


Ask the community...
my cousin was in a similar spot and ended up going to school in canada for animation. way cheaper even as an international student might be worth checking out
One additional option to consider: has your daughter looked into BFA programs at public universities? While the most famous animation programs tend to be at private art schools, there are some excellent animation tracks at public universities that would be significantly more affordable. Schools like San Jose State, UT Austin, and University of Central Florida have animation programs with strong industry connections at a fraction of the private school cost.
We did apply to a couple public universities with animation programs, but she didn't get into the most competitive ones. The less selective public programs we looked at didn't have the same quality of instruction or industry connections according to our research. But maybe we need to cast a wider net and look beyond the most obvious choices. Thank you for this suggestion!
Financial aid advisor here. The "parent doesn't exist" error (PA-2345) is one of the most common issues with the new FAFSA system. I want to clarify a few important points: 1. This is a system matching error, not a reflection of your information being incorrect 2. Your school CAN'T fix this directly - it must be resolved with FSA 3. This will NOT affect your aid eligibility once resolved 4. While waiting for resolution, contact your school's financial aid office to document that you're actively working on the issue The fastest resolution is speaking directly with an FSA technical support agent who has the authority to perform a manual override. If you're struggling to get through on the phone, email FSA_FAFSA@ed.gov with "URGENT: Parent Verification Error PA-2345" in the subject line. Include your name, FSA ID (not password), and a brief description of the issue. Schools are aware of these system problems and most have processes in place to prevent these technical issues from affecting your aid packages, as long as you're actively trying to resolve them.
Thank you for this detailed information! I didn't know about the email option - that might be easier than trying to get through on the phone. Is there specific documentation I should gather before contacting them? And should my mom be available when I speak with them, or can I handle it myself?
You should have your FSA ID ready, and it's helpful to have a copy of your mom's social security card and a recent tax return nearby for reference. Your mom doesn't need to be present for the call, but having her available could speed things up if they need to verify additional information. For security reasons, they won't discuss her specific information with you unless she provides verbal authorization during the call or has completed the parent authorization form on studentaid.gov.
Update: I finally got through to FSA technical support this morning using the menu options that @FinAidHelper suggested! The agent confirmed it was an issue with my mom's hyphenated last name - apparently there was a space after the hyphen in the IRS database but not in the Social Security database. They did a manual override and told me it should be resolved within 48 hours. Thanks everyone for your help! I'll update again when I can confirm it's fixed.
That's great news! We're in the same boat - both kids' FAFSAs are showing as fully processed. Last year we were still fighting with verification in April, so this is a HUGE improvement. Fingers crossed the aid packages come through earlier too!
Logan Stewart
SAI isn't even that important tbh, it's just a number they use to calculate your actual awards. The schools financial aid office is who determines your ACTUAL aid package which is what really matters. My son's SAI was $13,500 but his actual EFC ended up being like $9,000 at the school he chose.
0 coins
Mikayla Brown
•This is incorrect information. SAI (Student Aid Index) replaced EFC (Expected Family Contribution) starting with the 2024-2025 FAFSA. They're not different numbers - SAI is the new term for what used to be called EFC. And many private scholarships require the SAI number directly from the SAR for their applications, which is what the original poster needs.
0 coins
Logan Stewart
•oh my bad i thought they were different things. we did both fafsa and css profile so maybe thats why we had different numbers
0 coins
Haley Bennett
Once you find your SAI on the SAR, make sure to screenshot or save it somewhere easily accessible. You'll need it multiple times throughout the financial aid process, and it's annoying to keep logging back in to find it again every time a scholarship application asks for it.
0 coins
Rami Samuels
•Good tip! I'll have my daughter take screenshots of everything important once we find it. Appreciate everyone's help with navigating this confusing process!
0 coins