Hey Ethan! New to the community but wanted to share something that just helped me get through to financial aid after weeks of trying. I had a similar SAI (8650) and was getting nowhere with the usual contact methods. What finally worked was reaching out through my school's student success center - they have direct lines to financial aid counselors and can often schedule you for a callback within 24-48 hours. Also, if your school has a financial aid workshop or "FAFSA help session" coming up, those are goldmines for getting real answers about SAI thresholds and aid eligibility. The staff there can often give you school-specific ranges that aren't published anywhere online. With your 8900 SAI, you're definitely in the ballpark for aid based on what everyone's sharing here - don't give up! The new FAFSA system has been a disaster for everyone, but it sounds like you're on the right track.

Hey Ethan! New member here but I wanted to jump in since I'm in almost the exact same situation - just got my SAI of 8800 and have been struggling to get through to my financial aid office too. Reading through all these responses has been incredibly helpful! I'm definitely going to try the early morning call strategy and the student success center approach that others mentioned. One thing I discovered yesterday that might help you too - my school has a "Financial Aid Calculator" buried in their student portal that uses your actual SAI to give estimated aid amounts. It's not official but gave me a rough idea of what to expect. Also, someone mentioned checking for separate work-study applications - I found mine hidden under "Student Employment" rather than "Financial Aid" on my school's website. With your 8900 SAI, it sounds like you have a really good shot at subsidized loans based on everyone's experiences here. Hang in there - this whole process is so stressful but it sounds like we're both in promising ranges!

Hi everyone! I'm new to this community and currently going through this same process with my daughter. Her FAFSA was processed about a week ago and I've been feeling so lost about what comes next, but this thread has been absolutely incredible! I've learned more here in the past hour than I did from days of trying to navigate the official websites. Reading through everyone's experiences has been such a relief - I was starting to panic that we were missing something critical, but now I understand that waiting 1-3 weeks for the PHEAA email is completely normal given all the delays this year. I've already started implementing the great advice I've found here: added "[email protected]" to my safe senders, double-checked that we listed PA correctly as her state of residence, and created a folder to keep all our documentation organized. One thing I'm wondering about - has anyone dealt with the situation where your student applied to both public and private Pennsylvania schools? I'm curious if the PHEAA grant amounts differ significantly between the two types of institutions, or if there are different application requirements. Thanks so much to everyone who has shared their real experiences and practical tips - you've made this overwhelming process feel so much more manageable for families like mine who are navigating it for the first time!

Hi everyone! I'm new to this community and just went through this exact same situation with my son last month. His FAFSA was processed and we waited about 10 days before getting the PHEAA email - definitely check your spam folder daily! One thing I learned that might help: if you're really anxious about the timing, you can actually create an account on pheaa.org using your son's social security number and the same email from the FAFSA. Sometimes the state grant application becomes available there even before you get the official email notification. Also, make sure to complete the application as soon as possible once you get access - I discovered that some schools really do award state grant funding on a first-come basis after eligibility is determined. The whole process took about 3 weeks total from FAFSA processing to receiving our PHEAA award notification. Hang in there - the waiting is nerve-wracking but it does all come together!

This entire discussion has been incredibly valuable for expat families! As someone who went through this process last year while living in the UAE, I can confirm that everything shared here aligns with what we experienced. The key really is understanding that FAFSA wants your legal domicile (where you maintain voting, tax filing, banking ties) rather than your physical residence. We used our home state address in Virginia and had no issues with aid processing. One additional tip I'd add is to save screenshots or print copies of your completed FAFSA submission - if you do get selected for verification, having that original submission handy along with your supporting documents makes the process much smoother. Also, don't stress too much about verification if it happens - the financial aid offices we worked with were very understanding about expat situations and just needed to confirm our documentation matched what we submitted. It's clear from this thread that these situations are becoming much more common, which hopefully means better official guidance from the Department of Education in the future!

