Can't reach FAFSA? Claimyr connects you to a live FAFSA agent in minutes.
Claimyr is a pay-as-you-go service. We do not charge a recurring subscription.
Using Claimyr will:
- Connect you to a human agent at the FAFSA
- Skip the long phone menu
- Call the correct department
- Redial until on hold
- Forward a call to your phone with reduced hold time
- Give you free callbacks if the FAFSA drops your call
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!
Really made a difference
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!
Ask the community...
- DO post questions about your issues.
- DO answer questions and support each other.
- DO post tips & tricks to help folks.
- DO NOT post call problems here - there is a support tab at the top for that :)
Join the conversation
Join the conversation
Just joined this community because I'm having the EXACT same problem! My stepdaughter submitted her FAFSA last week and my husband never got the parent invitation email. We've been panicking thinking we missed some deadline or did something wrong. Reading through all these responses is such a relief - it's clearly a widespread issue with the new FAFSA system. I'm going to try the "Manage Contributors" method that @Lincoln Ramiro explained step-by-step, and I'll definitely make sure the email addresses match exactly like @Faith Kingston warned about. If that fails, the Claimyr service @Noah Lee mentioned sounds like a great backup plan. Thank you all for sharing your experiences and solutions - this community is amazing for helping families navigate these FAFSA nightmares!
Grace Thomas
•Welcome to the community! You're absolutely not alone in this - it seems like half the families using the new FAFSA system are dealing with these parent invitation email failures. I'm also new here but found this thread because we're in the same boat with my stepdaughter's application. The step-by-step solutions people have shared here are incredibly helpful, especially the detailed instructions from @Lincoln Ramiro and the email matching tip from @Faith Kingston. It s'frustrating that such a critical system has so many bugs, but at least we have a supportive community to help figure out workarounds! Good luck getting it sorted out!
Arjun Patel
I'm a new member here but dealing with this exact same issue! My daughter submitted her FAFSA application and I never received the parent contributor invitation email. After reading through all these helpful responses, I'm relieved to know this is a widespread problem with the new system and not something we did wrong. I'm going to start with the "Manage Contributors" solution that @Lincoln Ramiro outlined, and I'll be extra careful about making sure our email addresses match exactly like @Faith Kingston mentioned. If that doesn't work, the Claimyr service sounds like a great alternative to avoid those terrible wait times. Thank you all for sharing your experiences - this community has been incredibly helpful for navigating what feels like a broken system!
Join the conversation
Emma Swift
Welcome to the community! I'm also new here and going through this exact same situation with my daughter who's a senior. Reading through this entire thread has been incredibly helpful - I had no idea about the complexity of the divorced parent rules or the differences between FAFSA and CSS Profile. One thing that really stood out to me from everyone's experiences is how important it is to document everything thoroughly. Like others mentioned, keeping detailed records through co-parenting apps seems crucial in case you get selected for verification. I'm also realizing I need to start having the CSS Profile conversation with my ex much sooner than I originally planned. For those who mentioned calling schools directly about their specific policies - did you find that financial aid offices were generally helpful and willing to explain their divorced parent policies over the phone? I'm wondering if it's better to call now during the less busy season or wait until closer to application time. Thanks to everyone who has shared their experiences here. This thread should honestly be pinned as a resource for other parents dealing with divorced parent financial aid situations!
QuantumQuest
•Welcome! I'm also fairly new to this community but this thread has been absolutely incredible for understanding the divorced parent financial aid maze. You're so right about the documentation piece - I'm realizing now that having everything tracked through our co-parenting app might be one of the smartest things we've done, even though we originally just did it to avoid arguments about who paid for what! Regarding calling schools, from what others have shared here, it sounds like now (during the less busy season) might actually be the perfect time to call. Financial aid offices are probably less swamped than they will be during peak application season, so you might get more time to ask detailed questions about their specific divorced parent policies. I'm planning to call my son's top few schools in the next couple of weeks based on the advice in this thread. And I totally agree - this thread has been more helpful than any official website or guidance counselor meeting I've had! The real-world experiences and practical tips from parents who've actually been through this process are invaluable. It should definitely be pinned as a resource for other families navigating divorced parent financial aid situations.
