Can't reach FAFSA? Claimyr connects you to a live FAFSA agent in minutes.
Claimyr is a pay-as-you-go service. We do not charge a recurring subscription.
Using Claimyr will:
- Connect you to a human agent at the FAFSA
- Skip the long phone menu
- Call the correct department
- Redial until on hold
- Forward a call to your phone with reduced hold time
- Give you free callbacks if the FAFSA drops your call
If I could give 10 stars I would
If I could give 10 stars I would If I could give 10 stars I would Such an amazing service so needed during the times when EDD almost never picks up Claimyr gets me on the phone with EDD every time without fail faster. A much needed service without Claimyr I would have never received the payment I needed to support me during my postpartum recovery. Thank you so much Claimyr!
Really made a difference
Really made a difference, save me time and energy from going to a local office for making the call.
Worth not wasting your time calling for hours.
Was a bit nervous or untrusting at first, but my calls went thru. First time the wait was a bit long but their customer chat line on their page was helpful and put me at ease that I would receive my call. Today my call dropped because of EDD and Claimyr heard my concern on the same chat and another call was made within the hour.
An incredibly helpful service
An incredibly helpful service! Got me connected to a CA EDD agent without major hassle (outside of EDD's agents dropping calls – which Claimyr has free protection for). If you need to file a new claim and can't do it online, pay the $ to Claimyr to get the process started. Absolutely worth it!
Consistent,frustration free, quality Service.
Used this service a couple times now. Before I'd call 200 times in less than a weak frustrated as can be. But using claimyr with a couple hours of waiting i was on the line with an representative or on hold. Dropped a couple times but each reconnected not long after and was mission accomplished, thanks to Claimyr.
IT WORKS!! Not a scam!
I tried for weeks to get thru to EDD PFL program with no luck. I gave this a try thinking it may be a scam. OMG! It worked and They got thru within an hour and my claim is going to finally get paid!! I upgraded to the $60 call. Best $60 spent!
Ask the community...
- DO post questions about your issues.
- DO answer questions and support each other.
- DO post tips & tricks to help folks.
- DO NOT post call problems here - there is a support tab at the top for that :)
Join the conversation
Join the conversation
Leila Haddad
I'm wondering if there's a maximum amount before it becomes an issue? Like if your grandmother paid for your entire tuition would that be different than just meal plan? Anyone know?
Emma Johnson
•Great question. There's no specific dollar threshold that changes how these payments are treated for FAFSA purposes. Whether it's for a meal plan or full tuition, payments made directly to the institution by a third party are handled the same way. However, larger amounts might trigger more scrutiny or questions from the financial aid office, and as others have mentioned, some schools might adjust current year aid packages differently depending on the amount.
wait so if ur an independent student is that better or worse for getting financial aid? i'm confused
Emma Johnson
•Generally, independent student status is advantageous for financial aid because only your income and assets (and your spouse's if married) are considered - not your parents'. This typically results in a lower Student Aid Index (SAI) and potentially more need-based aid. However, independent students also lose access to certain types of aid like Parent PLUS loans, so there are trade-offs.
Join the conversation
Sean Murphy
SUCCESS UPDATE: We finally got it to work! The banner was there when my husband logged in, just like @profile4 mentioned. He clicked it, verified his identity again (for like the 5th time), entered his tax info, and was able to sign his portion. Our application status now shows "Processing" instead of "Action Required." Thank you all for your help - this forum literally saved us thousands in financial aid!
Luca Marino
Great to hear! Just a heads up - the "Processing" status typically takes 3-5 business days before you get your SAI calculation. If you filed separately, there's about a 40% chance you'll be selected for verification (compared to about 15% for joint filers), so don't panic if that happens. Just respond promptly with the requested documents. The new FAFSA system actually gives much better explanations of what each document should contain compared to previous years.
Sean Murphy
•Thank you for the timing estimate! I'll keep an eye out for verification requests. Is there anything specific they typically question for separate filers that we should prepare for?
Luca Marino
•They often want to verify why you file separately (usually a letter of explanation is enough), plus they'll compare income on both returns to check for consistency. If one spouse has much lower income, they sometimes request more documentation to verify that's accurate. Nothing too complicated, just be ready to explain your financial situation.
