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If I could give 10 stars I would If I could give 10 stars I would Such an amazing service so needed during the times when EDD almost never picks up Claimyr gets me on the phone with EDD every time without fail faster. A much needed service without Claimyr I would have never received the payment I needed to support me during my postpartum recovery. Thank you so much Claimyr!
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Really made a difference, save me time and energy from going to a local office for making the call.
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An incredibly helpful service! Got me connected to a CA EDD agent without major hassle (outside of EDD's agents dropping calls – which Claimyr has free protection for). If you need to file a new claim and can't do it online, pay the $ to Claimyr to get the process started. Absolutely worth it!
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Used this service a couple times now. Before I'd call 200 times in less than a weak frustrated as can be. But using claimyr with a couple hours of waiting i was on the line with an representative or on hold. Dropped a couple times but each reconnected not long after and was mission accomplished, thanks to Claimyr.
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I tried for weeks to get thru to EDD PFL program with no luck. I gave this a try thinking it may be a scam. OMG! It worked and They got thru within an hour and my claim is going to finally get paid!! I upgraded to the $60 call. Best $60 spent!
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the whole FAFSA system is designed to CONFUSE us normal people so we give up and just take private loans with higher interest its all a SCAM
While the system can definitely be frustrating to navigate, Federal loans like Parent PLUS almost always offer better protections and often better interest rates than private loans. They include options like income-contingent repayment plans and potential loan forgiveness that private loans don't offer. It's worth pushing through the confusion for these benefits.
Thanks everyone for the helpful responses! I successfully completed both the credit check AND the MPN using my FSA ID. My daughter also completed her own MPN for her Direct loans. The financial aid office confirmed everything is now in order, and we should see the aid disbursed when classes start next month. What a relief!
@Justin Chang You re'definitely not alone in feeling overwhelmed by this process! I m'also new to navigating financial aid - my daughter is a high school junior and I m'trying to get ahead of the game. This thread has been a goldmine of information. @Khalil Urso, thank you for asking the exact question I would have asked! It s'such a relief to see that experienced parents like @Myles Regis and @Jacinda Yu are willing to share their knowledge. I m definitely taking'notes on creating FSA IDs early and keeping careful records of everything. The tip about Claimyr from @Ally Tailer is also something I m bookmarking for when'I inevitably get stuck somewhere in the process. This community really makes the whole financial aid journey feel less daunting!
@Khalil Urso Congratulations on getting everything sorted out! As someone who s'completely new to this process my (daughter is only a sophomore in high school ,)this entire thread has been incredibly educational. I had no idea that parents and students use separate FSA IDs for different parts of the financial aid process - that seems like such an obvious source of confusion! Reading through everyone s'experiences here has given me a much better understanding of what to expect when our time comes. I m'definitely going to follow @Hannah Flores advice about' creating our FSA IDs early and @Landon Flounder s tip about'saving screenshots of everything. Thank you for asking the question that I m sure many'of us parents would have, and thanks to everyone who shared their knowledge. This community is such a valuable resource!
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my sister had almost the same SAI last year an she got like $1200 in pell. her school also gave her some grant money that covered almost half of tuition so def wait for the full packages before worrying too much
Thanks for sharing that! After reading everyone's comments I'm feeling more hopeful. I'll definitely wait to see what each school offers before making any decisions.
As a newcomer to this process, I'm finding this thread incredibly helpful! My daughter is in a similar situation with her SAI, and I had no idea there were so many different types of aid beyond just the Pell Grant. Reading about the MAP grant for Illinois residents and how different schools might offer varying amounts of institutional aid is really eye-opening. It sounds like the key takeaway is to wait for all the financial aid packages before making any decisions, since the final cost can vary so much between schools. Thanks everyone for sharing your experiences - it's making this whole process feel less overwhelming!
Welcome to the community! I'm also new to this whole process and feeling the same way - everyone here has been so helpful in explaining things that aren't clear in the official FAFSA materials. It's reassuring to know we're not the only ones trying to figure all this out. The advice about waiting for all the aid packages really seems to be the consensus here. Good luck to your daughter!