Welcome to this amazing community! As someone who's been lurking here for a while but just joined, I have to say this thread has been absolutely incredible for understanding divorced parent financial aid situations. I'm facing a very similar scenario with my son who's a junior - divorced parents with shared custody, and I had no idea about the complexity of CSS Profile vs FAFSA requirements until reading all of your experiences here. One thing I wanted to add that our college counselor mentioned recently: make sure to also check if any schools on your list have "early decision" or "early action" financial aid deadlines that are even earlier than their regular CSS Profile deadlines. Some schools want financial aid applications submitted with the early admissions applications, which could be as early as November 1st for some schools. Also, regarding the conversation with your ex about CSS Profile - I'm dreading this too! But reading through everyone's advice about framing it as "required for our child's best aid opportunities" rather than optional has given me a much better approach. I think I'm going to compile a list of each school's specific CSS requirements from their websites to show him it's not negotiable if we want our son to be considered for institutional aid. Thank you to everyone who has shared their real-world experiences here - this has been more helpful than any official guidance I've found elsewhere!
Welcome to the community! This thread has been such a game-changer for me too. That's a really important point about early decision/early action financial aid deadlines - I hadn't even thought about those potentially being earlier than the regular CSS Profile deadlines! I need to check if any of my son's schools have ED/EA programs and what their financial aid requirements are for those. November 1st would be coming up fast! Your approach for talking to your ex sounds really smart - having the specific school requirements laid out from their official websites should make it clear that this isn't optional or something you're choosing to make complicated. I'm definitely borrowing that strategy! It's so much easier to have these difficult conversations when you can point to official school policies rather than trying to explain it all yourself. This community has honestly been more helpful than all the official resources combined. Real experiences from parents who've actually navigated this maze are worth their weight in gold! Thanks for adding another crucial detail about those early deadlines - that could have been a costly oversight for those of us just starting this process.
Join the conversation
PixelPioneer
my son's fafsa got rejected THREE TIMES even though we entered everything right! turned out his social security number had a typo that i didnt catch. double check all the basic info before submitting!
Sofia Perez
•Thanks for the reminder - I double-checked both applications and all the information looks correct. I guess it's just the processing queue that's different.
This thread has been super reassuring! I'm dealing with the same situation - my daughter (returning junior) got processed in 12 days while my son's freshman application has been stuck for 5 weeks now. I was starting to panic thinking I messed something up, but it sounds like this is just the new normal with the FAFSA changes. Going to have my son reach out to his schools' financial aid offices proactively like some of you suggested. Thanks everyone for sharing your experiences - it really helps to know we're not alone in this!
Join the conversation
Hey Freya! As someone who just went through this process last year, I totally get your frustration. The "full ride" stories can be misleading because they often don't mention all the work that went into it. Here's what worked for me with similar stats (3.6 GPA, 1310 SAT) and a family income around $85k: 1. Applied to 15+ schools including several where I was above their average stats 2. Filled out CSS Profile for private schools (wish I'd known about this earlier!) 3. Applied to every local scholarship I could find - even the weird ones nobody talks about 4. Looked specifically for schools with good aid for middle-income families I ended up at a private liberal arts college that gave me $32k/year in grants. My total cost is less than what our state school would have been! The key was casting a wide net and not assuming expensive = unaffordable. Don't give up - there are options out there for families like ours. You just have to know where to look!
@Natasha Petrova This gives me so much hope! Your story is exactly what I needed to hear as someone with similar stats and family income. I can t'believe a private school ended up being cheaper than state school - that totally changes how I m'thinking about this. I m'definitely starting the CSS Profile tonight still (can t'believe my counselor never mentioned it! .)For the local scholarships, did you just search online or go to specific places like the library or chamber of commerce? And when you looked for schools where you were above average - where did you find those stats to compare against? Also, I m'curious about timing - did you apply to all 15 schools at once, or did you add more after getting some results back? I m'worried I might be running out of time for fall 2025 but your success story makes me want to cast that wider net you mentioned! Thanks for proving that middle-class families like ours can actually make this work. I was starting to think I was missing some secret that everyone else knew!
