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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! 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!
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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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Have you guys looked at Parent PLUS loans? The interest rate is fixed at 8.05% right now which isnt amazing but atleast its federal and has some of those protections? Thats what we did when my kid's aid package wasnt enough
We were approved for Parent PLUS but trying to avoid maxing those out since I've heard they have the highest origination fees of all the federal loans (around 4% I think?). But you're right about the federal protections being valuable.
One more suggestion - check if your daughter's school has a payment plan option. Many colleges will let you spread payments over 10-12 months with only a small fee (like $50-100) rather than interest. We're using this for about half of what we owe and then taking smaller loans for the rest. Also, if your daughter can find a part-time job on campus through Federal Work-Study, that money doesn't count against future aid eligibility the way some scholarships can.
Great idea about the payment plan! I just checked and they do offer a 10-month plan with only a $75 enrollment fee. This could definitely help reduce how much we need to borrow. Thank you!
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just wondering im in similar situation but were doing the css profile too for some schools. does anyone know if the preliminary estimates include css profile info or just fafsa? thx
Great question. Schools that require the CSS Profile typically will want that data for even preliminary estimates, as it collects more detailed financial information than FAFSA. If you've completed the CSS Profile already, they can use that information while waiting for your FAFSA to process. If you haven't completed it yet, I would prioritize doing so if you want accurate preliminary estimates from those institutions.
Update: I called three schools today based on the advice here. Two were really helpful! They asked for our AGI from last year's taxes, number of people in household, and number in college. One school gave us a rough estimate range, and the other actually walked through specific amounts for different types of aid they'd likely offer. The third school refused to give any numbers without the processed FAFSA. Now I need to call the other two tomorrow. I also tried the Net Price Calculators as suggested, but the information they asked for was pretty basic and I'm not sure how accurate the results will be. At least it's a starting point though!
nice! which school gave u the most detailed estimate? curious if its one of the ones my kid applied to
It was a small private liberal arts college in the Northeast. They even said they'd email us the preliminary breakdown! I was really impressed with how helpful they were.
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I just checked my FSA account and saw they updated my payment count! It looks like they're still counting payments during this period as long as you're making them on time. Maybe try logging in again to see if your account shows the same?
I'll check right now! That would be such a relief if it's updated. Thanks for the heads up.
UPDATE: I finally got through to an FSA representative (used that Claimyr service someone mentioned - it actually worked!) and got some clarification. You all were right - the SAVE program legal challenges don't affect payment counting for existing IDR plans. The agent confirmed all my payments are still being counted, including recent ones. She helped me submit a payment count review since I'd had multiple servicers, and recommended I keep all my payment confirmations just in case. Such a relief! Thanks everyone for your help and advice. This whole system is still frustrating, but at least my timeline isn't being extended.
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I'm honestly so confused by all of this. My daughter is also applying to colleges and some have Dec 1 deadlines, others Jan 15, and one Feb 1. Do I need to submit different FAFSAs at different times? And why does the form ask about parents' education if we don't qualify for need-based aid? The whole system seems designed to be complicated on purpose. I spent three hours on it yesterday and gave up.
You only need to submit one FAFSA, but aim to meet the earliest priority deadline among all her schools. The questions about parents' education aren't about financial aid eligibility - they're used to identify first-generation college students for certain programs and demographic tracking. Even if you don't think you'll qualify for need-based aid, I still recommend completing the FAFSA as you might be surprised at what she qualifies for, especially with the new SAI calculation method.
Thanks everyone for your helpful responses! We're definitely going to submit the FAFSA and CSS Profile before the December 1st deadline. I'm still learning all the ins and outs of this process - it's so much more complicated than when I went to college. Does anyone know how long after submission we should expect to receive the SAI calculation? And will that be sent to us or just to the schools?
You should receive your Student Aid Index (SAI) calculation within 3-5 days after submission if you use the electronic signature option. It will be included in your Student Aid Report (SAR), which you can access through your studentaid.gov account. This SAI will also be sent to all the schools you listed on your FAFSA. Each school will then use that SAI to develop their individual financial aid packages based on their available funding and policies. Good luck with everything!
Mei Lin
Has anyone found any clear information about how they calculate the SAI with parental assets? I know they have some kind of protection allowance, but the numbers I'm seeing online are from previous years. Our family has some savings for emergencies and my mom is worried it will prevent me from getting any aid at all.
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Liam Fitzgerald
•Yes, there's a protection allowance for parents' assets in the SAI formula. For 2025-2026, parents' assets are assessed on a sliding scale starting at 12% above the protection amount. The protection amount varies based on the parents' age and whether they're married or single. Roughly, if your parents are in their 40s-50s, the protection amount is around $10,500 for single parents and $21,000 for married parents (these numbers adjust annually). Assets above that amount only count partially against your aid eligibility. Definitely don't empty savings accounts - the formula is designed to protect reasonable emergency savings.
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Mei Lin
•Thank you so much! That's super helpful and makes me feel better. I was worried we'd be penalized for having any savings at all.
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Carmen Lopez
Update: I just found another really useful section on the site that explains the differences between the SAI and old EFC calculations. For those confused about the changes, there's a whole comparison chart at studentaid.gov/help-center/answers/topic/fafsa/article/sai-vs-efc that breaks it down. Apparently some types of income are treated completely differently now!
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Jamal Wilson
•Thanks for sharing this! The changes to how they treat different income sources is a big deal. For example, untaxed combat pay is now excluded from the calculation, which helps military families.
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