I'd like to add some clarification that might help. While it's true the system isn't perfect, there are some provisions that recognize disability situations: 1. Medical expenses that exceed 11% of the Income Protection Allowance can be reported on the FAFSA as special circumstances. 2. For the 529 plan and the other investment account: These are considered parental assets if the parent is the account owner, which reduces your Expected Family Contribution far less than if they were student assets. 3. Many colleges have special circumstances appeals specifically for families with disabilities. Once you receive your aid offer, you can request a professional judgment review and provide documentation about the disability-related expenses. Don't get discouraged before going through the process. Your daughter should still apply for all possible scholarships and aid options.

I just wanted to add something that might help with your situation. Since your wife's disability affects her cognitive abilities, you may want to look into whether your daughter qualifies for any disability-related scholarships or grants. Some organizations specifically provide funding for students whose parents have disabilities, recognizing the unique financial challenges families face. Also, when you do fill out the FAFSA, make sure to keep detailed records of everything you report - especially the asset values and any disability payments. If you need to make corrections later or file appeals, having good documentation will be crucial. The financial aid office at your daughter's school should be understanding of your complex situation, especially given the disability factors involved. One more thing - don't let the complexity discourage you from applying for aid. Even if the calculations don't work out perfectly in your favor initially, there are often additional opportunities for aid through the school itself, state programs, and private scholarships that might not consider all the same factors as the federal FAFSA.

yay! glad it worked out for you!!

I had this exact same issue last month! The cursor jumping between fields drove me absolutely crazy. What finally worked for me was using Safari on my Mac instead of any Windows browser - something about how Safari handles the form validation made it much more stable. Also, I found that typing very slowly (like waiting a full second between each character) helped prevent the automatic field jumping. It's ridiculous that we have to work around these bugs, but at least there are solutions. Hope this helps if the Firefox/incognito combo doesn't work for everyone!

For the immediate tuition gap problem, also ask the financial aid office about institutional grants or emergency assistance funds. Many schools have special funds specifically for situations like yours where there's a clear financial need that wasn't properly reflected in the federal calculation. Bring documentation of your public housing and SNAP benefits to that conversation too. Some schools can turn these requests around very quickly when deposit deadlines are approaching.

I'm really sorry you're dealing with this - the FAFSA system can be incredibly frustrating when you're clearly in need but the numbers don't reflect your reality. One thing that helped me when I had a similar issue was keeping a detailed log of all my calls and interactions. Write down dates, times, reference numbers, and who you spoke with. This documentation becomes really valuable if you need to escalate or if different representatives give you conflicting information. Also, when you do get through to someone, ask them to walk you through exactly how your SAI was calculated step by step. Sometimes they can spot the error right there on the call. Don't give up - with your housing and SNAP situation, there's definitely something wrong with that calculation.

I'm still waiting on my SAI calculation from an application I submitted 3 weeks ago... anyone know how long it takes for those to come through? The site just says "processing" with no timeline.

As someone who just went through this nightmare myself, I can totally relate to your frustration! The browser compatibility issues are real and it's honestly unacceptable for such an important government service. I ended up having success with a combination approach - cleared everything (cookies, cache, extensions) in Chrome, then switched to Edge as my backup. The key for me was also making sure I wasn't on my work VPN and using a personal email that wasn't associated with any educational institution. One thing I noticed is that the site seems to have better stability in the early morning hours (like 6-8 AM) when fewer people are hammering the servers. Also, don't give up if the verification email takes forever - mine took almost an hour to arrive one time. The whole system desperately needs an overhaul, but in the meantime these workarounds seem to help. Hope you get through to your account soon - the actual FAFSA form is much less painful once you're past the account creation hurdle!

Welcome to the community! I'm so sorry you're dealing with this stress right before the semester starts. This thread has been incredibly helpful - I'm dealing with a similar situation where my son's aid was reduced by $1,800 with no explanation. Reading through everyone's experiences, it sounds like checking the student portal for verification requests and comparing FAFSA/CSS Profile information are the first steps. Has anyone had success with the appeal process mentioned by Luca? I'm wondering how long those typically take to process since we're running out of time before tuition is due.

Welcome to the community! I'm a newcomer here but dealing with a very similar situation - my daughter's Pell Grant was suddenly reduced by $2,100 last week with absolutely no explanation. Reading through this thread has been so helpful, especially the advice about checking the student portal for verification requests (which seems to be a common culprit). I'm also going to try that Claimyr service that Aisha mentioned since I've been on hold with FSA for hours with no luck. It's really reassuring to know we're not alone in this - the new FAFSA system really seems to have created chaos for so many families. Has anyone found that certain times of day are better for getting through to financial aid offices? I'm wondering if calling first thing in the morning might be more successful than afternoons.