One more tip - the 2025-2026 FAFSA will still use the new "Student Aid Index" (SAI) instead of the old "Expected Family Contribution" (EFC). The calculation is different, so don't be surprised if your aid eligibility seems different than what you might have expected or heard about from friends with older children. The new formula treats family contributions differently, especially for families with multiple children in college simultaneously. It also has different treatment of small business assets and farm value. If your SAI seems unexpectedly high when you get your results, you can always contact the financial aid offices at your daughter's chosen schools to discuss professional judgment adjustments.

idk if anyone mentioned but some states have their own deadlines for state grants that are way earlier than college deadlines!! my brother missed out on state money because we didnt know about that. check your state financial aid website!!

One thing nobody mentioned yet - check if your son's school has emergency completion grants!!! My daughter's university had special grants JUST FOR students in their last 1-2 semesters who were at risk of not finishing due to financial problems. She got $3500 for her final semester when her other aid ran out!

An update on the TAP situation - I just double-checked, and for TAP specifically, there is an extension program called TAP for Students Enrolled in Approved Five-Year Programs. If your son's current program (Biology) has a standard curriculum that typically takes more than 4 years, or if the switch from Engineering caused unavoidable delays, he might qualify. He needs to have his academic advisor document that the delay was due to the program change and that he's making satisfactory progress. This documentation needs to be submitted to the financial aid office, who then submits the extension request to HESC (Higher Education Services Corporation). Also, check if he's eligible for APTS (Aid for Part-Time Study) if he'll be taking fewer than 12 credits in that final semester.

My daughter just went through this last year. An SAI of 7985 should qualify you for some Pell Grant funding (probably around $2,000-3,000) plus subsidized loans. Don't forget to also check if your state has grants based on FAFSA info - many states have their own grant programs with higher SAI cutoffs than federal programs. For example, our state still gives grants to students with SAIs up to 12000. Also, don't wait on just the FAFSA - start applying for private scholarships ASAP. My daughter got more money from private scholarships than from federal grants.

When I got my SAI, I had no idea what it meant either. It's so confusing! One thing I learned is that you should run the Net Price Calculator on each school's financial aid website. It gives you a better estimate of what you'll actually pay at that specific school. Different schools have different amounts of institutional aid they can offer on top of federal aid. My SAI was similar to yours, and I ended up with very different packages from different schools - some gave me almost nothing, others covered almost half my tuition with grants.

My dad lost his job right after we submitted our FAFSA and our SAI was crazy high based on his previous income. We submitted a special circumstances form to my school's financial aid office with documentation of his job loss and they were able to adjust my aid package. Definitely talk to your school too, not just FSA!

UPDATE: The Department of Education just announced (as of last week) that they're reviewing all SAI calculations involving Schedule C business income due to a discovered calculation error. If your recalculation happened within the last 30 days and involves business income, you should be receiving an email about this soon. They're prioritizing reviews for current applicants with the largest SAI increases. This might solve your problem automatically, but I'd still recommend proceeding with the steps I mentioned earlier.

can she refinance right after graduation to get a lower rate? my cousin did that and saved a bunch but idk if thats always smart????

Quick update on something I forgot to mention - when your daughter makes payments during the grace period, she should specifically request in writing (email or through the servicer's message center) that the payment be applied to principal after any outstanding interest is paid. Otherwise, some servicers will just apply it to future interest or hold it as an "advance payment" that doesn't reduce principal at all. The exact wording to use is: "Please apply this payment to outstanding interest first, and then to principal balance reduction on loan [specific loan ID], not as an advance payment."

The whole parent plus loan system is COMPLETELY flawed!!! My ex-husband and I both wanted to help our son but neither of us could cover the full amount alone. Guess what?? We BOTH had to take out SEPARATE Parent PLUS loans for smaller amounts because there's NO JOINT OPTION. Now we each have separate loan payments, separate servicers, and it's an absolute NIGHTMARE to manage. The system is rigged against divorced parents who want to share responsibility.

One thing to be aware of is that Parent PLUS loans don't qualify for as many repayment plans as student Direct loans. While Direct loans have income-driven repayment options like SAVE and IBR, Parent PLUS loans only qualify for Income-Contingent Repayment (ICR) after consolidation. The standard repayment term is 10 years, which can mean high monthly payments depending on how much you borrow. Make sure to use the loan simulator on studentaid.gov to estimate what your monthly payments would be before borrowing.

my sisters kid and mine were both in college last year and she said to apply as early as possible!! the new fafsa is a mess and takes FOREVER to process so dont wait till deadline!!

One final piece of advice: since the 2025-26 FAFSA will be evaluating your 2023 tax year information, start gathering documentation now for any significant financial changes that have occurred since 2023. If your income has decreased or you've had major expenses arise, you'll want to prepare for potential professional judgment appeals at each institution. Also, with two in college, don't overlook the CSS Profile if your students are applying to private institutions. Unlike the FAFSA, the CSS Profile still factors in multiple family members in college when determining aid eligibility at many private schools.

Just to add some clarification: When your FAFSA is processed, the data is made available to the schools you listed, but schools have their own schedules for downloading and importing that data into their systems. Some do it daily, others weekly or even less frequently during off-peak times. For the 2025-2026 aid year, most schools are experiencing delays due to the FAFSA Simplification Act changes. A few things you can do: 1. Check your daughter's Student Aid Index (SAI) on studentaid.gov to confirm processing is complete 2. Log into each college's applicant portal (if available) to check financial aid document status 3. Email the financial aid offices with the student's name, ID (if assigned), and FAFSA confirmation number 4. For the school with the approaching deadline, call them directly Remember that FAFSA processing and school downloading are two separate steps, and only the schools can confirm the latter.

my cousins fafsa got lost in the system last year and she ended up with zero financial aid. dont trust the system lol. call EVERYONE and get names of who u talk to

just went thru this with my kid. lots of schools say they "require" FAFSA for merit but some will make exceptions if u explain ur situation. email financial aid offices directly, we got 3 schools to consider my son for merit without FAFSA

As a follow-up to all the helpful advice here: For your planning purposes, you might want to know that after submission, the SAI will appear on your Student Aid Report (SAR). You'll receive an email notification when your SAR is ready to view, typically within 3-5 days of submission if you provided an email and signed with an FSA ID. The SAI is now displayed prominently at the top of the SAR, making it easy to locate. This is different from previous years when the EFC was sometimes buried in the report. Remember that the FAFSA for the 2025-2026 academic year won't open until December 1, 2024, so you have some time to research each school's approach to merit aid before making your final decisions on FAFSA submission.

SAIs are so unfair!!!! My parents make decent money on paper but they don't help me AT ALL with college and I got an SAI of 12000+ and barely any aid. Meanwhile my roommate's parents help her with everything and she got a full Pell Grant. The whole system is rigged.

One more important thing about your SAI of 5908 - it's not just about Pell Grants. Make sure you complete any additional state aid applications too. Many states have their own grants for students with SAIs in your range. For example, some states offer completion grants of $1000-2000 per year for students who maintain good academic progress and have SAIs under 8000-10000.