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Update: FINALLY saw movement! Our application from March 17th just updated today with a processed date of March 25th. So there's a roughly 8-day processing time happening right now. Check your portals everyone!
That's encouraging! I just checked ours and it's still showing as processing, but hopefully that means we'll see movement in the next day or two. Did you get your SAI score right away once it processed?
Just wanted to add my experience - submitted March 19th and still stuck in processing. This thread is actually making me feel better knowing it's not just us! I've been refreshing the portal obsessively every day. My son has to commit to his college by May 1st and we really need to know what financial aid he's getting. Going to try contacting the schools directly like some of you suggested. Thanks for sharing all this info - at least now I know we're not alone in this mess!
This doesn't solve your immediate issue, but for anyone else reading this - if you have to make corrections to your FAFSA, make sure you're extremely careful. Many students are finding that correcting one thing is causing their entire application to get pushed to the back of the line for processing. Only make absolutely necessary corrections right now!
I'm so sorry you're going through this - it sounds absolutely exhausting! I'm a new member here but dealing with similar FAFSA nightmares. One thing that helped me was creating a detailed log of every call attempt (date, time, how long on hold, outcome) and sending that to both my school's financial aid office and my congressman's office. It shows the severity of the situation and some schools are being more flexible when they see documented proof of the system failures. Also, if your school has a student ombudsman or dean of students office, they might be able to advocate for you with enrollment services about the deposit deadline. Sometimes they have more pull than regular financial aid staff. Hang in there - this isn't your fault and you're definitely not alone in this mess!
One final note - make sure your son completes his contributor information promptly. All contributors must submit their information before the FAFSA can be processed. If he delays, it will hold up your daughter's entire financial aid package. The school's priority deadlines for financial aid are important - missing them can mean less aid for your daughter.
Just went through this exact situation last month! Had the same confusion with my 20-year-old who works but lives at home. Here's what I learned: if you're providing free housing, you're almost certainly providing more than 50% support even if he pays for other things. Housing costs are usually the biggest expense when you calculate fair market rent value. I ended up including my son (household size 4 in your case) and yes, he had to provide his tax info as a contributor. It was awkward but necessary. Don't risk verification by trying to exclude him if you truly provide majority support - the delays aren't worth it!
This is really helpful to hear from someone who just went through it! I'm definitely leaning toward including my son now. Quick question - when your son had to provide his tax info as a contributor, did he need to create his own FSA ID or could you enter his information for him? Just trying to figure out the logistics of getting him involved in this process.
This is such helpful information! I'm in a similar situation with my first Parent Plus loan and was starting to panic. Question for everyone - once MOHELA (or whatever servicer) finally contacts you, do they give you flexibility on when payments start? My daughter's tuition is due again in January and I'm worried about having two big expenses hitting at the same time. Can you request to delay the first payment by a month or two to spread things out better?
Yes, most servicers do offer some flexibility with payment start dates! When MOHELA contacts you, they'll typically give you a first payment due date, but you can usually call them to request a deferment or adjust the timing if your student is still enrolled at least half-time. I'd recommend calling as soon as you get your servicer information rather than waiting for the payment notice. That way you can plan around your tuition payment schedule. Also, many servicers offer the option to change your payment due date once you're established - like moving it to later in the month if that works better with your budget.
I'm going through the exact same thing right now with my son's Parent Plus loan! It's been about 4 weeks since disbursement and I was getting really anxious about not hearing anything. This thread is so reassuring - sounds like the 6-8 week timeline is totally normal. I'm definitely going to check studentaid.gov tonight to see if a servicer has been assigned yet. Has anyone had experience with getting email notifications when your servicer info gets updated, or do you just have to keep checking manually?
I don't think they send automatic email notifications when your servicer gets assigned - you pretty much have to keep checking studentaid.gov manually. But once your servicer does get assigned and you create an account with them, then you can usually set up email alerts for payment reminders and account updates. I learned this the hard way with my first Parent Plus loan! Now I just check the federal site every few days until I see the servicer info show up.
Emma Wilson
One more tip - when you're communicating with financial aid offices, be very specific about the dollar amount difference. For example, "Our 2023 income was $85,000, but $14,000 was temporary COVID hazard pay. Our projected 2024 income is $71,000." This specificity helps financial aid officers process your appeal more efficiently. Also, start this process early! Many schools have deadlines for special circumstance appeals, and they can run out of institutional funds if you wait until late in the cycle.
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Javier Gomez
•This is really helpful advice. I'll make sure to be very specific about the amounts and timing. I'm feeling much more prepared now - thank you all for the guidance!
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Ava Williams
Just wanted to add another perspective as someone who went through this process recently. When my daughter applied for the 2024-25 school year, we had a similar situation with my spouse's temporary pandemic-related income boost in 2022. A few things that really helped us: 1. Create a simple one-page summary document showing the income comparison (2023 vs projected 2024) that you can attach to each school's appeal 2. Keep copies of EVERYTHING - pay stubs, employer letters, tax forms. Some schools asked for additional documentation weeks later 3. Don't be discouraged if one school denies your appeal - each has different policies and available funds We ended up getting adjustments from 3 out of 5 schools she applied to, which made a huge difference in her final aid packages. The key is being organized and persistent. Good luck!
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