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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!
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Really made a difference, save me time and energy from going to a local office for making the call.
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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.
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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!
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Thank you everyone for the helpful advice! I just checked and my state's priority deadline is March 1, 2025, and my top choice school has a February 15 priority deadline for financial aid! I'm definitely not waiting - going to get started on this with my parents this weekend. Really appreciate all the help!
Great plan! Remember to create your FSA ID first if you haven't already - both you and one parent need one, and it can take 1-3 days to be fully verified. Good luck!
can someone explain what SAI is? my cousin said something about SAI replacing EFC but idk what either of those are lol
SAI (Student Aid Index) replaced the old EFC (Expected Family Contribution) when FAFSA was overhauled. It's a number calculated from your FAFSA information that schools use to determine how much financial aid you're eligible for. Lower SAI = more need-based aid eligibility. It works similarly to the old EFC but with some calculation changes that generally benefit lower and middle-income students.
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my brother got extra financial aid by submitting a special circumstances form to his college. not thru fafsa but directly to the school. maybe try that?
This is good advice. The form is typically called a "Special Circumstances Form" or "Professional Judgment Request" and goes directly to the school's financial aid office. Each school has their own form and process, but they can consider factors that FAFSA doesn't capture. You'll need documentation of your circumstances though.
One more important thing to understand: FAFSA (federal aid) and institutional aid are different. Even with a high SAI, your daughter might still qualify for: 1. Unsubsidized federal loans (don't require demonstrated need) 2. Merit scholarships from individual schools 3. State grants (which sometimes have different formulas) 4. Institutional need-based aid at private colleges For the private colleges, definitely complete both the FAFSA and CSS Profile. The CSS Profile schools often have more institutional aid available and may have a more holistic review process. They might ask for the non-custodial parent's information regardless, so be prepared. Don't give up hope! Many families in similar situations find options through a combination of different aid sources.
Thank you so much for this detailed information. We'll definitely look into the unsubsidized loans and state grants. She has good grades (3.7 GPA) so maybe there are merit scholarships too. I appreciate you taking the time to explain all this!
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One thing I always tell the first-gen families I work with: start a dedicated email folder to save ALL communications from the financial aid office. Also, take notes during every phone call with the date, time, and name of who you spoke with. The financial aid process often involves multiple follow-ups, and good documentation will save you headaches later. Also, does your daughter's high school have a college counselor? They often have experience helping families in similar situations and might have school-specific insights about the college she's considering.
Yeah and DONT FORGET to list the correct school codes on your FAFSA!!! This was our biggest mistake. You can list up to 10 schools, so make sure all the places your daughter applied are included. If you need to add more than 10, you can go back later and swap some out. Also, double-check if they need the CSS Profile!! Not all schools require it but if they do and you miss it, you might lose out on institutional aid. The CSS Profile costs money to submit though unlike FAFSA which is free.
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my daughter just went through this whole process last year. biggest advice: START EARLY!! so many of her friends waited till december and missed out on tons of aid. also the css profile is way more detailed than fafsa so leave extra time for that if your kid applies to private schools
how much more detailed is the css? i'm already stressed about the fafsa lol
To answer your question about the CSS Profile timing - you can complete it anytime after October 1st as well, just like the FAFSA. The College Board administers it (collegeboard.org), and unlike the FAFSA that uses one formula for everyone, each school can customize how they use CSS Profile information. One big difference: CSS Profile considers home equity and retirement assets that FAFSA doesn't. It also asks about expenses like medical costs and elementary/secondary school tuition for other children, which can actually help demonstrate need. There's a fee of about $25 for the first school and $16 for each additional school. And yes, definitely prioritize schools that have earlier financial aid deadlines. Some have December priority deadlines, while others go into February-March.
Thank you for explaining the CSS Profile differences! I didn't realize it considers home equity - that might change our aid eligibility significantly. We'll make sure to start both applications in early October to stay ahead of deadlines. I really appreciate everyone's helpful advice!
Mei Chen
The system is LITERALLY designed to make this difficult. They don't want to give out aid so they create these impossible bureaucratic mazes. I bet they processed the wrong application ON PURPOSE knowing most families will give up fighting it. All these "errors" just mean more money they don't have to pay out in grants!!!!!
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Fatima Al-Qasimi
•I don't think it's a conspiracy. The new FAFSA Simplification Act changes actually EXPANDED eligibility for federal aid. But the system rollout was a disaster. There are just too many technical issues because they rushed the implementation before the system was ready. It's incompetence, not malice.
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Andre Moreau
UPDATE: I finally got through to FSA after using that Claimyr service someone recommended! The agent confirmed exactly what you all suspected - they processed the online application with the incorrect SSN and flagged my son as independent because my information wasn't linked correctly. The agent submitted an urgent correction to link our accounts properly and update his dependency status. They said it will take 3-5 days to process, and then both the school and state aid office will automatically receive the updated information. I've also emailed my son's financial aid officer with a summary of the call including the confirmation number the FSA agent gave me. Fingers crossed this gets resolved before tuition is due! Thank you all SO MUCH for your help. I was going in circles with the school and state aid office before posting here.
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Zoe Stavros
•That's excellent news! Be sure to follow up with both the school and state aid office early next week if you don't hear anything. Sometimes the updated ISIR comes through but gets stuck in their processing queue. A friendly nudge can help move things along.
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