FAFSA
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FAFSA gave us 15000 SAI but still $42K gap for Animation degree - Single mom, bad credit, no Parent PLUS options
Just got our SAI score from FAFSA - $15,000 - but we're still looking at a $42,000 gap for my daughter's Animation degree programs! As a single parent with poor credit, I've been rejected for Parent PLUS loans and private loans. Her father abandoned us 15 years ago during her cancer treatments and never paid a dime in support. Animation programs are mostly at private schools with high costs, and she's worked SO hard to get accepted despite everything she's been through. She's devastated and crying daily knowing her dream might be crushed. Are there ANY financing options for parents with bad credit? Special scholarships for Animation majors or cancer survivors? I'm desperate and running out of time as deposits are due soon.
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Where to find SAI score after FAFSA shows 'processed' status?
Our family submitted the FAFSA last week and the studentaid.gov portal shows it's 'processed' now, but I can't figure out where to find our SAI score. I've clicked through every tab and page on the site but don't see it anywhere. The confirmation email just says to check the portal. Is there a specific section I'm missing? Do they email the SAI separately or does it take additional time after processing? My daughter needs this for some scholarship applications due next month.
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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.
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.
oh my bad i thought they were different things. we did both fafsa and css profile so maybe thats why we had different numbers
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.
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!
FAFSA portal glitches won't let parent complete section after student portion - stuck in endless loop
I'm about to lose my mind with the 'simplified' FAFSA! My son finished his student portion yesterday, but there was ZERO instruction about how I'm supposed to access the parent section. No continuation screen, no email, nothing! After hunting through help pages for an hour, I somehow managed to start entering my financial info, but then the screen suddenly jumped to something else, and now I can't get back to where I was. Every time I try to 'edit' or 're-enter,' it says I need a new invitation, but when I request one, nothing happens. Just stuck in an endless loop! The system keeps sending me back to the beginning. How is this supposed to be easier?? My son's college deadline is in 3 weeks and we're completely stuck. Has anyone managed to successfully navigate from student to parent section without losing your data?
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pro tip: do it between 11pm-6am when the site isnt crashing every 5 min lol
I'll try that tonight! Hoping the system is less overloaded during off-hours.
I'm glad you're making progress! One additional thing to be aware of: if you're entering tax information manually rather than using the IRS Data Retrieval Tool, make sure you're entering exactly what appears on your tax documents. Even small formatting differences (like including commas in numbers or leaving them out) can cause the system to reject your information. Also, for W-2 information, be sure you're entering the numbers from the correct boxes - the form isn't always intuitive about which information it's requesting.
That must be what's happening! I've been putting commas in the numbers. I'll remove those and try again. And I'll double-check the W-2 box numbers. Thank you so much for all your help!
FAFSA application processing timeframe - filed in March and waiting for results
Just wondering if anyone has insight on the current FAFSA processing times? My daughter submitted her application on March 3rd without any issues (thank goodness this is our LAST year dealing with this!). We both received confirmation emails about our tax data being retrieved from the IRS shortly after. She got an initial email with her SAI score, but nothing since then. I'm assuming they haven't fully processed it yet since she hasn't received any further communication. Has anyone who filed around early March seen complete processing yet? I could just ask my daughter to check her account, but she's swamped with finals right now lol. 😅 UPDATE: She finally logged in last night - application was fully processed on March 26th with no errors! Seems like submitting in March rather than January/February was the key to avoiding all those glitches everyone's talking about. Thanks everyone for your input!
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Wait so they're actually processing NEWER applications FASTER than the early ones??? What about those of us who tried to be responsible and file early? My student's financial aid package is going to be delayed because we followed the "file as early as possible" advice that THEY'VE been pushing for years! This is absolutely ridiculous!
I understand your frustration. The early applications encountered numerous technical issues related to the new calculation methodology and system implementation. The Department of Education has stated they're working through the backlog, but yes, many March applications are processing more smoothly because many initial bugs were already fixed by then. If your January application is still stuck, I'd recommend contacting Federal Student Aid directly to have them check for any hidden issues that might be holding it up.
My nephew filed in late February and got his SAI within two weeks, but my daughter's January application is still stuck in processing limbo. The whole system seems completely random this year.
It really does seem random! I'm just glad we waited until March. I almost pushed my daughter to file in January when the form first opened, but we got busy and procrastinated. Turns out procrastination worked in our favor for once! 😂
FAFSA Processing Complete But No SAI Calculation - Anyone Else Stuck?
I'm totally confused right now. My FAFSA has been showing "processing complete" for over a week now, but when I log in to studentaid.gov and check my SAI score, it still says "unable to calculate SAI at this time." I submitted everything correctly (triple-checked all my W-2 info and tax return numbers), and there's no indication of any errors or missing information in my application. Has anyone else run into this weird limbo state? Called the FSA hotline twice but got disconnected both times after waiting 45+ minutes. My college financial aid deadline is in 3 weeks and I'm starting to panic!
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Paolo Longo
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
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Dmitry Sokolov
AuthorThat's an interesting idea! I hadn't considered international options. Do you know which Canadian schools have good animation programs? I wonder if they offer any aid to US students.
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Connor Gallagher
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.
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Dmitry Sokolov
AuthorWe 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!
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