just so u know the student aid index (SAI) replaced the old EFC this year so if ur looking at old info online it might be confusing. my kids financial aid office said alot of parents are getting confused about this

After reviewing the entire thread, here's a simple checklist for next steps: 1. Log into studentaid.gov using your son's account 2. Go to "My Documents" and look for the Student Aid Report (SAR) 3. Review the SAR to find his Student Aid Index (SAI) number 4. Check if he was selected for verification (will be clearly stated on the SAR) 5. Confirm the schools he wants to attend are listed in his FAFSA 6. Wait for schools to send financial aid award letters If you don't see the SAR within 7-10 days of showing "processed," or if you're selected for verification, that's when you might need to contact Federal Student Aid directly. Otherwise, the process should continue automatically from here.

i totally waited till may last year and regretted it sooooo much!! some of the campus housing grants were already gone :( dont be like me lol

My daughter's in college right now and honestly the whole FAFSA thing gets so much easier after the first year. The first application is stressful but renewal is way simpler. Just make sure you know your school's priority deadline - that's what really matters! Our school in Texas requires it by January 15th for priority consideration.

@OP - University of Michigan typically has a very reliable financial aid process, but they're also known to run out of certain institutional grant funds later in the season. Definitely contact them ASAP and express your concerns. If you're an in-state student, their aid tends to be more generous than for out-of-state. One option some families use: commit with the deposit to secure the spot, but continue to work with financial aid and be prepared to withdraw if the package makes attendance impossible. Yes, you might lose the deposit, but it protects your son's spot while you wait for the official numbers.

@OP Most schools process aid packages as they receive FAFSA information and will notify you as soon as your package is determined. However, some schools do batch their notifications, especially for incoming freshmen. The best approach is to call Michigan's financial aid office directly and ask about their specific notification timeline. One more thing to consider: If your son's SAI (Student Aid Index, formerly EFC) is already available on studentaid.gov, you could share that number with Michigan's financial aid office. Sometimes they can provide a rough estimate based on that figure, even if they haven't processed your full package yet.

lol everyone talks bout the data retrevial tool but i couldn't get it to work AT ALL for my kids fafsa. ended up just typing everything manually. good luck with the twins!

After correcting the FAFSA for both twins, expect a 3-5 business day processing time for the changes to reflect in their SAI calculation. Once processed, their schools' financial aid offices will be notified automatically, but as someone mentioned, it's good practice to contact them directly. For your income level of $62k with accurate asset reporting, your twins should likely qualify for some Pell Grant money for the 2025-2026 academic year, especially after removing retirement accounts and home equity from your assets.

did u make sure u enterd all ur w-2 information correctly? my friends daughters application got rejected becuz they made a typo on the father w-2 box. double check all that stuff before your daughter submits!!!

Financial aid professional here. Just to clarify some confusion in this thread: 1. The SSA verification email confirms your identity was successfully matched with Social Security records. This is normal and good. 2. Parents/contributors do NOT need to enter bank account information in the FAFSA. The only financial information required is income/tax data and certain assets. Bank account information is only collected if the student chooses to receive federal aid via direct deposit, and that's entered by the student, not the parent. 3. As a contributor, you completed your section. Now your daughter needs to: - Review all information (including your contribution) - Complete any remaining sections - Submit the final application - Wait for her SAI (Student Aid Index) calculation 4. Parents cannot see the full FAFSA status in their own accounts - the student is the only one who can view the complete application status. 5. After submission, the processing time for receiving an SAI is typically 3-5 business days, though it can take longer during peak periods. Hope this helps clear things up!