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maybe the government designed it this way on purpose to discourage people from filing for aid lol. worked on me, i gave up after 2 weeks last year
Omg an $8000 drop is amazing! My daughter's only dropped by $2100 after corrections and even that made a difference at two schools. Definitely call them all ASAP. If they already sent acceptance packages they might have a special form for reconsideration. Also check deadlines - some schools stop making adjustments after certain dates!
UPDATE: I've contacted 4 out of the 6 schools so far. Two said they'd automatically review the new SAI and get back to us in 7-10 business days. One said we need to fill out a formal appeal form which they emailed me. And one said they'd already noticed the change and are recalculating, which is promising! Thanks everyone for your advice - definitely worth making the calls!
have u tried getting thru to the fafsa ppl directly? i had a similar issue last yr and i finally got help after i used that claimyr service (claimyr.com) to get past the hold times at FSA. they have a video that shows how it works: https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ basically they wait on hold for you and then call you when a real person picks up. i was able to get someone at FSA who explained all my options and even sent an official letter i could take to my financial aid office that helped with my situation. definitely worth trying since it's so hard to get answers about special cases!
We haven't tried contacting FSA directly yet - just been dealing with the school's financial aid office. I'll definitely check out that service! Did the FSA give you different information than what your school told you? I'm wondering if they might have additional solutions the school hasn't mentioned.
I just went through this last semester with my FAFSA application! If your cousin is paying all her own bills and truly self-supporting, she should gather evidence of this - rent receipts, utility bills in her name, proof she's not claimed as a dependent on her parents' taxes (if possible). I brought all this documentation to my financial aid counselor and wrote a detailed letter explaining my situation. They initially said no to a dependency override, but when I asked for a Professional Judgment review instead and showed all my documentation of self-sufficiency, they were able to adjust my aid package. It didn't get me grants, but they found some institutional scholarships I qualified for that helped almost as much. Tell her not to give up after the first no!
This is really helpful! She does pay her own rent and utilities, so she can definitely gather those documents. I don't think she has proof about the tax dependency status though - her parents probably still claim her since that benefits them. Did you have to provide proof you weren't claimed as a dependent? Or was the other documentation enough?
Good question! I didn't have proof about not being claimed either (pretty sure my parents still claimed me too). The other documentation was enough to show I was self-supporting. The most important thing was having a detailed budget showing exactly how I cover all my expenses without parental support. That really convinced them my situation deserved special consideration.
Also important for the 2025-2026 FAFSA: you need to make sure you're using the right tax year information. They're looking for 2023 tax data, so make sure that's what you're accessing through the IRS tool. I've seen people accidentally try to pull the wrong year's data and get confused when it fails.
omg i had this same problem!!! what fixed it for me was using my EIN instead of SSN. im self employed and didnt realize that made a difference until someone at my school's financial aid office told me
Important clarification: For most FAFSA applicants, you should use your Social Security Number (SSN), not an Employer Identification Number (EIN). The previous comment applies to a very specific situation that won't be relevant for most students. Using the wrong number type will cause the Data Retrieval Tool to fail.
Aisha Jackson
Has anyone actually gotten their SAI back from the new form yet? We submitted two weeks ago and still waiting...
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Savannah Glover
•we got ours after like 5 days maybe? but that was back in early december. heard its taking longer now cuz more people are applying all at once
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Mikayla Davison
For the CSS Profile deadlines question - yes, private schools typically have their own deadlines for the CSS Profile, often earlier than the federal FAFSA deadlines. Some are as early as November 1 for early decision applicants, while regular decision is often February 1, but it varies by school. I'd recommend checking each school's financial aid website immediately or calling their financial aid offices directly. Regarding how they calculate home equity and investments now - the federal methodology (FAFSA) is still not considering home equity in your primary residence (this hasn't changed). The FAFSA is using tax data to identify investment income, which then factors into the SAI calculation. They're essentially working backward from the income your investments generate rather than asking for the value directly. If you're concerned about accurate representation of your financial situation, remember you can always submit additional documentation directly to schools after completing the FAFSA.
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Ella Cofer
•You've been so helpful, thank you! I just checked all the school websites and you're right - the deadlines vary from Feb 1 to March 1 for the CSS Profile. Going to get that done this weekend. One last question - our daughter is planning to live off-campus with roommates. Does the housing arrangement affect the financial aid calculation at all? With our son, we just checked "on-campus housing" because that's what he was doing freshman year.
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