Carmen Lopez
•@Natasha Petrova Your story is exactly what I needed to hear! I was getting so discouraged thinking that only super poor families or valedictorians could get good aid. Knowing someone with almost identical stats and income made it work gives me actual hope. I m'starting the CSS Profile application right now - I can t'believe I never heard about it before today! And I love your strategy of applying to schools where you d'be above their typical student profile. That s'such a smart approach that I never considered. For those local scholarships you mentioned - did you find them through your high school guidance office, or did you search online? And what did you mean by the weird "ones nobody talks about ?"I m'willing to apply to anything at this point but don t'even know where to start looking. Also, when you were researching schools with good middle-income aid, were there specific websites or resources that helped you identify which ones were actually generous versus just good at marketing? I keep seeing conflicting information and could use some reliable guidance. Thank you for proving this is actually possible for families like ours! I was starting to think everyone else got some secret handbook that I missed.
Amina Sy
I'm in a really similar situation and this thread has been a lifesaver! I'm a junior starting to think about all this and honestly had no idea about half the stuff mentioned here. My parents make around $75k and I have a 3.6 GPA, so reading about the CSS Profile and merit-based aid at schools where I'd be above average is giving me hope I didn't have before. One thing I'm wondering though - for those of you who found success with this approach, how early did you start the process? Should I be starting applications and scholarship searches now, or is fall of senior year soon enough? I don't want to miss deadlines or opportunities because I waited too long. Also, @Freya Christensen your original question really resonated with me because I've been seeing those same "full ride" stories and feeling like I must be missing something obvious. It sounds like the answer is just that it's way more complicated than it appears and requires applying strategically to lots of different places. Thanks for asking what we were all thinking!
@Amina Sy You re'so smart to be thinking about this as a junior! I wish I had started researching all of this earlier instead of scrambling now. From everything I ve'learned in this thread, it seems like starting early gives you way more options. You should definitely begin looking into schools and scholarships now - many of the big merit scholarships have early deadlines, and some of those local scholarships @Natasha Petrova mentioned probably have spring deadlines. Plus starting early means you can really research which schools are generous with aid for stats like ours instead of just applying randomly. The CSS Profile and FAFSA open in October of senior year, but you can start preparing now by gathering tax documents and learning about the process. And honestly, just knowing about things like the CSS Profile and merit-based strategies puts you way ahead of where I was even a few weeks ago! It s actually'kind of comforting to know other people were feeling confused by all those full ride "stories too." This thread has taught me it s not'about missing some secret - it s about'understanding the system is complicated and requires a strategic approach. We ve got'this!
Fatima Al-Rashid
my daughters SAI finally got fixed this morning! went back down to the original amount. check ur accounts everyone!
0 coins
Giovanni Rossi
•Just checked mine and it's still showing the doubled amount 😠How long did it take for your daughter's to get fixed?
0 coins
Carmen Diaz
I'm dealing with the exact same issue! My SAI went from around $47k to $94k overnight and I've been stressed out of my mind. After reading through all these responses, I'm feeling a bit more hopeful that it's a widespread bug rather than something wrong with my specific application. I've already reached out to my financial aid office with screenshots like someone suggested, and I'm going to mention that Dear Colleague Letter GEN-25-03 that Miguel referenced. It's so frustrating that this is happening right when we need to make crucial financial decisions about college, but at least we're not alone in this mess. Fingers crossed it gets resolved soon for all of us!
0 coins
Sophie Footman
•I'm so glad I found this thread! I've been dealing with the exact same nightmare - my SAI jumped from $38k to $76k three days ago and I thought I was going crazy. Reading everyone's experiences here has been such a relief because at least now I know it's not just me. I've been too scared to call FAFSA because of all the horror stories about wait times, but after seeing Miguel's updates about the Department of Education guidance, I'm going to contact my school's financial aid office first thing tomorrow. Thank you everyone for sharing your experiences and updates - this community has been more helpful than any official FAFSA communication I've received!
0 coins