As someone new to this community and facing a similar expat situation, I can't express how helpful this entire thread has been! My family is currently living in Switzerland for my partner's work, and I was completely panicking about how to handle the FAFSA for our daughter's college applications next year. Reading through everyone's experiences has been such a relief - especially understanding that using our legal domicile address (where we maintain our Massachusetts voting registration, tax filing, and banking) is not only acceptable but actually the correct approach according to Department of Education guidance. The distinction between legal domicile vs. physical residence finally makes sense to me now. What really stands out is how consistent everyone's advice has been about maintaining alignment between your state tax filing and FAFSA state selection. We've been filing Massachusetts taxes throughout our time overseas, so that gives me confidence we're on the right track. Thank you to everyone who shared their verification experiences too - it's reassuring to know that even if selected, having organized documentation of your US ties makes the process manageable. This thread should honestly be pinned as a resource for expat families navigating FAFSA requirements!

Hi everyone! I'm completely new to both this community and navigating PA state grants - my daughter is a freshman at Lock Haven University and we've been experiencing the exact same blank GrantUs status issue for the past few weeks. I was absolutely panicking thinking we had somehow missed a crucial step in the application process! Reading through this entire thread has been such an enormous relief - especially Chloe's insider explanation about the GMS system transition delays and that October 7th deadline. It's really frustrating that PHEAA hasn't communicated any of this directly to families, leaving us all to stress unnecessarily. I called their customer service line twice last week and waited over an hour each time, only to be told "your application is being processed" with no mention of these widespread technical issues. I'm planning to call Lock Haven's bursar office tomorrow morning to ask about late fee waivers and will definitely mention the GMS implementation delay that everyone has referenced. Thank you all so much for sharing your experiences and supporting each other through this stressful situation - this community has provided more useful information than any official channel I've tried to contact. Fingers crossed that all our remaining grants come through by that October deadline!

Hi everyone! I'm brand new to this community and to dealing with PA state grants - my son is a freshman at Mansfield University and we've been experiencing the exact same blank GrantUs status that so many of you have described. I've been checking the portal obsessively for the past three weeks and getting more anxious each day! Reading through this entire thread has been such a massive relief - especially learning from Chloe about the GMS system implementation issues and that October 7th deadline. It's incredible that this community has provided more clarity than PHEAA's own customer service. I called them twice last week and waited nearly two hours total just to be told "everything appears to be processing normally" with zero mention of these widespread technical problems. It's really disappointing that families have to turn to forums like this to understand what's actually happening with our financial aid. I'm going to call Mansfield's financial aid office tomorrow to ask about late fee waivers and will definitely reference the GMS implementation delay that everyone has mentioned. Thank you all for sharing your experiences and supporting each other through this stressful situation - this thread has been more informative than any official source I've contacted. Really hoping all the remaining grants come through by that October deadline!

This thread has been such a lifesaver! As a newcomer to this whole FAFSA process, I was feeling completely overwhelmed before reading through everyone's experiences. My husband and I are also married filing separately (we have a small business that makes separate filing more advantageous), and I was definitely leaning toward just using my information since I handle all our financial paperwork. Thank you especially to those who shared their verification nightmare stories - that's exactly the kind of delay we can't afford with college applications due soon. I'm now planning to gather both our 2023 tax returns, W-2s, and all asset information before we even start the application. One question though - for those who mentioned having business income, did you find that complicated the FAFSA process significantly? We have a small LLC that's reported on our personal returns, and I'm wondering if that adds any extra complexity to the parent information sections.

As someone who just went through this process last year with my oldest, I can confirm everything everyone has shared here is spot-on! The married-filing-separately situation is definitely one of the most confusing aspects of the FAFSA for parents. Just wanted to add one more tip that saved us some stress: if you're using the IRS Data Retrieval Tool (which I highly recommend), you'll need to have both parents' FSA IDs set up beforehand so you can import both tax returns directly. This eliminates a lot of manual data entry and reduces the chance of errors. Also, don't panic if the estimated family contribution seems higher than expected initially - remember that this is just the starting point for federal aid calculations, and many schools have additional institutional aid that can help bridge the gap. The most important thing is getting accurate information submitted on time. You're asking all the right questions and clearly taking this seriously, which puts you way ahead of where we were when we started!