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Just to clarify some misinformation in this thread: The Beta FAFSA deadline from schools is NOT the same as the federal FAFSA deadline. Beta access is just early access to the 2025-2026 FAFSA form. If you can't get in through Beta, you can still complete the regular FAFSA when it opens fully, and you won't be penalized for financial aid eligibility. However, some schools use Beta participation for their internal priority deadlines, so do email your financial aid office to document your attempt and ask about any potential impact on school-specific aid.
UPDATE: Success! I finally got in using Microsoft Edge at 4:45 AM (couldn't sleep anyway from stressing about this). For anyone else having this issue, try super early morning hours with Edge browser, no extensions active. Email from the financial aid office confirmed they're extending the Beta deadline by 5 days due to widespread technical issues. Thank you everyone for your help!
That's great news! And smart strategy with the shared spreadsheet - I wish we'd thought of that. Glad everything worked out!
kinda off topic but does anyone know if you can update your fafsa after submitting? i forgot to add my mom's spouse and now im worried my SAI is wrong
Thank you all for your helpful responses! I'm going to call my financial aid office tomorrow morning to discuss my specific situation. It sounds like the SAI is just one factor they use, and my $5108 should still qualify me for some Pell Grant money. Fingers crossed my total package will be enough to cover most of my costs!
Anyone else finding the whole parent vs contributor thing confusing in the new FAFSA? Like I'm divorced and my ex has to fill out stuff too but he's not really a "contributor" financially if you know what I mean lol
Great question about the contributor situation! For divorced parents, the FAFSA now requires information from the parent who provides the most financial support to the student, regardless of who the student lives with. The other parent is not required to provide information unless they're still married to the providing parent. This is different from the CSS Profile (used by some private schools), which often requires information from both biological parents regardless of marital status.
Thank you all SO MUCH for the helpful advice! I've created our FSA IDs (still waiting on the verification email for my son's account), downloaded the worksheet PDF, and started gathering our 2023 tax documents. I feel much more prepared now. I'll definitely be trying to submit early on December 1st, but it's good to know about that Claimyr service if we run into technical issues. And I appreciate the clarification about the contributor vs parent situation - that could have been confusing! One last question - does anyone know if scholarships my son already won (a $5,000 merit scholarship from his top choice school) need to be reported on the FAFSA?
The merit scholarship from the school doesn't need to be reported on your FAFSA. The school already knows about it since they awarded it, and they'll factor it into your overall financial aid package. You only need to report external scholarships (like from community organizations, private companies, etc.) to the school directly, not on the FAFSA. Congratulations to your son on earning that scholarship!
Melody Miles
My nephew had a -2200 SAI last year and got COMPLETELY different packages from different schools. One private college covered almost everything with grants while a state university left a $15,000 gap even with the negative SAI. It's ridiculous how inconsistent the system is!!! And some schools took FOREVER to send aid packages. The financial aid system is just broken.
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Kaitlyn Otto
•This is unfortunately common. Many public institutions have limited institutional aid funds compared to wealthy private colleges. While the federal methodology (FAFSA) provides a standardized need assessment via the SAI, each school's ability to meet that need varies dramatically. This is why comparing final aid packages is crucial rather than making assumptions based solely on sticker price or institution type.
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Brandon Parker
Thank you all for the helpful information! I feel much better prepared now. I'll wait for the aid packages to arrive and carefully compare them using the spreadsheet method. I'm relieved to hear the negative SAI is good news for the Pell Grant at least. I'll also check out Claimyr if we end up waiting too long for any schools to respond. Will update here when we start getting packages!
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Adriana Cohn
•Good plan! And don't hesitate to contact financial aid offices directly if you have questions about specific offers. Sometimes they can adjust packages if you have special circumstances not captured on the FAFSA. Good luck to your daughter!
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