As a newcomer to this community, I've been reading through this entire discussion with such relief and gratitude! My son is in practically the identical situation - he's saved about $10,200 from working at a local restaurant throughout high school, and I've been absolutely panicking about how this might impact his financial aid for next year. This thread has been incredibly educational and reassuring. Like so many others here, I had never heard of the automatic zero SAI provision before reading everyone's experiences. Given that our family income is low enough that we received maximum Pell Grant this year, learning about this potential protection has given me tremendous hope! What I appreciate most about this discussion is how it's transformed from initial panic (exactly where I started) into practical, actionable solutions. The consistent advice to contact the financial aid office directly before making any decisions is so logical - why stress over hypothetical scenarios when you can get concrete answers about your specific situation? I'm also really encouraged by all the real success stories people have shared. It's clear that hardworking students with savings can still receive substantial aid when their complete financial picture is considered. The strategic timing advice for legitimate educational expenses makes perfect sense too - my son definitely needs a laptop and we'll be buying textbooks anyway. Thank you all for creating such a supportive and knowledgeable community. I'll be calling our financial aid office this week to check on our automatic zero SAI eligibility. This discussion has completely changed my perspective from crisis mode to confident planning!

As a newcomer to this community, I've been following this entire discussion with such appreciation! My daughter is facing a very similar situation - she's saved about $8,900 from her job at a local movie theater, and I was initially terrified about how this might affect her Pell Grant eligibility. Reading through everyone's experiences has been incredibly reassuring and educational. The automatic zero SAI provision that so many people have mentioned is completely new information to me, but it sounds like it could be exactly what families like ours need. Since our income qualified us for full Pell this year, I'm cautiously optimistic we might be eligible for this protection. What really stands out to me is how this community has consistently emphasized getting official information from financial aid offices rather than making assumptions or panicking based on incomplete knowledge. That advice alone has probably saved me from making some poor decisions! I'm also encouraged by all the real success stories shared here - it's clear that responsible student savers can still receive substantial aid when the complete financial picture is considered. My daughter needs a laptop for college anyway, so if strategic timing makes sense after consulting with a financial aid counselor, we'll definitely consider that approach. Thank you all for creating such a supportive environment where families can share practical experiences. I'll be calling our financial aid office this week to check on our automatic zero SAI eligibility. This discussion has transformed my anxiety into a clear action plan!

I just wanted to jump in and say how amazing this community is! Reading through all these responses has been incredibly helpful - you all are sharing such practical, detailed advice that you definitely don't get from official websites or generic FAQ pages. As someone who's also navigating the financial aid system (though not transferring), I'm bookmarking this thread because the tips about documentation, timing, and dealing with unresponsive offices apply to so many situations. @Jenna Sloan I really hope your transfer goes smoothly! It sounds like you have a solid plan now thanks to everyone's input. The fact that you're being proactive about this instead of just hoping it works out shows you're going to be successful at your new school. Community college can be such a smart financial and academic choice - wishing you all the best with the process!

Hey there! I'm pretty new to the FAFSA world but this whole thread has been incredibly educational to read through. I'm currently a high school senior planning to start at community college next fall, and honestly, seeing how complex mid-year transfers can be makes me feel better about starting at CC from the beginning rather than trying to transfer later. One thing I'm curious about - for those of you who transferred TO community college, did you find that the financial aid counselors there were more accessible and helpful than at your 4-year schools? I've heard that smaller institutions sometimes provide better individual support, which would be great since navigating all this financial aid stuff feels pretty overwhelming as someone just starting out. Also wondering if anyone has tips for making sure you don't run into these kinds of complications in the first place when you're initially applying for aid? Thanks for all the amazing advice you've all shared - I'm definitely saving this thread for reference!

Oh wow, I had no idea about the nursing-specific programs! That's really helpful information. I'll definitely talk to the nursing department about those options too. Thank you so much!

Just wanted to add my experience as someone who went through this exact same situation! I was so confused about FAFSA eligibility when I started at my community college for my medical assistant program. My high school counselor actually told me the same thing your uncle did - that FAFSA was mainly for 4-year schools. Turns out that's completely wrong! Not only did I qualify for federal aid, but I actually got MORE aid proportionally than my friends at 4-year universities because community college tuition is so much lower. My Pell Grant covered almost my entire tuition, and I got a small subsidized loan to cover books and supplies. The application process is identical - same FAFSA form, same deadlines, same requirements. The only difference is you'll enter your community college's school code instead of a university's code. Don't let anyone discourage you from applying! Community colleges are specifically included in federal aid programs because they serve such an important role in workforce development and accessible education. Your nursing program is definitely eligible, and you might be surprised by how much aid you qualify for.