Join the conversation
Ruby Garcia
my niece goes to penn state and she said a lot of people dont know that u can appeal for more summer aid. but you gotta do it quick b4 the term starts!!!! did u try that??
Maya Lewis
•appeals rarely work for summer terms tho. i filed one last yr and was denied cuz they said summer funding is already "maxed out" whatever that means 🙄
One important detail no one has mentioned: Your 23-24 FAFSA technically covers Fall 2023, Spring 2024, and Summer 2024. If your son received full Pell for Fall and Spring, that would explain the reduced summer amount (hitting that 150% cap others mentioned). For the upcoming 2024-2025 academic year, make sure you've completed the new FAFSA (the simplified one that just launched). If you maintain a 0 SAI (formerly EFC), your son should be eligible for maximum Pell Grant amounts for the regular terms. And definitely check with Penn State about possible summer scholarship options - many schools have specific funds just for summer study that aren't automatically applied.
Yes, we did fill out the new FAFSA for 24-25 but it was quite a struggle with all the system issues. We still have a 0 SAI so hopefully the fall and spring will have better aid packages. I'll ask specifically about summer scholarships - didn't know those existed. Thanks!
Join the conversation
Aidan Hudson
Their probably just confusing their own internal policies with FAFSA requirements. I mean the financial aid office and admissions don't always talk to each other that well lol. Your brother passed the DOT physical so he's cleared to drive according to federal transportation guidelines. FAFSA only cares about $$$$ not medical stuff. The delay in processing is normal this time of year - my SAI score took almost a month to come through and I applied in February too.
That makes sense - it does seem like internal miscommunication. Glad to hear the processing delay is normal though, that's reassuring! He was worried something was wrong with his application.
UPDATE: Thank you everyone for your help! My brother called the Federal Student Aid Information Center directly and they confirmed his FAFSA application is processing normally with no issues or missing documentation. When he asked about any medical forms being required, the rep was confused and said they don't request that kind of documentation. He then went back to the school with this information, and after some back and forth, found out they were actually talking about a school-specific scholarship program for students with disabilities that requires additional documentation - NOT a FAFSA requirement! Just like some of you suggested! The miscommunication happened because he was talking to an admissions person who didn't understand financial aid very well. When he spoke with the actual financial aid office, they cleared everything up. His federal aid is processing normally and should be available soon. Such a relief!
So glad to hear this worked out! This is exactly why it's always best to go directly to the source (Federal Student Aid) rather than relying on secondhand information from school staff who might not be fully trained on all the details. Good luck to your brother with his CDL training!
Oliver Weber
i bet they're just using this as an excuse to delay processing applications again this year!! first they launch the new system late, then all these "technical issues" that conveniently push everything back. FAFSA is such a disaster this year, my kid's college financial aid office told me they're weeks behind on processing because of all these FSA problems
0 coins
Natasha Romanova
•While I understand your frustration, this specific issue is actually documented in the FSA knowledge base. It's related to the database architecture that doesn't properly separate historical student records from current parent contributor roles. The recent system upgrades were supposed to fix this, but clearly some edge cases still exist. I recommend documenting all your attempts to resolve this for your daughter's financial aid office - they can sometimes process a provisional financial aid package while technical issues are being resolved.
0 coins
Oliver Weber
•yeah well they've had YEARS to fix these "edge cases" and millions of dollars in funding. my nephew lost a scholarship last year because of fafsa delays. just saying it's suspicious how they always have problems right when deadlines are approaching
0 coins
Connor Byrne
UPDATE: We finally got this resolved! Calling the FSA helpline directly was the key. My husband had to have an agent manually update his account status from "student" to "parent" in their system. Once they did that, he was able to log back in and complete the parent signature section. The whole FAFSA has now been submitted. For anyone else facing this issue - be prepared to wait on hold for a while (we used that Claimyr service someone mentioned and it did help get through faster). Make sure you explain that the system is showing old student aid info instead of parent contributor options. They'll need the student's name and some verification info to make the update.
0 coins
Yara Elias
•Glad you got it fixed! I'm going to save this thread in case anyone else in my daughter's high school parent group runs into the same problem.
0 coins
QuantumQuasar
•Thanks for updating us with the solution. This is actually becoming more common as more parents who received federal aid themselves are now having children applying for college. The FSA system needs better handling of dual-role users (those who were once students and are now parents).
0 coins