FAFSA
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Do I need to file FAFSA for 8-week summer course before graduation in 2025?
My son is taking an 8-week summer course to finish his degree and will be completely done with college in August 2025. We've already submitted his FAFSA for the 2024-2025 academic year, but I'm confused about whether he needs to submit another FAFSA application for just this final summer course. The summer session crosses into the new financial aid year and I'm not sure if his current aid package covers it or if we need to do the 2025-2026 FAFSA. Has anyone dealt with this before? Would hate to miss out on aid for his final class!
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Why different FAFSA aid packages between colleges? One has subsidized loans & work-study, other only unsubsidized
I'm completely baffled by the financial aid packages my daughter just received. She applied to 5 colleges and we're comparing offers now. University of Westlake offered her both subsidized AND unsubsidized loans plus a tiny work-study award ($675/yr). But Crestview College only offered unsubsidized loans with no subsidized loans or work-study mentioned anywhere! I thought all schools used the same FAFSA data to determine eligibility? How can she qualify for subsidized loans at one school but not another? Our SAI score is the same for both schools. Is this normal or did Crestview make a mistake? Really worried because subsidized loans would save us thousands in interest while she's in school. Do we need to contact Crestview's financial aid office, or is this just how it works?
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has anyone else noticed that the work study amounts are getting ridiculously low?? $675 a year is like what, 2 hours of work per week?? how is that even helpful
You're right about the amounts getting smaller. Many schools are spreading their federal work-study allocation among more students, resulting in those tiny awards. The $675 award likely means about 2 hours per week at minimum wage. The strategy is that once a student is in the work-study program, departments can often increase their hours beyond the initial award if funds are available later in the year. It's basically getting a foot in the door for campus employment.
Update: We called Crestview's financial aid office this morning. They explained that their institutional policy is to only offer subsidized loans to students with SAIs below 12,000, and since ours is 13,245, we didn't qualify. They said their work-study funds had already been allocated to students with greater financial need. So mystery solved! We're now weighing whether the interest savings at Westlake (about $4,500 over 4 years) is worth choosing it over Crestview, which my daughter preferred academically. Thanks everyone for your help!
Thanks for updating us! This confirms what many of us suspected - different institutional policies for the same federal programs. For your decision, consider asking Crestview if they offer any merit scholarships your daughter might qualify for. Sometimes those can offset the difference in loan types. Also, remember that a student can accept partial loan amounts - she doesn't have to take the full unsubsidized loan offered if you can cover some costs another way.
Typical bureaucratic nonsense. "Sorry, you missed our arbitrary cutoff by $1,245 so no interest-free loans for you!" I'd still push back and see if they'll make an exception. Sometimes they have discretionary funds they don't tell you about unless you specifically ask. Good luck!
FAFSA website doesn't show award amounts per school - where can I find my daughter's offers?
Can anyone tell me once your FAFSA has been processed, can you see each school with the total amount for each school on the FAFSA website? This website is very confusing to me and I'm not very technically savvy. My daughter's FAFSA is processed and done, but I can't figure out how to view her financial aid offers for each college. I thought there would be a section that shows all the schools with dollar amounts next to them, but I can't find anything like that. Am I missing something or looking in the wrong place? Thank you in advance.
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One important detail that hasn't been mentioned yet: your daughter should also check if any of her schools require the CSS Profile in addition to the FAFSA. Many private colleges use both forms to determine aid. The CSS Profile goes through College Board (not studentaid.gov) and asks for more detailed financial information. If she hasn't completed that for schools that require it, her financial aid packages could be delayed or incomplete.
Oh no! I didn't know about the CSS Profile at all. Let me check with her right away. Would the schools have notified her if this was required? She applied to two private colleges so this might be important.
Yes, schools typically notify students if they require the CSS Profile, but these notifications can sometimes end up in spam folders or get overlooked in the flood of college emails. The good news is that many schools have late CSS Profile deadlines for exactly this reason. You can check which schools require it by visiting the College Board website. And don't worry too much - if it is required and she missed the deadline, contact the financial aid office immediately. Many schools are understanding and will still work with you, especially for incoming freshmen who are navigating this process for the first time.
Thank you so much for all this information! I'm learning so much. We'll check on the CSS Profile tonight and follow up with all the schools about their financial aid timelines. This whole process is much more complicated than when I went to college!
