As someone who's been through multiple FAFSA cycles with changing child support situations, I can definitely confirm this is worth appealing! A few practical tips from my experience: 1. When you contact each school's financial aid office, ask specifically about their "professional judgment" or "special circumstances" process - different schools use different terminology 2. Create a simple timeline document showing when payments stopped with exact dates and amounts 3. Include a brief letter explaining how this impacts your current ability to contribute to college costs 4. Keep copies of everything you submit - you might need to reference it later The appeals are processed individually by each school, so don't get discouraged if responses vary. Some schools are more generous than others, but the loss of nearly $9K in annual income should definitely result in increased aid eligibility. Start with your daughter's top choice school first to get familiar with the process, then use that experience for the other applications. The sooner you start, the better!

I'm new to this community but going through a very similar situation right now! My son's child support from his dad ended in December when he turned 18, and I'm trying to figure out the FAFSA appeal process too. Reading through everyone's responses here has been incredibly helpful - I had no idea that child support had such a significant impact on the SAI calculation or that it's weighted differently than regular income. I'm definitely going to follow the advice about contacting each school's financial aid office separately and asking specifically about their "professional judgment" process. It's reassuring to hear from @Luis Johnson that the appeal was worth about $3,200 in additional aid - that would make such a difference for us. I'm also going to start gathering all my documentation now, including the court order showing when payments ended and bank statements. Has anyone had experience appealing at community colleges versus four-year universities? My son applied to both types of schools and I'm wondering if the process differs significantly between them.

I'm a current college student who went through this whole dependency override process last year, so I wanted to share some additional tips that might help your daughter. Even though I didn't qualify for independent status either, I learned a lot about the system that might be useful. First, when she meets with financial aid, she should ask about ALL types of aid available - not just federal grants. Many schools have institutional aid pools that use different criteria than FAFSA. Some schools also have "gap funding" specifically for students whose FAFSA doesn't reflect their actual situation. Second, if your family's financial situation has changed since you filed taxes (job loss, medical expenses, etc.), make sure to mention this during the professional judgment review. They can sometimes adjust your income figures based on current circumstances rather than just tax returns. Also, encourage her to apply for work-study if she hasn't already. Even if the pay isn't amazing, work-study jobs are designed around student schedules and the income doesn't count against her aid eligibility the same way regular employment does. One last thing - if her current school isn't helpful, she might want to reach out to other schools she's interested in transferring to. Some schools are just more generous with professional judgment reviews than others. It's worth shopping around if she's open to transferring. Best of luck with everything! The system is definitely frustrating but there are usually some options if you keep pushing.

Just wanted to add one more resource that might help - your daughter should also look into her state's financial aid programs. Many states have their own grant programs that use different criteria than federal aid, and some are more flexible about family income thresholds. For example, some state grants focus more on the student's individual circumstances rather than strictly following FAFSA dependency rules. Also, if she's working part-time now, she might want to see if her employer offers any tuition assistance programs. Even smaller companies sometimes have education benefits that aren't well-publicized. It's worth asking HR about any available programs. The community college route is another option to consider if money is really tight - she could potentially take some required courses there for much less cost and then transfer those credits back to her current school. Many students do this during summer sessions to save money while still making progress toward their degree. Keep advocating for her! The squeaky wheel really does get the grease when it comes to financial aid offices.

I'm a newer teacher (2nd year) at a Title I elementary school and this thread is both incredibly helpful and absolutely infuriating! Reading everyone's experiences makes it clear that the loan servicers are deliberately making this process as difficult as possible to discourage people from following through. What really gets me is that we're the people educating the next generation, often in the most challenging schools, and this is how the system treats us? Meanwhile, we could have gone into private sector jobs making more money with better benefits, but we chose public service because we believed in these programs. I'm definitely taking notes on all the strategies you've shared - the case escalation language, documenting everything, filing CFPB complaints, and keeping detailed call logs. It's ridiculous that we have to become amateur legal experts just to get what was promised to us, but if that's what it takes, so be it. One question for the group: has anyone tried reaching out to their state's Department of Education or teacher's union for support with these applications? I'm wondering if there are any state-level resources that might be able to advocate for us or provide guidance beyond what the federal servicers are giving us. Keep fighting everyone - reading your persistence gives me hope that when my time comes in 3 years, I'll be ready for the battle!

I'm a 3rd year high school math teacher at a Title I school, and honestly this entire thread is both incredibly helpful and completely disheartening. The fact that we have to create our own survival guide just to access programs that were designed to encourage people to go into teaching is absolutely backwards. What really bothers me is how the loan servicers seem to have zero accountability. Like, how is it legal for them to just say "it's processing" for 9+ months with no real updates? If any other industry treated customers this way, there would be consequences. I'm definitely bookmarking this thread and taking screenshots of all the advice - the case escalation language, CFPB complaints, documentation strategies, everything. It's crazy that I have to prep for battle 2 years before I'm even eligible to apply, but clearly that's the reality. One thing I'm wondering - has anyone tried organizing with other teachers beyond just their own school? Like creating a group of teachers across the district or state who are all dealing with delayed applications? Sometimes there's more power in collective action, and it might get more media attention than individual complaints. Thank you all for sharing your experiences, even the frustrating ones. At least now those of us still working toward eligibility know what we're up against and can prepare accordingly.

As a newcomer here, this is really eye-opening! I had no idea about these FERPA restrictions. My son is starting college next year and I'll definitely be filling out the FAFSA contributor section soon. It's good to know ahead of time that I might need to set up a FERPA waiver or at least prepare my son to be the point person for any financial aid questions. Thanks everyone for sharing your experiences - this thread is super helpful for understanding what to expect!

As someone new to this process, I'm finding this thread incredibly valuable! My daughter is a junior in high school and I'm already starting to research FAFSA requirements. This privacy issue is something I never would have thought about. It seems like the key takeaway is to be proactive - set up that FERPA waiver early, keep detailed records of what you submit, and make sure your student understands they'll be the primary point of contact with financial aid offices. I'm also bookmarking those suggestions about using the SAI calculator to double-check everything. Thank you all for sharing your real-world experiences - it's so much more helpful than just reading the official guides!

I'm going through the exact same thing right now! My FAFSA has been in review for 2 weeks and I just realized I need to add a couple more schools. Reading through all these responses is so helpful - I was worried that adding schools might mess something up, but it sounds like it's totally safe to do. The processing delays this year are really stressful, especially when you're trying to meet all these different school deadlines. I'm definitely going to follow the step-by-step instructions that Alice provided and take a screenshot first like Dmitry suggested. It's good to know I'm not the only one dealing with these long wait times!

I just want to echo what everyone else has said - you can absolutely add schools while your FAFSA is in review! I did this exact thing last month when my daughter decided she wanted to apply to a few more schools after we'd already submitted. The process is really straightforward and won't delay your current application at all. One thing I'd add to all the great advice here is to make sure you have the correct federal school codes for the new schools before you start the process. You can find these on each school's financial aid website or by searching the Federal School Code lookup tool on studentaid.gov. Having the codes ready makes the whole process much quicker. Also, don't stress too much about the long processing times - it seems like everyone is experiencing delays this year. My daughter's application took about 3 weeks to process, but once it did, all the schools (including the ones we added during the waiting period) received her information at the same time. The financial aid offices have been pretty understanding about the delays too. Good luck with everything!