Just a friendly reminder to check each school's financial aid deadline date for incoming students. While May 1st is the standard commitment date for admissions, many schools have earlier priority deadlines for financial aid applications. If you missed a priority deadline, don't panic - still submit everything ASAP and contact the office directly as others have suggested. Also, be sure to check your student's email (including spam/junk folders) and any student portals regularly. Some schools communicate exclusively through their own systems rather than parents' email addresses, even if you completed the FAFSA as the parent.

I'm in the exact same situation! My son was accepted to three schools but we've only heard back from one with a financial aid package so far. The stress is real with the May 1st deadline approaching. One thing I learned from our college counselor is that you can request an extension on the decision deadline if you're still waiting on financial aid information. Most schools will grant a brief extension (usually 1-2 weeks) when you explain that you're waiting on aid packages from other schools to make an informed decision. Also, make sure to submit your tax returns and any other required documents to the schools' financial aid offices if you haven't already. Sometimes they're waiting on additional verification before they can finalize packages. Good luck to your daughter!

Just to add a bit more context: The Pell Grant program for 2025-2026 has a maximum award of approximately $7,395 for students with an SAI of $0. The grant amount gradually decreases as the SAI increases, with the smallest Pell Grants being around $700-$1,200. In cases with multiple family members in college, as others have mentioned, the effective SAI per student can be significantly lower than your total family SAI, which is why you're seeing potential eligibility despite the high number.

This is such valuable information! I'm a newcomer here and going through the exact same situation with my daughter's FAFSA. Our SAI came back at around $45k and we also got that "may qualify for small Pell Grant" message. I was convinced it had to be an error since everything I'd read online said Pell was only for much lower income families. Reading all these responses about multiple students in college affecting the calculation makes so much sense now - we also have my older son finishing his senior year. It's reassuring to hear from people who actually received small Pell grants despite higher SAIs. Thank you everyone for sharing your experiences!

Something else to consider is strategic use of Parent PLUS loans. While I generally don't recommend taking on excessive debt, some families use PLUS loans for the first year or two while simultaneously: 1. Aggressively applying for scholarships/grants for subsequent years 2. Having the student establish residency for in-state tuition if they're currently out-of-state 3. Working with the student to build credentials for merit aid or department scholarships 4. Planning for the student to take on more responsibility for costs as they progress Just be absolutely certain you understand the terms of any PLUS loans - they have higher interest rates than direct student loans and fewer forgiveness options. Never borrow more than what your student's expected first-year salary will be in their chosen field.

I'm a new parent going through this nightmare for the first time and honestly feeling so overwhelmed. Reading all your comments makes me realize we're not alone, but also terrifies me about what's ahead. Our daughter is only a junior but I'm already losing sleep over how we're going to afford her college dreams. We make about $115k combined and live in a high cost area, but apparently that makes us "privileged" according to the financial aid system. We've been saving what we can but it's nowhere near enough for the schools she's interested in. The idea that we should drain our retirement or go into massive debt just seems insane. Has anyone found success with starting the scholarship search early? I keep hearing about applying to tons of small scholarships but don't even know where to begin. Also wondering if we should be having "the money talk" with our daughter now to adjust her expectations, or if that's too harsh while she's still in high school? This whole system feels designed to crush families like ours who are trying to do everything right.

Thank you all for the helpful responses! I feel much better knowing that her university merit scholarship won't negatively impact her FAFSA SAI for next year. I'll double-check with the financial aid office about whether the scholarship is renewable (the letter wasn't clear). And I'll be prepared for the possibility that her overall aid package might change for sophomore year even if her SAI stays the same. Really appreciate all your insights!

Just wanted to add another perspective as someone who's been through this process twice now. Make sure to ask the financial aid office specifically about their "outside scholarship policy" even though this is an internal merit award. Some schools have policies where ANY scholarship (internal or external) can affect how they calculate future aid packages, not necessarily the FAFSA SAI but their own institutional methodology. Also, if your daughter ends up getting any outside scholarships in future years, having this baseline understanding will be super helpful. The financial aid office should be able to give you a written policy document that spells out exactly how they handle scholarships - don't just take someone's word for it over the phone. Having it in writing saved me during a dispute with my son's school when they tried to reduce his aid package unfairly.

Update: My husband just completed his section and it went smoothly! He reported our household as 5 people and found the section to report child support payments separately. Thanks everyone for your help - it made the process so much easier having the right information ahead of time.

Congratulations on getting it sorted out! As someone who's helped dozens of families navigate FAFSA for blended situations, I'm glad to see the community provided such clear guidance. For other families reading this thread, I'd add one more tip: always keep documentation of custody arrangements and child support orders handy when filling out FAFSA. Sometimes financial aid offices will request verification of these details later in the process. The distinction between household size and child support paid is one of the most commonly misunderstood aspects of FAFSA, so you're definitely not alone in the initial confusion!