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
Something nobody mentioned yet - make sure you both have your Social Security numbers, tax information (2023 taxes for the 2025-26 FAFSA), and bank/investment information ready before December 1. The new FAFSA is supposedly easier, but you still need all your financial documents. They calculate the Student Aid Index (SAI) from this information which determines aid eligibility.
That's really helpful too! I'll start gathering all that information now so we're prepared. Is there a checklist somewhere of everything we'll need?
Yes, studentaid.gov has a checklist under "Applying for Aid" section. You'll need 2023 tax returns, W-2s, current bank statements, investment records (except retirement accounts), and records of untaxed income. The new FAFSA directly imports tax data from the IRS if you consent, which simplifies things considerably.
Just wait until you actually try to fill it out. My daughter's 2024-25 FAFSA was a COMPLETE DISASTER. Multiple crashes, lost information, and the new simplified SAI calculation actually gave us LESS aid than the old EFC system. And don't get me started on the CSS Profile some private schools require ON TOP of FAFSA. Absolute nightmare.
Oh no, that sounds awful! I'm getting more nervous now. I hope they've fixed some of those issues for this year's application!
The Federal Student Aid office has actually made several system improvements for the 2025-26 cycle based on feedback from last year's problems. They've expanded server capacity and simplified some of the more problematic sections. While no system is perfect, there should be fewer technical glitches this time around.
Join the conversation
NOBODY TOLD ME federal aid doesn't work overseas!! my daughter is also going to school in England next year and we already did all the FAFSA stuff and she got offered a pell grant. are you saying she can't use that money??? this is so frustrating why doesn't the FAFSA site make this clear?!?!
Unfortunately, that's correct. Federal student aid (including Pell Grants) can only be used at eligible institutions, and very few foreign universities participate in the Federal Student Aid program. The FAFSA site does mention this in their FAQ section, but it's not prominently featured in the application process itself. I'd recommend: 1. Check if her specific UK university is on the Federal School Code List (unlikely but possible) 2. Look into private loans designed for international study 3. Research UK-specific scholarships for international students 4. Contact the international student office at her chosen university for funding options Sorry you're just finding this out now. It's a common point of confusion.
I'm so stressed about this exact situation! My twins are both applying to colleges in the US and Canada, and I have no idea how to handle the FAFSA. Do I need to submit separate applications? Does Canada even use FAFSA? What happens if one goes to the US and one goes to Canada? Will it mess up their financial aid if I included both countries' schools? The FAFSA website is so confusing about international stuff!
Deep breath! This is manageable. Here's what you need to know: 1. Submit one FAFSA per student (one for each twin) 2. Canadian schools generally don't use FAFSA (they have their own financial aid systems) 3. On each FAFSA, list all the US schools they're applying to 4. If one twin attends a US school and one attends a Canadian school, it won't affect each other's aid The twin attending a US school can use their FAFSA for federal aid. The twin attending a Canadian school likely can't use federal aid unless their specific Canadian institution participates in the US federal aid program (very few do). I recommend contacting each Canadian school directly to ask about their financial aid process for US students.
Join the conversation
UPDATE: I took the advice from this thread and managed to get through to someone at FSA using that callback service someone mentioned. The agent was actually super helpful and confirmed there was an error in how my dependency override was processed. They're expediting a correction and said it should be updated in 5-7 business days. \n\nI also went to my school's financial aid office in person (thanks for that suggestion) and they issued me a temporary housing authorization while we wait for the SAI recalculation. Apparently lots of students are having similar issues this year.\n\nThanks everyone for the help! Still ridiculous it took 5 months for an email response though.
Great to hear! Make sure to follow up if you don't see the correction in 7 days - sometimes you need to keep pushing. And for anyone else reading this thread with dependency override issues, remember that you need to resubmit your override documentation each year. The override doesn't automatically carry forward, even though many other FAFSA elements now do.
Join the conversation
Just to add one more helpful tip - even though you can't submit the FAFSA for your son yet, you can still be preparing. Make sure you both create FSA IDs now (they take 1-3 days to process), calculate your Expected Family Contribution using online calculators, and research scholarship opportunities. Many merit scholarships have deadlines throughout his junior and senior years, so don't wait on those!
Great suggestion! I'll use this time to get our FSA IDs set up and start looking into scholarships. Is the Expected Family Contribution still called that? I thought I read somewhere they changed the name.
You're absolutely right - they've renamed it! It's now called the Student Aid Index (SAI). The formula is a bit different too. There are SAI calculators online that can help you estimate what your number might be when you apply next year.
my daughter's school said the same thing! i was so confused because we already submitted something a few weeks ago... now im worried we did the wrong one. she's a senior this year tho, graduating in 2024. did we do the right one??
if shes a senior now (class of 2024) then you did the correct form! the 2024-2025 FAFSA is for students who will be in college next fall (2024
omg thank u!! i was freaking out thinking we messed up and would miss deadlines!! this stuff is so confusing
Demi Lagos
I remember when the SAI was called the EFC (Expected Family Contribution). Does anyone know if they calculate these differently now? My daughter's SAI seems way higher than what we expected based on our income.
0 coins
Dallas Villalobos
•Yes, there are some differences between the old EFC and the new SAI calculation. The SAI can actually go as low as -1500 (which wasn't possible with EFC), but they also adjusted some of the protection allowances and assessment rates. In general, middle-income families might see a higher SAI than they would have had with the EFC, while some lower-income families might benefit from the changes. If yours seems significantly off, there might be an error in the application data.
0 coins
Pedro Sawyer
Update: We used Claimyr to get through to an FSA agent this morning, and they confirmed we need to submit the missing W-2 form. Apparently, when there's a discrepancy between reported income and tax documents, they hold the SAI calculation. The agent told us to upload the document through the portal and that it should be processed within 3-5 business days. We've also contacted our daughter's top choice schools to let them know about the delay. Thanks everyone for your help!
0 coins
Mae Bennett
•Great news! Glad you got it sorted out. Definitely follow up if you don't see the SAI within a week. Sometimes you need to be persistent with these things.
0 coins
Reina Salazar
•Awesome! Glad you were able to get through and get clear instructions. The 3-5 business days timeframe is usually accurate in my experience.
0 coins