This whole new FAFSA process is such a mess compared to previous years. My daughter and I spent hours trying to figure it out. The "contributor" system is confusing and not intuitive at all. But once you get past these initial hurdles, the SAI calculation seems more straightforward than the old EFC at least.

I'm new to this whole FAFSA process and reading through all these responses is both helpful and terrifying! 😅 My daughter is a junior in high school so we're just starting to prepare for next year. It sounds like the main things to watch out for are: 1) being super careful with the dependency questions, 2) making sure both parent and student have their own FSA IDs set up well in advance, and 3) understanding this "contributor" system. Are there any other common pitfalls we should be aware of before we dive into this next year? Also, when should we actually start the FSA ID creation process - is there a recommended timeline?

I went through this exact same worry two years ago when my son was a sophomore! Our SAI changed from -$1,100 to $0, and I was convinced we'd lose thousands in aid. The reality was much less dramatic - his package only decreased by about $600 total. What really helped was understanding that most schools don't just plug your SAI into a formula and call it a day. They look at trends in your financial situation, family circumstances, and academic performance. Since your income only went up $2,800 and everything else stayed the same, you're showing consistency rather than a major change in financial capacity. One thing I wish I'd known earlier: some schools have "SAI bands" rather than using exact numbers. So a change from -$1,500 to $0 might not even move you into a different aid category at your daughter's school. Definitely worth asking about when you call their financial aid office!

I'm new to this whole process (my daughter is a high school senior), but reading through everyone's experiences here has been incredibly educational! It's really reassuring to see so many examples where the actual impact was much smaller than feared. From what I'm gathering, the consensus seems to be: 1) contact the financial aid office proactively, 2) ask about how they use SAI in their calculations (especially if they use bands), 3) mention any unchanged circumstances when submitting CSS Profile, and 4) remember that schools look at the bigger picture beyond just the SAI number. @Jamal Brown - your change from -$1,500 to $0 really does seem relatively minor based on everyone's shared experiences. Fingers crossed your daughter's aid package stays mostly intact! This thread has definitely given me a better understanding of what to expect when we go through this process next year.

I'm just starting to navigate this same situation with my twins who both got accepted to UCs this year - one to UC Riverside and one to UC Santa Cruz. Reading through all these experiences has been incredibly eye-opening and honestly both encouraging and nerve-wracking at the same time! What I'm realizing is that I need to act fast on these appeals. I've been procrastinating because the whole process seemed so intimidating, but seeing that multiple people here have had success with appeals for multiple children in college is giving me the push I need to get started. A few questions for those who've been through this: 1. Is there a particular order I should tackle things in? Should I call both financial aid offices first to understand their processes, or jump straight into gathering documentation? 2. For those who mentioned department-specific scholarships - is this something I should pursue simultaneously with the main financial aid appeal, or focus on one thing at a time? 3. Has anyone had experience specifically with UC Riverside or UC Santa Cruz appeals? I'm wondering if the smaller UCs have different approaches or success rates. I'm also curious about the timeline - for those who were successful, how long did it take from submission to getting additional aid awards? I'm trying to plan out our family budget and would love to have some idea of when we might hear back. Thank you all so much for sharing your experiences - this thread is like a masterclass in UC financial aid appeals that I never knew I needed!

I'm in a very similar situation with my daughter at UC Berkeley and my son who just got accepted to UCLA! Reading through everyone's experiences here has been incredibly helpful and gives me hope that appeals can actually work. One thing I wanted to add that I learned from our financial aid counselor - make sure to check if your family qualifies for any fee waivers or payment plans that might not be obvious. Some UCs offer monthly payment plans that can help spread out the costs, and there are sometimes additional fee waivers for things like application fees for graduate school or study abroad programs that can add up over time. Also, I've found that timing your phone calls right when the financial aid offices open (usually 8 AM) gives you the best chance of getting through quickly. I was able to speak with someone at UC Berkeley within 10 minutes using this approach, whereas calling later in the day meant 45+ minute hold times. For documentation, I created a simple checklist for each school with their specific requirements so I didn't miss anything. Happy to share the template if anyone wants it - just having everything organized made the whole process feel much more manageable. Keep pushing forward everyone - the appeals process really can make a difference for families with multiple kids in college!

This thread has been incredibly eye-opening! I'm a junior just starting to think about college applications, and the ED vs RD financial aid question has been keeping me up at night. My family's income fluctuates quite a bit (parents are both freelancers), so we're never quite sure where we'll land on the aid spectrum. Reading everyone's experiences, it seems like the consensus is: FAFSA calculations stay the same, but merit aid often gets reduced for ED applicants. The strategy of getting a "pre-read" from financial aid offices sounds brilliant - I'm definitely going to try that approach. One thing I'm curious about that hasn't been mentioned much: how do schools handle families with unusual income patterns (like freelancing income that varies year to year) in their ED financial aid decisions? Do they typically look at multi-year averages, or focus on the most recent tax year? This variability makes those net price calculators pretty unreliable for us, so I'm wondering if that makes ED even riskier for families like mine. Also, for those who successfully appealed their aid packages, how long did that process typically take? I'm wondering if there's enough time to appeal and still make other college decisions if the ED package ends up being inadequate. Thanks to everyone sharing their experiences - this is exactly the kind of real-world insight that's impossible to find in official college resources!

As someone who's currently helping my younger sibling navigate this exact situation, I want to add another perspective that might be helpful. One thing we discovered is that some schools have what's called "ED II" (Early Decision II) deadlines in January, which can be a good middle ground strategy. Here's why ED II might work better for families concerned about financial aid: you can submit your FAFSA earlier in the cycle (since it opens October 1st), potentially get some preliminary aid estimates from other schools you've applied to RD, and still get the admissions boost of an early decision application - just with a bit more financial information to guide your decision. Also, I want to emphasize something that got touched on but deserves more attention: the difference between "meeting full demonstrated need" and "meeting full demonstrated need without loans." Schools that have eliminated loans from their aid packages tend to be much more consistent with their aid offers regardless of application timing, since they're not using loan amounts as a variable to adjust packages. One practical tip: if you do decide to go the ED route, start building relationships with the financial aid office early. Don't just call once for a pre-read - follow up with thank you emails, ask clarifying questions, and make sure they know your name. Having advocates in the financial aid office can make a huge difference if you need to appeal or request special consideration later. The key is going in with your eyes wide open and multiple backup plans ready!

As someone new to the FAFSA process, this thread has been incredibly eye-opening! I had no idea that such small data entry errors could cause such massive differences in SAI calculations. The fact that a single missing digit in the home value caused nearly a 1200-point difference between twins is both shocking and educational. I'm definitely going to be extra paranoid about double-checking every single field when I fill out my daughter's FAFSA next year. Thank you to everyone who shared their experiences and solutions - especially the tip about using Claimyr to actually get through to FSA. The wait times have been brutal this year! It's reassuring to know that these errors can be fixed once identified, even though it's frustrating that the system doesn't have better validation to catch them in the first place.

This thread has been such a lifesaver! I'm currently dealing with a frustrating FAFSA situation with my daughter - her SAI came back as 892 when all the online calculators predicted it would be around 200-300. After reading about everyone's experiences here, especially Bethany's missing digit in the home value, I went back through our application with a magnifying glass. I'm pretty sure I found the issue - I think I accidentally entered our annual income as $87,400 instead of $84,700. It seems like such a small difference, but I'm wondering if that $2,700 error could explain the higher than expected SAI? I'm definitely going to try using Claimyr to get through to FSA and get this corrected. Thank you all for sharing your stories and solutions - this community is amazing!