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If I could give 10 stars I would
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.
Worth not wasting your time calling for hours.
Was a bit nervous or untrusting at first, but my calls went thru. First time the wait was a bit long but their customer chat line on their page was helpful and put me at ease that I would receive my call. Today my call dropped because of EDD and Claimyr heard my concern on the same chat and another call was made within the hour.
An incredibly helpful service
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!
Consistent,frustration free, quality Service.
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.
IT WORKS!! Not a scam!
I tried for weeks to get thru to EDD PFL program with no luck. I gave this a try thinking it may be a scam. OMG! It worked and They got thru within an hour and my claim is going to finally get paid!! I upgraded to the $60 call. Best $60 spent!
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Using the IRS Data Retrieval Tool definitely reduces your chances of being selected for verification, but selection can still happen randomly or if there are discrepancies in your application. About 18% of FAFSA filers get selected for verification, so it's not uncommon, but it's not something everyone experiences either. If you are selected, respond promptly with all requested documentation to avoid delays in your financial aid disbursement.
at our school more like 30% get verification & negative SAI applicants get picked more often... just sayin be prepared cuz aid won't disburse til verification complete!!!
So just to be super clear: Negative SAI = Good, means I'll likely get max Pell Grant ($7,395 for full-time, right?), but I should still contact my specific school about their institutional aid process and be prepared for possible verification. Thanks everyone for the help! This has been so confusing to figure out on my own.
You've got it exactly right! And yes, the maximum Pell Grant for the 2025-2026 year is expected to be around $7,395 for full-time enrollment. Just remember that your actual aid package will depend on your school's cost of attendance, your enrollment status (full-time vs. part-time), and any other scholarships or grants you receive. Best of luck with your education financing!
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Update: I finally got through to the financial aid office! They agreed to give me an unofficial estimate by the end of this week (still 5 days before deposit deadline) AND said they'd consider an extension if the estimate doesn't come through on time. The counselor also confirmed that making a deposit doesn't impact aid calculations at their school - she said those numbers are already determined based on our financial information. Feeling much better now!
That's great news! Still be careful though - unofficial estimates can sometimes be more generous than final offers (conveniently). Make sure to get their statements in writing if possible.
Good point - I'll ask them to email me the estimate when it's ready. They seemed pretty transparent, but better to have everything documented.
i paid a deposit last year and then still negotiatied aid when the package came. showed them better offers from other schools and they matched! dont be afraid to ask for more $$$
That's really good to know! I might need to do exactly that. Which school types were more willing to negotiate? Were they all private or did you have success with public universities too?
the private schools were wayyy more flexible. public universities barely budged at all except for one that offered more work study hours.
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I'm a bit confused about the numbers here. Are you saying you had $35,000 in unpaid interest that got capitalized? That seems extremely high unless your loan balance is well into six figures. Most IDR plans actually cover part of the interest to prevent excessive negative amortization. Could there be other issues with your account beyond just the missed renewal?
I had Parent PLUS loans for three kids plus my own grad school loans consolidated into a Direct Consolidation Loan on an ICR plan (only option for Parent PLUS). Original amount was around $180k, and I've been paying for 8 years but never touching principal because my income-based payment only covers about 60% of monthly interest. So yes, that much unpaid interest accumulated over the years is unfortunately accurate.
After reading all these comments, I'm getting flashbacks to my own nightmare with Navient when they transferred my loans to Aidvantage. The thing nobody mentioned yet is that the Department of Education actually released specific guidance about interest capitalization during servicer transfers in 2022. If your transfer happened after July 2022, they were NOT supposed to capitalize interest just because of the transfer itself. Pull up the FSA announcement from July 2022 about the new capitalization policies and specifically cite that in your complaints. The servicers hate when you know the actual policy documents!
OMG this is gold! My transfer happened in February 2024, so well after that policy change. I'm going to look up that exact guidance document right now. Thank you so much for this info!
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Been trying to call Federal Student Aid to ask about book stipends for DAYS and kept getting disconnected or waiting forever. Finally tried Claimyr.com to get through to a live agent and it worked! They got me connected to an FSA agent in about 20 minutes who explained exactly how the book allowance works with my aid package. Saved me hours of frustration. There's a video showing how it works at https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ if anyone else is struggling to get answers directly from FSA.
Oh wow, I hadn't heard of this service before. I've been avoiding calling because of the wait times. I'll check out that video - thanks for sharing!
does it cost money?? seems sketchy to pay to talk to fafsa when its a government thing that should be free
To give you a complete answer: The portion of aid intended for books is calculated into your total Cost of Attendance (COA), but it's not specifically earmarked as "book money." Your financial aid package is designed to help cover your entire COA, which includes estimates for books, supplies, transportation, food, housing, and personal expenses. These are your main campus resources for book assistance: 1. Financial Aid Office - Can explain your full aid package and if you're eligible for additional aid 2. Student Success Center - May have emergency grants or book voucher programs 3. Department Office - Some academic departments have book lending libraries or scholarships 4. Campus Library - May have course reserves where you can use textbooks for free (limited hours) Also look into Open Educational Resources (OER) - some professors use free digital textbooks that could save you hundreds.
Thank you for such a comprehensive answer! I didn't even think about checking with my department or the library. I'll definitely explore all these options. Really appreciate everyone's help explaining how this all works!
A Man D Mortal
Great news! Make sure you accept the awards promptly when they appear. Some institutional scholarships have acceptance deadlines.
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Donna Cline
That's excellent! When you review your package, feel free to post back here if you have any questions about the different aid types offered. Understanding the difference between subsidized vs. unsubsidized loans, grants vs. scholarships, etc. can be confusing the first time around.
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