FAFSA correction nightmare - wrong SSN/birthday won't update but shows "under review"
I'm at my wit's end with this FAFSA correction process! We submitted my daughter's FAFSA last month, but realized my husband's social security number and birth date were entered incorrectly. When we tried to correct them through the correction portal, it wouldn't let us change those fields at all! So my husband tried to bypass that issue to at least fix the financial information that was also wrong. The system showed a confirmation page saying the corrections were received, but here's the crazy part - the confirmation showed completely different fields than what he actually changed! It's like it randomly picked other fields to show as "corrected." The application now says "under review" but we have no idea if the financial corrections he made were actually recorded. And to make matters worse, he can't digitally sign the form because the system recognizes his SSN/birthdate are wrong, but won't let him fix them! Has anyone dealt with this mess? How can we verify what corrections were actually submitted? Is there a way to get these identity fields changed when the system won't let you edit them directly?
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I made it through to a FAFSA agent yesterday using Claimyr and asked specifically about this issue - they said it's happening to a lot of people. The agent told me they can fix the SSN/birthday over the phone but you'll need: 1. The FSA ID of the student 2. The incorrect FSA ID of the parent (your husband) 3. Documentation proving the correct information The agent also confirmed the financial corrections often DO process correctly even when the confirmation page shows different fields. They suggested asking the agent to review all the financial data during the same call to confirm everything is correct.
That's really helpful - thank you! I'll have my husband create a list of all the financial corrections he tried to make so we can verify them when we call. Now I just hope we can get through without being on hold all day.
Just an update for anyone finding this thread later - I had the same issue in January and finally got it resolved. The key is getting a case number when you call FSA. Don't hang up without getting one! Then if you get disconnected or need to call back, you can reference that case number and won't have to start over explaining everything. Also, the "under review" status is actually good in this situation - it means a human is looking at it rather than just the automated system.
Thank you for that tip about the case number! I'll definitely make sure to ask for one. I've started documenting everything in a notebook too, just to keep track of dates, times and what was said.
FAFSA dependent reporting with long-term separation - whose income counts?
I'm completely lost trying to figure out the 2025-2026 FAFSA for my daughter who's graduating next year. My specific question is about reporting income when parents are separated but still legally married. Our situation: - Legally married but living separately for 16 years (different states the entire time) - My daughter has lived with me exclusively, only seen her father maybe 5-6 times total - Her father sends money monthly (not court-ordered since we're technically still married) - I provide most of her financial support (housing, food, medical, etc.) - We file taxes as "married filing separately" and I claimed her on my taxes Does the FAFSA still require BOTH our incomes even though we've been separated for 16 years? The new FAFSA form is confusing me because it asks about the "parent who provides more financial support" but then has all these exceptions for married couples. Will my SAI be calculated using both incomes even though he's barely in her life? I'm worried this will disqualify her from aid she should be eligible for based on MY income alone.
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i herd some people just put "divorced" on FAFSA even if technically still married. NOT saying u should do that but ppl do. might be considered fraud tho so probably not worth risk
This is absolutely NOT recommended. Providing false information on the FAFSA is considered fraud and can result in serious consequences including fines up to $20,000, prison time, having to repay all aid received, and being barred from receiving future federal student aid. The professional judgment route is the proper legal channel for addressing this situation.
Thank you all for the helpful advice! I'm going to: 1. Complete the FAFSA with both incomes as required 2. Immediately start the professional judgment process with each college 3. Gather documentation showing our 16-year separation and that I'm the primary caregiver 4. Use Claimyr to reach FSA for official documentation of their policy It's frustrating that the system doesn't account for long-term separations without formal documentation, but at least there's a pathway to get it addressed. I'll update this thread after we go through the process in case it helps others in similar situations.
Freya Thomsen
Just fyi when I graduated my last semester i only needed 2 classes and financial aid wouldn't cover it because I wasn't full-time anymore. Had to take out a private loan. Super annoying. Check if there's a minimum credit requirement for whatever aid he's been getting.
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Natasha Volkova
AuthorOh no, I hadn't even thought about the credit minimum! He'll only be taking 3 credits for this last course. I'll definitely need to look into this - thanks for the heads up!
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Malik Johnson
Since we're in 2024 now, I want to clarify some information about the 2025-2026 FAFSA that wasn't mentioned yet: 1. The 2025-2026 FAFSA will follow the new simplified FAFSA format that launched this year 2. It should be available December 1, 2024 3. Your son's SAI (Student Aid Index) will be calculated, not EFC 4. Since it's his final course, make sure his graduation date is correctly listed File the application as soon as possible after it opens to maximize his aid eligibility. Even for one course, it's worth completing if he's been eligible for grants in the past.
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Natasha Volkova
AuthorThis is incredibly helpful information - thank you! I've been hearing about the new FAFSA format but wasn't sure how it would affect us. I'll mark my calendar for December 1st to get it submitted early.
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