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I've been working in financial aid for 12 years and this is THE WORST rollout I've ever seen. The simplified FAFSA was supposed to make things easier but the technical problems have been endless. Please be patient with your schools' financial aid offices - we're just as frustrated as you are! One tip: if your student is deciding between schools, contact each financial aid office directly. Many have institutional funds they can use while waiting for official FAFSA processing.
wait ur saying they're actually getting through applications from January NOW? maybe there's hope for my December app then lol
I went through something similar with my younger brother after our mom passed (dad wasn't in the picture). We spent HOURS trying to reach someone at Federal Student Aid to get specialized help with his situation. The regular phone line was useless - always on hold for 2+ hours then disconnected. What finally worked was using Claimyr (claimyr.com) to get through to an actual FSA agent. They have a system that holds your place in line and calls you back when an agent is available. The agent we spoke with identified additional aid options specific to his orphan status that the school hadn't mentioned. They have a video showing how it works here: https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ Once we got proper guidance from FSA, the school's financial aid office was able to process additional aid that covered almost all his expenses. Definitely worth trying.
Thank you so much for this suggestion! We've been trying to call FSA but always get disconnected after waiting forever. I'll definitely try this service - at this point, we need to talk to someone who really understands all the options for her situation.
does this actually work?? i've tried calling fsa like 8 times in the last month and never get through. always "high call volume" then hangs up on me
One more important thing to check: has your niece completed the CSS Profile in addition to the FAFSA? Many private schools use this for institutional aid, and they often have special provisions for students without parents. Unlike FAFSA, CSS Profile schools sometimes have discretionary funds specifically for hardship cases. Also, for nursing specifically, check into the NURSE Corps Scholarship Program and the Nursing Education Loan Repayment Program. Both are federal programs that can provide substantial funding in exchange for working in high-need areas after graduation. Lastly, some hospitals offer tuition reimbursement if she works for them part-time while in school. It might delay her graduation a bit, but could solve the funding issue.
She did complete the CSS Profile for several schools, but not for this particular nursing program since they only required FAFSA. I didn't know about those nursing-specific programs though - we'll definitely look into those right away! Thank you so much for all your help.
my uncle said he didnt report his pension and they never caught it lol but i wouldnt recommend that!!
This is extremely risky. FAFSA verification can randomly select applications, and if they find discrepancies between your FAFSA and tax returns, it can lead to serious consequences including loss of all aid, potential repayment of funds already received, and even fraud charges in extreme cases. Always report everything accurately.
You kno what really gets me? With the new FAFSA supposedly being "simpler," they've made everything MORE confusing!!! They keep changing the rules and can't even get their website working right. My daughter's college fund is going to therapy for the FAFSA-induced stress disorder!!!! 😫
lol FAFSA-induced stress disorder is so real! I'm still traumatized from helping my son last year.
Did your son try using a different browser? Sometimes the FAFSA website acts weird on certain browsers. My daughter couldn't access her section on Chrome but it worked fine on Firefox. Also make sure popup blockers are disabled!
YES THIS!! the website is so buggy. i had to use microsoft edge of all things to get mine to work last month. google chrome kept freezing on the signature page.
UPDATE: We got it working! Turns out my daughter needed to create her own FSA ID first (exactly as suggested). Once she did that and logged in directly through studentaid.gov instead of the email link, she could see and edit her section of the FAFSA. Thanks everyone for your help! For anyone else reading this in the future - make sure BOTH parent and student create their own separate FSA IDs before trying to complete the FAFSA. The high school really should have made this clearer in their graduation requirements info.
Ethan Campbell
After using Claimyr to get thru to FSA, the agent told me they found a mismatch between our reported household size on FAFSA vs what the IRS data showed. We're a blended family situation so it's complicated. They fixed it over the phone! Our SAI finally showed up this morning. So relieved!
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MoonlightSonata
Just wanted to update - I tried Claimyr after seeing your comment and it actually worked! Got through to an agent in about 20 minutes. Turns out there was a verification flag on our application because my daughter's social security number had a transposed digit. They fixed it immediately and said our SAI should be available within 3-5 business days. THANK YOU for suggesting this!
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