DONT DO IT!!!! The government is trying to trick parents into giving up our rights!!! My cousin consolidated her Parent PLUS loans and now they're garnishing her wages because the new loan didn't have the same protections!!! They're all LIARS

I just wanted to update everyone - I did more research and spoke with a financial aid counselor at my daughter's university. I've decided to go ahead with the consolidation for these reasons: 1. The payment under ICR will be about $320 lower than my standard repayment plan 2. I'm planning to retire in 12 years, and ICR will adjust to my lower retirement income 3. The slight interest rate increase (0.125%) is worth it for the payment flexibility The application was pretty straightforward on StudentAid.gov. They said it will take about 45 days to process. I'll update again once it goes through! Thanks everyone for your help!

Great to see you taking action so quickly! One additional tip - when you call Michigan tomorrow, ask specifically about their "Professional Judgment" process. This allows financial aid officers to make adjustments to your aid package based on special circumstances, including late FAFSA submissions. Also, don't forget to mention that your son is a serious candidate who's genuinely interested in attending - sometimes schools will work harder to put together a competitive package for students they really want to enroll. Good luck with those calls!

Just wanted to add another perspective as someone who went through this exact situation! My son added a school to his FAFSA in late April last year (even later than you!) and while he did miss some merit scholarships, the school still offered him a reasonable aid package. Michigan is actually pretty good about working with families - they have more funding than many state schools. One thing that really helped us was writing a brief letter to accompany our late FAFSA explaining why we were adding the school late (in our case, son got off a waitlist). It showed we were serious about attending and not just fishing for offers. Also, make sure to submit any additional required forms (CSS Profile, etc.) if Michigan requires them - being complete with all paperwork can make a difference even when you're late. Don't give up hope yet!

Just an update - I got my SAR today and reviewed it. The tax information they pulled from the IRS was actually correct! The reason my SAI is higher is exactly what @financialaidpro mentioned - the household size change made a big difference. I also learned the new formula treats some types of income differently. My school's financial aid counselor was able to explain the specific changes. For anyone else confused by the new form, definitely check your SAR and talk to your school's financial aid office!

Thanks for this thread everyone! I'm a parent helping my kid with their first FAFSA and was totally panicked when I couldn't find where to enter our tax info. Really reassuring to know this is the new normal and not a glitch. The direct IRS connection actually sounds more secure than manually typing everything in. Going to wait for the SAR and then reach out to the financial aid office if we have questions. This community is so helpful for navigating all these changes!

My daughter goes to UCSC and we had a similar issue last fall. They sent us a package with just loans first, then about 3 weeks later they updated it with her grants. Something about their system processing federal aid after initial packages go out. So annoying but it worked out eventually!

I'm a current UCSC student and went through almost the exact same situation two years ago! My initial financial aid package showed only loans despite qualifying for both Pell Grant and Cal Grant A. Here's what I learned: UCSC sends out "preliminary" packages in waves, and federal grants often get added in later updates. The key is that if your FAFSA shows an SAI of 1506 and it's been successfully processed, the Pell Grant WILL come through - it's federally guaranteed. For immediate action, I'd recommend: 1. Call UCSC financial aid at 831-459-2963 (try calling right when they open at 8am for shorter wait times) 2. Ask specifically if this is a "preliminary package" and when they expect grant updates 3. Request they check for any verification flags or missing documents The Cal Grant/UC Davis mix-up is separate but fixable - log into your WebGrants account and submit a school change request. It took about 10 business days to process when I did it. Don't panic - with your daughter's SAI, she should ultimately receive around $16,000+ in combined grants. UCSC's financial aid office is slow but they do eventually get it right!

has anyone actually had success calling FSA directly? i tried three different times about my verification issue and couldn't get thru

I went through this exact situation two years ago! Had to correct my parent's retirement distribution that they initially forgot to report. Here's my timeline and what I learned: My correction took exactly 18 days to process, which was nerve-wracking but still gave me time before my school's deadline. The key things that helped me: 1. I submitted the correction on a Tuesday morning (avoid Fridays/weekends) 2. I called my school's financial aid office the SAME DAY I submitted the correction to give them a heads up 3. I checked my FSA account every 2-3 days for status updates The waiting was honestly the worst part, but most corrections do process within 2-4 weeks. Since you're being proactive about it now, you should be fine for May 1st. The financial aid offices are used to dealing with this - they won't penalize you for an honest mistake that you're fixing promptly. One tip: when you call your school, ask them to put a note in your file about the pending correction so they know to expect an updated SAI. Some schools will even prepare a preliminary aid package and just update it once the correction processes. You got this! The stress is temporary but getting it fixed properly is worth it.