my daughters counselor said like 30% of all fafsas r getting flagged for review this year bcuz of the new system. its normal but super annoying!!!

Update on your situation: I've just learned from a financial aid conference call that the Department of Education is specifically reviewing applications with multiple students from the same household at a higher rate this year. This is because the new simplified FAFSA doesn't have as many cross-verification questions as previous versions. For families with students in different grade levels (like your junior and senior), they're looking to verify that household information is consistent across applications. Your daughter's application going into review after initially being processed is actually a normal part of this new protocol. As long as you reported consistent information for both students, everything should resolve itself within 2-3 weeks. Just make sure to respond to any document requests within the timeframe specified.

I work part-time in my university's financial aid office, and we see Bright Futures issues all the time. Most common problems: - Student didn't send final high school transcript to their college (yes, even after being admitted) - Student's major is listed as "undecided" (some Bright Futures levels require a declared major) - Student didn't complete the FFAA verification steps after initial approval - Credit hours dropped below minimum for full funding Call your school's financial aid office and specifically ask: "Is my Bright Futures scholarship showing as eligible for disbursement in your system?" That exact wording will get you the right answer.

Also, one more thing I forgot to mention - make sure to check your school email regularly! UCF sent me three important emails about Bright Futures that went to my school email, not my personal one. One of them required action within 14 days or my funding would have been delayed. The whole system is designed to make you fail, I swear 🙄

does anyone know if the same rules apply for the CSS Profile too? my daughters school requires both fafsa and css profile and im confused about which parent info goes where

Thank you all so much for the helpful advice! I'm going to start collecting all these documents now and will try to get through to FSA with that Claimyr service someone mentioned. I'll also reach out to all the schools my son is applying to about their specific requirements. It sounds like I'm in for a paperwork marathon, but at least I have a clearer picture of what to do now. Really appreciate everyone sharing their experiences!

had the same problem but with income verification. Still waiting after 3 weeks... 🙄

FINAL UPDATE: Got the new SAI number today - only took 3 business days! And good news - updating our family size from 3 to 4 people lowered his SAI by about $2,500. Already notified his schools about the change. Thanks again to everyone who helped!

One more thing to consider - even if your son gets accepted as a transfer student for fall, he might want to compare financial aid packages between his current school and potential new schools. Since you've already completed FAFSA, you'll be able to compare offers. Just make sure when adding the new school codes that you select to have your FAFSA information sent to them - it doesn't happen automatically just by adding them. Also, if he's considering State University, their transfer application deadline for fall was actually extended to June 15th this year (they normally close earlier). I know because my nephew just applied there as a transfer.

There's one critical point no one has mentioned yet. When you log into studentaid.gov to add more schools to your son's FAFSA, make sure you're updating the correct aid year (2024-2025). I've seen many parents accidentally modify the wrong year when making changes. Also, since your son will be transferring as a sophomore, make sure he understands how credit transfers work. Not all credits transfer equally between institutions, and this could potentially extend his time to graduation which has significant financial implications.