Also, some schools have a waiting period after accepting aid before you can set up banking info - mine was 24-48 hours. Don't panic if it doesn't work immediately after accepting!

I went through this exact same frustration just a few months ago! The "contributor authorization pending" error is so misleading because it makes you think the problem is on your end. What really helped me was having my son walk me through the process while we were both logged into our accounts at the same time. We discovered that after he added me as a contributor, he had to actually click through a few more screens to finalize the invitation - it wasn't just a one-click process like we thought. Also, make sure your daughter checks her email for any FAFSA notifications that might need action on her end. Sometimes there are additional verification steps she needs to complete before parent contributors can be fully authorized. The whole system definitely has a learning curve, but once you get through it, the actual parent portion is pretty straightforward. Hang in there!

I'm dealing with this exact same issue right now! My son is a freshman and I've been stuck on the "contributor authorization pending" screen for almost a week. Reading through all these responses is incredibly helpful - I had no idea about all the specific steps involved in the authorization process. It sounds like the key is making sure my son actually submits the contributor invitation rather than just saving it. I'm also relieved to hear from @Paloma that this is a widespread problem and not just something we're doing wrong. The new FAFSA system seems so much more complicated than when I went through this process years ago! Going to try the logout/login approach that was mentioned and make sure we follow all those detailed steps @Tasia outlined. Thanks everyone for sharing your experiences - it's really helpful to know we're not alone in this struggle!

Just as a follow-up - be sure to have your daughter log back in exactly after the 3-day review period to check her SAI calculation and make sure everything looks correct. Sometimes there can be issues with the parent contribution information that aren't apparent until the full calculation is complete.

I went through this exact same situation last month! The automated emails really need better wording - they make it sound urgent for both parents when usually only one needs to act. Just wanted to add that you can also check your daughter's FAFSA dashboard to see if there are any actual "to-do" items listed. If everything shows as complete there, you're definitely good to go. The 3-day waiting period is standard and nothing to worry about!

Just wanted to add that if you're having trouble finding your SAR on studentaid.gov, make sure your FAFSA has been fully processed first! I made the mistake of looking for it right after submitting my FAFSA, but it takes a few days to a week for processing to complete. You'll get an email when it's ready, and then you can access the full SAR document. Also, some colleges have their own student portals where they'll display your SAI number once they receive your FAFSA data, but that's different from the official SAR document you download from the federal site.

This thread has been so helpful! I just want to add one more tip for anyone still confused - when you're on studentaid.gov, look for the section that says "View and Print Student Aid Report" or something similar. Sometimes the wording changes slightly but it's usually pretty prominent on your dashboard once your FAFSA is processed. Also, if your college's financial aid office is asking for your SAR via their online portal, you can usually upload the PDF directly rather than printing and mailing it. Most schools have moved to digital submission which is way faster. Just make sure the file name is clear (like "LastName_FirstName_SAR_2024-25.pdf") so they can easily identify it in their system. The whole SAI vs SAR confusion is totally understandable - even my college's financial aid counselor had to explain it to me twice before it clicked!