FAFSA for International Schools - Scotland University Can't Access My 2024-25 Application

I'm dealing with the same issue but with University College London! Their financial aid department told me last week that they're having trouble accessing the new FAFSA system and that there's some kind of separate portal or process for international institutions that hasn't been fully updated yet. Apparently a lot of international schools are in this boat right now because of the FAFSA modernization. My financial aid advisor suggested I reach out directly to Federal Student Aid to see if there's anything that can be done on the US side.

this is happening to EVERYONE applying for aid at foreign schools. my cousin is going to McGill in Canada and they cant access her FAFSA info either. the new system is a total disaster

I work in financial aid at a community college, and while I don't deal directly with international schools, I can confirm this is a widespread issue. The new FAFSA system has been problematic for many institutions, but international schools face additional hurdles because they access the system differently than domestic institutions. The Department of Education is aware of this issue and is working on solutions, but they haven't provided a clear timeline. Here's what I recommend: 1. Email your school's financial aid office weekly for updates 2. Contact the Federal Student Aid Information Center at 1-800-433-3243 3. Ask if your school has alternative aid application processes while waiting for FAFSA access 4. Check if they'll accept last year's FAFSA information temporarily Unfortunately, these delays are affecting thousands of students applying to international institutions.

i had the EXACT same problem trying to get my FASFA to the University of Glasgow!!! finally got it sorted but took WEEKS of back and forth emails. the scottish schools seem especially confused by the new system lol

The whole FAFSA rollout this year has been a complete disaster. They had THREE YEARS to prepare for these changes and still managed to mess it up completely. My daughter is trying to go to UBC in Vancouver and they can't access her information either. Meanwhile, we've got tuition deposits due in two weeks with no financial aid package. The government should be ashamed of themselves for this level of incompetence. We've called Federal Student Aid TWELVE TIMES and either get disconnected or told "we're working on it." Working on it isn't good enough when people's education is on the line!

I used Claimyr to finally get through to a FAFSA agent about this exact issue with my son's application to Manchester University. After trying for days to reach someone, Claimyr got me through in about 20 minutes. The agent was able to manually flag his application for the international schools team. You can see how it works in their video demo: https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ - worth checking out if you're desperate to talk to someone at FSA directly. The website is claimyr.com

I'm in your exact situation with Edinburgh too! Did you upload your SAR to their portal yet? When I called their financial aid office yesterday, they said they need us to manually upload the Student Aid Report from the FAFSA website while they wait for direct access. Go to studentaid.gov > My Documents > SAR and download the PDF, then upload it to your Edinburgh application portal. They told me they can start processing with that while they wait for the system issue to be fixed. Hope this helps!

Just got an update from my school (UCL) - they said the Department of Education sent out guidance to international schools yesterday with a temporary workaround. Apparently they can now access some basic information through a special portal, but the full data integration is still being worked on. You might want to check with Edinburgh if they received this update!

btw if ur going to edinburgh hit me up when u get there! i have friends who go there and they LOVE it. the financial aid stuff is stressful but dont let it ruin ur excitement about studying in scotland!!