Follow-up on your question about financial separation: Sharing child expenses doesn't automatically disqualify the separation status, especially for mutual children. What matters more is whether they're maintaining truly separate financial lives (separate banking, separate housing costs, etc.). Document everything carefully: - Separate lease agreements or mortgage documents - Utility bills showing separate addresses - Bank statements showing separate finances - Any informal separation agreement they might have The verification risk is higher when claiming separation without legal documentation, but proper documentation can make the process smoother. Each school's financial aid office has some discretion in these situations.

Just wanted to add from my experience - I went through something similar two years ago. The key thing that helped me was getting a letter from each parent stating their intent for the separation to be permanent, along with documentation of separate households. My financial aid office accepted this even without legal separation papers. The process took about 6 weeks longer than normal, but it worked out. Don't get discouraged if you hit verification - just be prepared with all your documentation upfront. Also, consider reaching out to multiple schools if you're applying to several, as different aid offices can have slightly different interpretations of these situations.

Based on your follow-up comments, I think you have more options than you initially realized. With a 3.7 GPA and 27 ACT, your daughter has a good chance at merit scholarships at Western State. Their automatic merit scholarships typically range from $4,000-$8,000 per year for those stats. Regarding your medical expenses: ABSOLUTELY mention those in a special circumstances appeal. Medical expenses over 11% of your income can significantly adjust your SAI calculation. Make sure to document everything thoroughly. At minimum, your daughter should qualify for: - $5,500 in federal loans her first year - Likely around $5,000-$7,000 in merit scholarships - Potentially work-study or campus employment ($3,000-$4,000/year) That could bring the actual out-of-pocket cost down to around $8,000-$10,000 per year, which is much more manageable than the full $24,000.

I'm in a very similar situation as a newcomer to all this! My son is a junior and I'm already starting to panic about college costs. Reading through all these responses gives me so much hope - I had no idea about federal loans not requiring parent credit scores or that merit aid could bring costs down so significantly. @Mateo Rodriguez - your daughter's stats sound great for merit scholarships! I've been lurking in college financial aid groups and keep seeing that combination of filling out FAFSA + applying for merit aid + documenting special circumstances can really open doors. The medical expense documentation sounds like it could make a real difference in your case. Thank you everyone for sharing your experiences - this thread is incredibly informative for those of us just starting this journey!

UPDATE: I called CSAC this morning using that service someone mentioned (Claimyr) and got through in about 10 minutes. The rep was super helpful and found the issue right away. Turns out my daughter's birthdate was entered correctly on FAFSA but somehow got flipped from MM/DD/YYYY to DD/MM/YYYY during the transfer to Cal Grant! The representative fixed it on the spot, and we can now see her Cal Grant eligibility in the portal. Thanks everyone for your help and advice!

So glad you got it resolved quickly! This thread has been incredibly helpful - I'm dealing with a similar Cal Grant issue right now where my son's application shows "pending verification" even though our FAFSA was accepted weeks ago. Based on everyone's advice here, I'm definitely going to skip the portal and call CSAC directly tomorrow. It's reassuring to see that most of these issues are just data transfer glitches that can be fixed once you get through to a real person. Thanks for sharing your update - it gives me hope that we can get this sorted out before the deadline too!

Yes, your step-sons will need to report their summer job income on their FAFSA applications. Student income above $7,600 per year is assessed at 50% for aid calculations, but since they each earned less than that threshold, it should have minimal impact on their aid eligibility. Make sure they have their W-2s from those jobs available when filling out their applications. And remember that with the FAFSA simplification, more emphasis is placed on parent income for dependent students, so your household income will be the primary factor in determining their SAI scores.

Welcome to the multiple kids in college club! I went through this exact situation two years ago with my daughter and stepson. A few additional tips that helped me: 1) Submit all three FAFSAs around the same time if possible - some schools have limited aid funds and it's first-come-first-served. 2) Double-check that you're listing the same parent information consistently across all three applications (income, assets, etc.) - any discrepancies can trigger verification requests. 3) Keep copies of everything! With three students, you'll likely get verification requests from multiple schools and having organized documentation saves tons of time. The good news is that yes, having three in college simultaneously will likely increase their aid eligibility significantly compared to having just one. Good luck!

Thanks everyone for the advice! I think I'll take a combined approach: 1. Contact financial aid offices at my top 3-4 schools to ask about their specific procedures 2. Be honest but brief about parent employment in Common App 3. Submit FAFSA/CSS with 2023 data when it opens 4. Follow up with each school's financial aid office immediately with formal special circumstances requests 5. Make sure to ask about both college-specific adjustments AND the federal SAI adjustment process I really appreciate all the different perspectives!

As a financial aid counselor, I want to emphasize something that hasn't been mentioned yet - timing matters A LOT for documentation. Start gathering your paperwork NOW, not later. You'll need: - Official termination/layoff letter from your dad's employer - Unemployment benefit award letter (if applicable) - Bank statements showing reduced income deposits - Any severance documentation - Updated tax projections for 2024 (even if estimated) Many families wait until they're asked for documentation and then scramble to get everything together. Having this ready before you even contact schools will speed up the entire process significantly. Also, some schools have earlier deadlines for special circumstances reviews than their regular financial aid deadlines, so don't assume you have until spring to handle this. One more tip: if your dad is actively job searching, keep records of that too (applications submitted, interviews, etc.) as some schools factor job search efforts into their professional judgment decisions.