I'm a new community member dealing with this exact same Parent PLUS loan confusion on my TAP application! My mom took out a $9,500 Parent PLUS loan that went directly to my school last semester, and I've been stressing about these questions for weeks. Reading through everyone's experiences here has been incredibly eye-opening - it's clear that I should answer YES to both questions. What really helped me understand it was the way several people explained focusing on "who is legally responsible for the debt" rather than getting caught up in where the money physically went. My mom is the one who will be making loan payments for years to come specifically because she wanted to help cover my education costs, which definitely counts as financial assistance regardless of payment logistics. I'm so grateful for this community! As someone completely new to TAP applications, I was feeling really overwhelmed and worried about answering wrong. But seeing how many students have successfully navigated this same situation by answering YES honestly has given me the confidence to move forward. Thank you to everyone who shared their experiences - especially the financial aid professionals who provided such clear explanations. I'm submitting my application today with YES marked for both questions!

I'm a new member here and just wanted to say how incredibly helpful this entire discussion has been! I'm currently facing the exact same dilemma with my TAP application - my parents took out a Parent PLUS loan for $11,000 that went straight to my college, and I've been agonizing over whether to answer YES or NO to those financial assistance questions. Reading through everyone's experiences and explanations has completely cleared up my confusion. The key insight about focusing on "who is legally responsible for repayment" rather than "who physically received the money" is exactly what I needed to understand. Since my parents are 100% obligated to pay back that loan for my education, it's definitely financial assistance from them regardless of where the funds went. As a first-time TAP applicant, I was so worried about answering incorrectly and jeopardizing my eligibility. But seeing how many people successfully answered YES to both questions and received their awards without issues has given me tremendous confidence. The professional insights from the financial aid counselors and administrators in this thread were especially reassuring. Thank you all for creating such a supportive community where students can get clear, accurate guidance on these confusing financial aid questions. I'm marking YES to both questions and submitting my application today!

I just wanted to jump in here as another newcomer dealing with this exact same nightmare! Got my first "Action Required" email yesterday and immediately went into panic mode thinking we had somehow messed up our FAFSA submission. But just like everyone else here, when I log into studentaid.gov everything shows as "processing" with zero visible errors or action items. This thread has been absolutely invaluable - I can't believe how many families are experiencing this identical issue! Reading through everyone's experiences has transformed my panic into relief knowing this is a confirmed system-wide glitch rather than something we did wrong. We submitted our FAFSA about 6 days ago and I've been obsessively checking the dashboard multiple times a day. My daughter's college has already started asking about her FAFSA status and it's so awkward trying to explain that we're getting error emails while the website shows everything is fine. I'm definitely going to try @Andre Dubois's tip about that hidden "view status" button on the contribution summary page tonight. If that doesn't reveal anything, I might consider the Claimyr service that @Carmen Flores recommended since the regular FSA phone line sounds like absolute torture based on everyone's wait time experiences. Thank you all so much for sharing your stories and solutions! This community support has been amazing during what should be a straightforward process but has turned into such a stressful technical nightmare. The new FAFSA system really has been a complete disaster this year, but at least we're not facing it alone!

Just wanted to add my voice to this thread as someone dealing with the exact same issue! I got my first "Action Required" email three days ago and have been stressed out of my mind until I found this discussion. Like everyone else, our FAFSA dashboard shows "processing" with absolutely no errors or action items visible anywhere. Reading through all of your experiences has been such a huge relief - I was convinced we had somehow messed up our submission! It's incredible how widespread this problem is, but knowing it's a confirmed system glitch from the Department of Education rather than our mistake makes all the difference. We submitted our FAFSA about two weeks ago and my son's financial aid office keeps asking for updates. It's so frustrating trying to explain that we're getting error emails but everything looks fine online! I'm definitely going to try @Andre Dubois's suggestion about checking the contribution summary page for that hidden "view status" button tonight. If that doesn't work, I might have to use the Claimyr service that @Carmen Flores mentioned since the regular FSA phone wait times sound absolutely brutal. Thank you everyone for sharing your stories and solutions - this community support has been amazing during what should be a simple process but has turned into such a technical nightmare. The new FAFSA system really has been a complete mess this year, but at least we're all navigating it together!