Just to provide some clarity on what happens next: once colleges receive the FAFSA data, they'll create financial aid packages based on your daughter's SAI and their own institutional methodology. You should start receiving these packages starting in March/April for most colleges. If you don't see financial aid information appearing in her student portals by late March, that would be the time to start making calls to confirm everything is on track. And a quick tip - take screenshots of the "processed" status and save copies of the SAR. If there are any disputes later, having documentation of what the system showed you can be very helpful.

Anyone else notice how they changed from EFC to SAI this year and it's COMPLETELY DIFFERENT calculations? My son's number went up by like 8000 even though our income actually dropped! Makes no sense and the financial aid offices just shrug and say "that's the new formula" 🙄

Quick update since this is a common issue: FSA just announced yesterday they're rolling out a fix for this specific problem over the next 10 days. The fix will synchronize account visibility between parent and student FSA IDs for both application years. However, I still recommend having your daughter generate the PDF and sending it to the financial aid office now rather than waiting for the fix. The college needs to finalize aid packages soon, and having the information manually is better than waiting for the system to be fixed.

y does fafsa gotta be so complicated every year its somethin else lol. last yr they wanted my moms tax returns from like 3 diff years

my cousin works in financial aid and she told me they're SWAMPED right now with the new FAFSA changes. said people are waiting wayyyy longer than usual.

If your SAR shows code 099 without any other processing codes, that's good news! It means your application has been processed successfully, and you should see your SAI calculation soon. You could still be selected for verification later (about 30% of applications are), but that would be initiated by your specific college, not the federal processor at this point. One recommendation - download and save a PDF copy of your submitted FAFSA and confirmation page. If there are any delays that might affect your school's deadline, having documentation of your submission date can be helpful when speaking with your school's financial aid office.

That's a great first step! If you're preparing documents, make sure you have:\n\n- 2023 tax returns for both you and your spouse (if married)\n- W-2 forms from 2023 for all jobs\n- Current bank statements and investment account information\n- Social Security numbers for you and your son\n- Documentation of any untaxed income like child support or disability\n\nAlso, create a separate folder on your computer to save screenshots of each completed page as you go through the application. This has saved countless families when there are technical glitches. Good luck!

That's a brilliant tip about taking screenshots! I would never have thought to do that. I'll make sure we have all those documents ready. My son's high school is hosting a FAFSA workshop next month too, so hopefully that will help with any remaining questions. I'm feeling much more confident now!

when i was waiting for financial aid stuff last year i just kept checking my portals at each school. some schools put the info in ur applicant portal before they even email u about it. sometimes u can see ur package weeks early if u keep checking!!

I remember this anxious waiting period all too well! Just wanted to add that while your SAI will impact need-based aid calculations, schools still have a LOT of flexibility in how they build your package. My brother and I had identical SAI scores (we're twins) but got completely different packages from the same school because we applied to different programs and had different academic records. Also, if your financial situation has changed since you submitted your FAFSA (job loss, medical expenses, etc.), document everything now so you're ready to submit an appeal if needed. The formal term is "Special Circumstances Review" and most schools have a process for this.