Great to hear your verification went through quickly! As you complete your portion, make sure you're prepared with your tax information from 2023 (for the 2025-2026 FAFSA). The system will likely use the IRS Data Retrieval Tool to pull your information automatically, but having your documents handy helps if you need to enter anything manually. Also, don't be alarmed if you see a message about your information being "sent for processing" after submission. That's another normal waiting period (typically 3-7 days) before your student receives their SAI (Student Aid Index, formerly EFC).

This is such a helpful thread! As someone who's about to start this process with my daughter next year, it's really reassuring to see all the detailed experiences and advice. The tip about making sure names match exactly with Social Security records seems particularly important - I'll definitely keep that in mind. Also bookmarking that Claimyr service just in case we run into any roadblocks with phone support. Thanks everyone for sharing your experiences!

This is such a helpful and comprehensive response! As someone new to navigating financial aid, I really appreciate you breaking down the specific action steps with timelines. The point about department scholarships is especially valuable - I never would have thought to contact the academic department directly. It's reassuring to hear from an actual financial aid counselor that persistence can pay off. I'm definitely going to follow this roadmap starting Monday morning. Thank you for taking the time to share your professional insights!

This thread has been incredibly eye-opening for me as a parent just starting to navigate the financial aid process. I had no idea that the SAI was just a starting point and not an actual guarantee of what you'd pay - that seems so misleading! Reading everyone's experiences, it sounds like the key takeaways are: 1) Don't just accept the first offer, 2) File CSS Profile if the school accepts it, 3) Document any special circumstances for appeals, and 4) Contact departments directly for additional scholarships. @Daniel Washington I really hope the appeal process works out for you - please keep us updated on how it goes! And @Giovanni Rossi thank you so much for the professional insights, this is exactly the kind of guidance parents need but rarely get upfront in the process.

One other thing to check - make sure you're using the correct parent role classification. If you indicated you're the "Parent 1" and your husband is "Parent 2," the system expects specific role relationships. Try switching the parent roles if nothing else works. Also, verify you selected the correct marital status at the beginning of the parent section (married, remarried, separated, etc.) as this affects how the system processes spouse information.

I went through this exact same nightmare last month! Here's what finally worked for me after trying everything mentioned here: 1. Log out completely and clear ALL browser data (not just cache) 2. Use an incognito/private browser window 3. Make sure you're entering the spouse info in the EXACT order the form expects - I was jumping around fields which seemed to confuse the system 4. If his name has ANY special characters (apostrophes, hyphens, spaces), try entering it without them first just to get past the error, then contact support to fix it later The apostrophe issue @Hugo mentioned is REAL - my husband's name is O'Connor and removing the apostrophe was the only way to get it to accept. The financial aid office fixed it later with no problems. Also, try doing it during off-peak hours (early morning or late evening) when fewer people are using the system. Good luck!

I'm new to this community and just wanted to say how helpful this entire thread has been! I'm currently dealing with a similar situation where my loan shows as accepted in my school's system but isn't appearing on studentaid.gov yet. Reading everyone's experiences and advice here has been such a relief - I had no idea this kind of delay was so common. The practical tips about getting written documentation from financial aid and asking about pending aid holds are especially valuable. As someone navigating federal student loans for the first time, the whole system feels overwhelming and confusing. It's reassuring to see that most of these situations work out fine and that schools have procedures in place to help students avoid getting dropped from classes while waiting for federal processing. Thank you Noah for starting this conversation and everyone for sharing your experiences and knowledge. This community is such a great resource for students trying to figure out the complex world of financial aid!

I'm new here but wanted to share my experience since I just went through something very similar! My subsidized loan was accepted through my school's portal about 3 weeks ago and didn't show up on studentaid.gov until literally the day before it actually disbursed. I was having panic attacks thinking something went wrong, but my financial aid advisor assured me this is completely normal. The key thing is that your school showing September 18th as the disbursement date means they've already processed everything on their end and submitted it to the Department of Education. The federal database just updates really slowly - sometimes not until right before or even after the money actually hits your account. What saved me was getting a "financial aid pending" notation on my student account from the bursar's office. I just brought them a printout from my school's financial aid portal showing the accepted loan and disbursement date, and they immediately put a hold on my account to prevent any late fees or class drops. Most schools are super familiar with this situation since it happens constantly. I'd definitely recommend calling both your financial aid office AND the bursar's office tomorrow morning to get that protection in place while everything processes. The stress is real but you're most likely totally fine!

As a newcomer to this community, I'm incredibly grateful for this detailed and helpful discussion! I'm currently facing a very similar situation with my 16-year-old granddaughter who I've had legal custody of for 6 years. The clarification about independent student status for legal guardianship has been eye-opening - I had completely misunderstood how this would work for FAFSA purposes. Like many others here, I was worried that including my income would negatively impact her financial aid eligibility, so learning that only her income (including child support) needs to be reported is actually wonderful news. One question I haven't seen addressed yet: Has anyone dealt with situations where the student receives support from multiple sources? My granddaughter receives child support from her father, but I also provide her with a monthly allowance and her aunt occasionally sends money for clothes and activities. I'm wondering how to properly report these different income sources, or if some don't need to be reported at all. Also, I want to thank Carmen especially for the professional insights - having someone who actually works in financial aid participate in this discussion has made it so much more valuable for all of us guardians trying to navigate this complex process. This thread should definitely be a go-to resource for anyone in similar situations!

As a newcomer to this community and someone navigating a similar guardianship situation, this thread has been absolutely invaluable! I'm currently preparing for my nephew's college applications (I've been his legal guardian for 2 years), and I had completely misunderstood the FAFSA process. The clarification about independent student status for legal guardianship is huge - I was dreading having to report my income and thought it would hurt his aid chances. Learning that only his income needs to be reported actually makes this much more hopeful for us financially. I wanted to add one resource that might help other guardians here: I found that contacting the high school's guidance counselor early in the process was really beneficial. Our counselor had dealt with guardianship situations before and was able to connect us with a local nonprofit that helps families navigate college financial aid. They even have workshops specifically for non-traditional family situations. Also, for anyone feeling overwhelmed by all the documentation requirements mentioned in this thread - start gathering everything now, even if your student is still a junior. Having the court papers, any correspondence about the guardianship, and records of support payments organized early will save so much stress later. Thank you to everyone who shared their experiences, especially Carmen for the professional insights. This community is such a valuable resource for those of us in unique family situations!