I'm in a similar situation with my appeal taking forever! Filed mine about 4 weeks ago due to my spouse's job loss and still showing "Being Reviewed" status. Reading everyone's experiences here makes me feel less alone but also more anxious about the timeline. Has anyone had luck with contacting their school's financial aid office for any kind of interim guidance while waiting? I'm worried about missing enrollment deadlines while we wait for the appeal to process. The whole system really does seem overwhelmed this year compared to when my older daughter went through this process 3 years ago.

Welcome to the FAFSA appeal waiting club! I'm also a newcomer to this community and filed my appeal about 3 weeks ago due to my father's reduced work hours. Reading through everyone's experiences here has been both comforting and nerve-wracking - it's good to know the delays are system-wide, but scary to see some people waiting 2+ months! I'm planning to try that Claimyr service that several people mentioned since I've also had no luck getting through to FSA directly. Has anyone tried reaching out to their congressional representative's office? I heard they sometimes help with federal agency issues, though I'm not sure if that applies to FAFSA appeals. Fingers crossed we all get updates soon - this waiting game is brutal when you're trying to plan for college expenses!

just make sure u keep all ur tax documents n stuff in case they do verification. my sons school asked for like a million forms after we got the $0 SAI. took forever but they eventually confirmed it was right

Congratulations on the $0 SAI! That's actually fantastic news for your daughter. As others have mentioned, the updated FAFSA formula is much more generous, especially for single-parent households. With your income level and household size of 3, this result makes perfect sense. I'd recommend creating a folder to organize all your financial documents (tax returns, bank statements, etc.) in case your daughter gets selected for verification. It happens to about 1 in 4 students, but it's usually routine paperwork rather than an indication of errors. The best part is that this $0 SAI will help her qualify for maximum aid at whatever college she chooses. Many schools use the SAI for their own need-based grants too, so she could receive even more aid beyond the Pell Grant. You should definitely celebrate this outcome rather than worry about it!

Thanks everyone for the help! I just submitted my correction and I'm feeling much better. I changed my parents' income information and double-checked everything else too. Fingers crossed this doesn't affect my aid package too much - we're really counting on getting enough financial aid for me to attend my top choice school.

I'm going through something similar right now! I submitted my FAFSA last week and then realized I forgot to include some of my mom's 1099 income. Reading through all these responses is so reassuring - I had no idea you could make corrections instead of starting over. Going to log in and fix mine today. Thanks everyone for sharing your experiences, it really helps to know we're not alone in making these mistakes!

I just checked with mom and she definitely gets SSDI, not SSI. She says she can log into her Social Security account to get the information. Thank you so much for all the help! I feel much better about starting my FAFSA application now.

Great to hear you're feeling more confident about the process! Just wanted to add one more tip - when you're filling out the FAFSA, take your time with the disability income section and double-check the numbers against your mom's SSA-1099. Also, if you run into any technical issues with the FAFSA website (which happens more often than it should), don't panic - you can always save your progress and come back to it later. The system saves automatically as you go. Good luck with your application, and remember that having parents on disability often means you'll qualify for good aid packages!

This is a question for a financial aid officer at the specific school(s) your daughter is applying to. Every school handles special circumstances differently, and they're the ones who will be making decisions about aid packages. The federal guidelines are just the starting point.

Here's how to maximize your daughters' aid in your specific situation: 1. File the FAFSA as the custodial parent (which is you, since your daughter lived with you most of the last 12 months) 2. When it asks about parents' marital status, select "Divorced or Separated" - not "Married" or "Never Married" 3. Only provide YOUR financial information, not your ex-wife's 4. After submitting the FAFSA, contact each school's financial aid office immediately about a "Professional Judgment Review" or "Special Circumstances Review" - this is critical 5. For next year when both daughters are in college, make sure to indicate the number of dependents in college as "2" - this will significantly reduce your Student Aid Index 6. If your income has changed significantly from the tax year requested on the FAFSA, also mention this in your special circumstances review The professional judgment review is where you'll explain the absence of your ex-wife and provide documentation about being the sole supporter. This can significantly impact the aid offered.