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I sent both - email first, then followed up with a physical letter mailed to the director specifically (found his name on the school website). I included a brief paragraph about my daughter's academics and extracurriculars, but mainly focused on the FAFSA timeline with documentation. I also mentioned that we had received aid offers from their competitor schools, which might have helped!
TBH maybe take this as a sign... my kid went to USC and they were HORRIBLE with financial aid all 4 years. constantly losing documents, changing aid amounts last minute, making us jump through hoops for everything. if they're already doing this before u even start maybe consider somewhere else
Random question but did your son list both you and your husband on the FAFSA? Maybe only one of you got properly attached to the application and now they're trying to add the other? Just thinking out loud here...
After you complete your contributor portion, make sure to take screenshots of the confirmation page. With all the FAFSA issues this year, documentation is your friend. Also have your son log back into his studentaid.gov account about a week after you complete your portion to check that the status has updated appropriately.
btw be ready for the new confusing stuff this year. they changed the whole system and SAI replaced EFC so everything looks different. and the parent info section takes forever now with all the new questions
That's partially correct. The FAFSA simplification did replace EFC with SAI (Student Aid Index), but the 2025-2026 application should actually have fewer questions than previous years. The forms were streamlined to remove approximately 30 questions that were deemed unnecessary. The contributor sections (what used to be called parent information) might feel longer because the questions are organized differently, but the total question count is lower. The biggest change is that more families can now automatically skip the asset questions if they meet certain income thresholds.
Thanks everyone for all the helpful information! I'll make sure we use the same FSA IDs and just start a new application for 2025-2026. I'm glad I asked before potentially creating duplicate accounts and causing problems. My son will be handling his own account this time around since he's 19 now. I'm definitely not looking forward to the new system changes, but at least I know what to expect now. Thanks again!
One thing nobody mentioned yet - after your SAI appears, the next step is for your FAFSA information to be sent to the schools you listed on your application. This usually happens automatically, but sometimes there can be delays in this step too. Once the schools receive your information, they'll use your SAI to determine your financial aid package. If it's been more than 2 weeks since you submitted your FAFSA and you still don't see an SAI, I would definitely contact Federal Student Aid to check if there's an issue they need to resolve. Better to address any problems early in the process!
Eli Wang
Since you asked about timelines in a previous comment - schools typically receive your FAFSA information within 3-5 business days after it's processed. Most schools will start sending financial aid award letters in March/April for the fall semester, though some may send them earlier, especially if you've been accepted through early decision or early action. Regarding your concern about your SAI being higher than expected - that's not uncommon with the new FAFSA system. The 2024-2025 FAFSA uses a different formula than previous years. If you're concerned, you can always schedule an appointment with a financial aid counselor at your top choice schools to discuss your specific situation once you receive your aid packages. They can often explain why your SAI is what it is and suggest potential options.
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Nora Brooks
•That timeline helps a lot, thanks! Good to know about the new formula too - my older cousin did FAFSA a few years ago and she was surprised at my numbers too. I'll definitely talk to the financial aid offices once I start getting packages.
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Cassandra Moon
btw check if any of ur schools have priority deadlines for institutional scholarships!!! some colleges have separate applications for their own scholarships with deadlines BEFORE you even get ur financial aid package. i missed out on applying for some because i didn't know about them until it was too late
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Nora Brooks
•That's a great point! I think I saw something about scholarships on a couple of the school websites. I'll go through all of them again to make sure I'm not missing any deadlines. Thanks for the reminder!
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