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Something to keep in mind - your daughter's financial aid package will likely improve after freshman year. The loan limits increase ($6,500 for sophomore year, $7,500 for junior/senior years). Additionally, once she's on campus and established, she'll have more opportunities for departmental scholarships and upper-level work opportunities that often pay better than first-year work study positions. Also, don't overlook outside scholarships! Local community organizations, parent employers, and industry associations often offer scholarships that have much less competition than national ones. Even small scholarships of $500-$1000 can add up quickly.
That's good to know about the increasing loan amounts - though I was hoping to minimize how much she needs to borrow. I hadn't thought about checking with my employer for scholarships, that's a great suggestion! Do outside scholarships affect the financial aid package the school offers?
Unfortunately, yes - many schools will reduce their institutional aid dollar-for-dollar when you receive outside scholarships. However, they typically reduce loans or work study first before reducing grants. Some schools have more generous policies where they'll only reduce a percentage of their aid when outside scholarships come in. Definitely ask each financial aid office about their outside scholarship policy.
Based on your SAI, your family is expected to contribute about $31,422 per year toward college costs. Any college with a cost of attendance higher than that amount means your daughter would have demonstrated need. For example: If a college costs $50,000/year total (tuition, room, board, etc.): - Your demonstrated need would be $18,578 ($50,000 - $31,422) - This can be filled with various aid types (loans, work-study, grants) If a college costs $25,000/year: - You'd have no demonstrated need since your SAI exceeds the cost - You'd still get the unsubsidized Direct Loan ($5,500) since that's not need-based This is why you might see very different packages from different schools depending on their total cost.
That makes so much more sense now! Most of the schools she applied to are in the $40-55k range, so it sounds like we'll definitely have some demonstrated need. Is that $31,422 expected contribution per year for all four years? Or does it change each year when we resubmit the FAFSA?
You'll need to submit the FAFSA each year, so your SAI will be recalculated annually based on your updated financial information. It could go up or down depending on changes in your income, assets, or if you have another child starting college (which would significantly lower your SAI per child).
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Good news for you - I just checked and Mass Maritime does NOT require the CSS Profile, so that's not holding things up. Their website says financial aid packages should be released 2-3 weeks after FAFSA processing, so you're right at that window. If you can get through to the office, ask specifically if they need any verification documents. That's the most common holdup in aid packages - when they need additional tax documents or income verification.
That is good news about the CSS Profile! I'm going to try that phone service mentioned above to actually reach a human and ask about verification documents. Will update when I know more. Thanks everyone!
UPDATE: I just checked Mass Maritime's financial aid website and they specifically state that all financial aid offers for Fall 2025 are being delayed by approximately 7-10 days due to FAFSA changes and processing issues. They're sending them out in batches based on application date. This is happening at many schools this year with the "new FAFSA" rollout causing nationwide delays. They should have communicated this better!
THANK YOU for checking this! That's the first concrete info we've had about the delay. Frustrating they didn't email this update to anxious parents and students. Will check back in next week then. You've all been so helpful - I feel much less alone in this process now.
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One important thing to remember is that the Parent Plus loan isn't directly tied to the SAI calculation or the initial financial aid package. Once your son receives any financial aid offer from a school, you can apply for the Parent Plus loan separately to cover remaining costs up to the cost of attendance. Even if there are delays with the initial aid package, you'll typically have time to complete the Parent Plus application before payment is due. The Parent Plus application process is separate from the FAFSA and usually takes just 3-5 business days for credit approval.
That's really helpful to know about the Parent Plus timeline. We're planning to use that for most of the cost, so I've been worried about the timing of everything.
I submitted my FAFSA on January 22nd and just received my SAI yesterday. The entire financial aid process seems much slower this year with the new system. Once we got the SAI, I immediately called my daughter's top choice school and they confirmed they had received the information. One suggestion - check your spam folder regularly. My SAI notification went to spam, and I only found it when I manually checked. Also make sure your contact information is up to date on studentaid.gov.
Thanks for the spam folder tip! Just checked and nothing there yet, but I'll keep looking. Congrats on finally getting your SAI!
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For National Guard members doing the typical one weekend per month plus two weeks in summer, they generally remain dependents if under 24 and not meeting other independence criteria. The military service that automatically confers independent status is active duty (not training). To directly answer your original question about multiple students: When you log into your FSA account as a parent, you'll see a dashboard that shows all students who have invited you as a contributor. You can toggle between their applications and complete your sections for each one. The system has improved in recent months - initially there were issues with the multiple student setup, but most have been resolved.
Perfect explanation, thank you! I feel much more confident about handling both applications now. Will have my son create his FSA ID tonight and start his process.
BTW tell ur son to check with the URI veterans office too, not just financial aid. My nephew got extra $ for books and stuff through some Guard education program that financial aid didnt even know about
That's a great suggestion! Will definitely have him check with the veterans office as well. Every bit helps with those non-tuition expenses.
Yara Sabbagh
My daughter had to submit her fafsa last month and we kept having problems too. but it was with the student contribution section not the parent part. anyway we gave up on the website and went to her college financial aid office and they helped us finish it right there. maybe try that?
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Miguel Ramos
•The financial aid offices are completely overwhelmed right now. My sister works in one and said they're booking appointments 3-4 weeks out just to help with FAFSA issues. The Department of Education really screwed up this rollout.
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Dmitry Kuznetsov
Just checking back - were you able to fix the issue using any of these suggestions?
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Sofia Hernandez
•YES!! I finally got it working! I used that Claimyr service to get through to an actual FSA agent. The woman I spoke with was super helpful and explained that there was a conflict between how my name was entered in the FSA ID system versus my tax records. She made some adjustment on their end and had me try again while on the phone with her. The form finally processed correctly and I was able to complete the entire application! Such a relief. Thanks to everyone who offered suggestions - this forum saved my sanity!
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