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If I could give 10 stars I would If I could give 10 stars I would Such an amazing service so needed during the times when EDD almost never picks up Claimyr gets me on the phone with EDD every time without fail faster. A much needed service without Claimyr I would have never received the payment I needed to support me during my postpartum recovery. Thank you so much Claimyr!
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Really made a difference, save me time and energy from going to a local office for making the call.
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An incredibly helpful service! Got me connected to a CA EDD agent without major hassle (outside of EDD's agents dropping calls – which Claimyr has free protection for). If you need to file a new claim and can't do it online, pay the $ to Claimyr to get the process started. Absolutely worth it!
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Used this service a couple times now. Before I'd call 200 times in less than a weak frustrated as can be. But using claimyr with a couple hours of waiting i was on the line with an representative or on hold. Dropped a couple times but each reconnected not long after and was mission accomplished, thanks to Claimyr.
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i wish i could help but we're in the same boat... my daughter will be a senior next year too and i'm just starting to research all this FAFSA stuff. it seems so complicated! especially since my husband and i divorced 2 years ago and now i don't know which parent is supposed to fill everything out? does anyone know if it's the custodial parent or the one who claims the kid on taxes or what?
For divorced parents, FAFSA only requires information from the custodial parent - that's the parent the student lived with more during the past 12 months. If time was split equally, it's the parent who provided more financial support. If that parent has remarried, the step-parent's information must be included too. This is different from taxes - the parent who claims the student as a dependent for tax purposes isn't relevant for FAFSA. Also, some private schools require the CSS Profile, which might ask for non-custodial parent information too.
Thank you all for the helpful advice! I'm going to start organizing our 2023 tax documents this weekend and look into the FSA ID setup. One more question - my son is interested in some private colleges that might be out of our price range without significant aid. Is there any way to estimate what kind of aid he might get before we go through the whole application process? I don't want him to get his hopes up for schools we ultimately can't afford.
Yes! Most colleges have Net Price Calculators on their financial aid websites. These tools ask for simplified versions of the information you'll put on FAFSA and give you an estimate of what you might pay after aid. Keep in mind these are just estimates, but they can help you identify which schools might be more generous. Some high-end private colleges actually offer better aid packages than state schools if your income is in the right range. Also look for schools that meet "100% of demonstrated need" - these tend to be more expensive but often provide better aid packages for qualifying students.
Also remember that financial aid offers can be negotiated! When my daughter got accepted to her top choice, their initial offer was about $7,000 short of what we needed. I submitted an appeal letter with a competing offer from another school, and they increased her scholarship by $5,500/year. Don't be afraid to ask for more if the initial offers don't work for your family.
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Since you mentioned being a single parent on $40k income, I also want to make sure you know that even after they fix the 401k rollover issue, you should check if your daughter qualifies for the Pell Grant and other need-based aid. With your corrected income, she likely will qualify for significant federal aid beyond just loans. The school might also have their own institutional grants for students in your situation. Make sure to ask about ALL available aid options when you contact them about the professional judgment review.
I hadn't even thought about that - I was so focused on fixing the error. Do I need to specifically ask about Pell Grants or will they automatically reconsider her for everything once the SAI is fixed? Thanks for bringing this up!
They should automatically reconsider her for everything once the SAI is corrected, but it never hurts to specifically ask them to review her for Pell Grant eligibility and any institutional need-based scholarships after the adjustment is made. Sometimes being proactive helps ensure nothing falls through the cracks. With a corrected income of $40k, she should definitely qualify for some level of Pell Grant.
Quick update - got my son's financial aid recalculated after our retirement rollover issue. Took about 3 weeks after submitting all the docs. His SAI went from $33k down to $8k which made a HUGE difference in his aid package! Don't give up hope - the schools really do understand this is a common problem with the FAFSA calculations.
That's amazing news and gives me so much hope! I'm going to call the financial aid office tomorrow and get this process started. Thank you for sharing your success story!
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When i started college my mom filled out my fafsa forms for all 4 years and labeled a folder for each one lol but now im in grad school and had to learn all this myself. the whole system is way too complicated. my suggestion is to just make a spreadsheet to track which form is for which year, when you submitted, status etc. helps me keep everything straight especially with scholarships having different deadlines.
The spreadsheet idea is brilliant! I'm definitely going to do that since I'll need to keep track of this for the next 4 years. I wish they'd just make the interface more user-friendly in the first place though.
To answer your question about timing - typically you'll receive your SAI (Student Aid Index) score within 3-5 business days after submitting your FAFSA, assuming there are no errors or issues requiring verification. However, with the recent FAFSA Simplification Act changes, some applications are taking longer to process this year - up to 2 weeks in some cases. For your scholarship applications, I'd recommend two things: 1. Submit your correct 2024-2025 FAFSA immediately 2. Contact the scholarship providers to explain the situation and ask if they'll accept pending FAFSA status with follow-up documentation when you receive it Many scholarship providers understand these issues and will work with you as long as you're proactive about communication.
Just submitted the correct form! I'll definitely reach out to the scholarship providers tomorrow. I'm hoping since their deadlines are still about 3 weeks away, I'll have my SAI by then. Thanks for all your help - this community has been amazing.
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One strategy to consider: if you're still able to contribute to an IRA, you could move some of your savings there before completing the FAFSA. For 2025, the IRA contribution limit for someone over 50 is $8,000 ($6,500 base + $1,500 catch-up). This would effectively shelter that amount from FAFSA consideration. Just make sure you're eligible to contribute based on any earned income requirements.
this is smart! my mom did this last yr and it helped. just make sure u do it BEFORE filing fafsa. cant do it after and go back and change it
I want to thank everyone for their incredibly helpful responses. Just to summarize what I've learned: 1. My regular savings accounts DO count as assets for FAFSA, even though I use them for retirement 2. At age 62, I get an Asset Protection Allowance of about $15,500 3. Only about 5.6% of my remaining assets affect the SAI calculation 4. I should look into moving some money to an IRA if possible 5. My Social Security survivor benefits may help qualify my daughter for Pell Grants This community has been amazing - I was so stressed about this, and now I feel like I can approach the FAFSA with much more confidence.
You've got it exactly right! One last tip: when you fill out the FAFSA, take a snapshot of your accounts on that exact day. The FAFSA asks for the value "as of today" when you're completing the form. Good luck with everything!
Sophia Carter
Did you try that Claimyr service I mentioned? Just wondering if it worked for you. It made such a difference for me after weeks of frustration.
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Aaron Boston
•I'm trying it today actually! Just watched the demo video. I'll let you know how it goes, but at this point I just need to talk to someone who can fix this tax link issue before my son loses his chance at decent financial aid.
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Adriana Cohn
Have you checked if your son's school has a FAFSA workshop or help session? Our local community college has been running them because of all the problems this year. They had financial aid advisors who could help navigate the system and even had a direct line to FSA.
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Aaron Boston
•That's a good suggestion - I'll have him check with both his current high school counselor and the college he's planning to attend. Maybe they have some special assistance available for these FAFSA issues.
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