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this happened to us too! ended up restarting the whole application because my son didn't know whether to mark yes or no. he served 4 years but was waiting on his GI Bill. what a mess!!!! definitely mark YES for veteran status. but BE CAREFUL later in the application when they ask about untaxed income - that's where you DON'T include VA education benefits (at least thats what we were told???
That's correct - VA education benefits (GI Bill, etc.) are NOT reported as untaxed income on the FAFSA. The Department of Education and the VA have data sharing agreements, so schools will be notified about VA benefits separately through that system. Including them as untaxed income would effectively count them twice in the aid calculation.
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DONT TRUST THE SAI!!!! The new FAFSA formula is COMPLETELY BROKEN!!!! My sister and I have almost identical financial situations but her SAI came back 5000 HIGHER than mine for no reason!!!! The whole system is rigged and nobody at FSA will even explain how they calculate it. I spent 3 weeks trying to get through to someone who could actually explain the calculation and they just kept transferring me around.
While there have been some issues with the new formula, there are usually explainable reasons for SAI differences. Things like multiple students in college at once, specific tax situations, or assets reported differently can cause seemingly similar situations to have different SAIs. It's not completely random or rigged.
Update: I finally spoke with my school's financial aid office! With my SAI of 8630, they're offering me a $2,250 Pell Grant, $5,500 in subsidized loans, $4,000 in unsubsidized loans, and a $12,000 institutional grant! Plus work-study for $3,500. That leaves about $9,750 I need to figure out, but it's WAY better than I expected. Thanks everyone for your help and advice!
That's actually a really good package! Congrats! The institutional grant is impressive - that's the benefit of schools with higher sticker prices, they often have more institutional aid to give.
So glad it worked out! Did you end up using the service I recommended to get through to them?
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My friend had thsi same problem she said a lot of the paper apps are being held cuz ppl filled stuff out wrong. Like they need signatures or missed some sections. But no one tells u there's a problem until weeks later when they send a letter in the mail. Might wanna call to check if yours is actually being processed or sitting in some problem pile
That's a good point. I was super careful filling it out but it is my first time doing it so who knows if I made a mistake. Definitely going to call tomorrow to see if they can tell me anything about the status.
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I just want to clarify something important about the timeline - mid to late March is when most FAFSA applications should be *processed*, but that doesn't mean you'll immediately receive your SAI (Student Aid Index) or financial aid package from colleges. After FAFSA processes your application, they need to send that information to your chosen schools, and then each school needs to create a financial aid package based on your SAI, their available funds, and their institutional methodology. So while the March timeline for FAFSA processing may be accurate, you should expect an additional 1-3 weeks before receiving actual financial aid packages from individual schools. That's why it's so important to contact each school's financial aid office directly to explain the situation and ask about flexibility with deposit deadlines.
That's a really important distinction - thank you for explaining that! I'll make sure my daughter understands there's still a waiting period after FAFSA processing. I'm going to have her call each school's financial aid office tomorrow to discuss options.
Luca Greco
am i the only one who thinks it's ridiculous that we have to figure all this out on our own?? the whole system is so complicated and then they expect 17-18 year olds to understand it all?? my son had no clue what was happening and i barely understood it myself
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Zara Malik
PREACH!! 👏 I've gone through this with 2 kids now and still find the whole process confusing. Why can't they make a simple checklist that tells you exactly what to do next?? The schools all have different systems too which makes it even worse.
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