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has your son checked his spam folder? sometimes the notifications go there. also tell him to login again and check the messages section on his student aid account dashboard. sometimes there are notices there that don't get emailed
He just checked both his spam folder and the messages section on his dashboard, but there's nothing there aside from the original confirmation that the FAFSA was submitted. It really does seem to be just stuck in processing.
I'm going through something similar right now! My daughter's FAFSA has been processing for about 4 weeks while mine completed within days. From what I've learned lurking in various financial aid groups, this seems to be the new normal unfortunately. The 2025-2026 FAFSA processing times are all over the place - some finish in 2-3 weeks, others take 6+ weeks. The system integration between parent and student data is definitely the bottleneck. I'd suggest having your son screenshot his current status page just in case, and maybe set a reminder to check weekly rather than daily (saves some sanity!). Also worth noting that many schools are automatically extending their priority deadlines due to these delays, so don't panic about May 1st just yet.
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UPDATE: after trying for 5 days straight i FINALLY got my contributor account working!!! what fixed it was using my PHONE instead of computer AND doing it at 4:30am when nobody else was on the system!! completed my part of both my kids applications. such a relief!!! if your still stuck try the middle of the night seriously it worked!!!
Congrats on getting it to work! The middle-of-the-night timing seems to be the key for a lot of people. My identity verification finally cleared this morning, and I was able to complete my contributor section. Such a weight off our shoulders! Now my daughter just needs to submit her final application. Thanks everyone for the help and moral support!
I'm dealing with this exact same issue right now! My son sent me the contributor invitation 6 days ago and I keep getting stuck at the same step 7. It's incredibly frustrating knowing that there's a known glitch and they have no timeline for fixing it. I'm going to try some of the suggestions here - the Edge browser in incognito mode and creating the FSA ID separately first. Also going to attempt it in the early morning hours when the system might be less overloaded. Thanks to everyone sharing their workarounds and experiences. It's reassuring to know we're not alone in this mess, even though it shouldn't be this complicated to help our kids with financial aid!
Welcome to the nightmare club! I just went through this exact same thing last week. The combination that finally worked for me was creating my FSA ID first at studentaid.gov (completely separate from the invitation), then using Edge browser in incognito mode at around 11pm to accept the invitation. The early morning timing that others mentioned seems to be key - the system is just overloaded during normal hours. Also make sure your name/DOB/SSN match your Social Security card exactly. Don't give up, it will work eventually! And remember most schools are extending deadlines because of these FAFSA issues.
Chloe Martin
Just to clarify some misinformation I'm seeing in this thread: The FAFSA and resulting SAI (Student Aid Index) is used to determine eligibility for federal grants and subsidized loans. Parent PLUS loans have a separate application process with different criteria. If your parent is denied for a PLUS loan, you should immediately contact your school's financial aid office about "additional unsubsidized loan eligibility due to PLUS denial." Dependent students whose parents are denied PLUS loans can receive the same higher loan limits that independent students are eligible for.
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Ravi Patel
•Thank you for explaining that! I'm meeting with financial aid tomorrow and will specifically ask about the additional unsubsidized loans. Fingers crossed this solves the problem.
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Saleem Vaziri
Just wanted to add that if your dad does get denied for the Parent PLUS loan, don't panic! I went through this exact situation last year. The additional unsubsidized loans you become eligible for can really help bridge that gap. In my case, I was able to get an extra $4,000 in federal loans after my mom's PLUS denial, which covered most of what I needed. Also, some schools have emergency aid funds or payment plans that might help with any remaining balance. Definitely talk to your financial aid counselor about ALL your options - they usually know about resources that aren't widely advertised.
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Ruby Knight
•This is really helpful to hear from someone who actually went through it! I'm definitely feeling less stressed knowing there are backup options. Did you have to do anything special to access those emergency aid funds at your school, or did financial aid bring those up automatically when you met with them?
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