After seeing your responses to other comments, I want to follow up with some additional advice. Since you mentioned your hours were cut after FAFSA submission, that's EXACTLY what professional judgment reviews are designed for! Make sure to: 1. Document the reduction in hours/income (pay stubs, letter from employer) 2. Calculate the projected annual income difference 3. Submit a formal appeal letter specifically requesting "professional judgment review due to income reduction" With your already negative SAI, further reduction could potentially qualify your son for increased institutional aid or additional state grants. Don't be discouraged if your first request is denied - persistence often pays off with financial aid offices.

It's usually best to call first to learn their specific process - some schools have forms while others want a letter. Mention specifically that you've had an "income reduction since FAFSA filing" and ask about their "professional judgment review process." This uses their terminology and signals you understand the system. One more option: see if your son can get on the housing waitlist for the lowest-cost dorm options. Sometimes spots open up last minute when other students decide not to attend.

I want to emphasize what was said earlier - please contact the financial aid offices directly at each school your daughter is considering. As someone working in financial aid, I can tell you we're maintaining lists of students affected by FAFSA delays and working with them individually. Many schools are creating contingency plans for students caught in this situation, including offering preliminary aid packages based on the information you can provide directly to the school while waiting for the official FAFSA results.

Yes, sending your 2022 tax documents directly to the schools could definitely help them create a preliminary aid estimate. Some schools also have their own institutional aid application forms they can use as alternatives. Each school handles this differently, so when you call, ask specifically what documentation they need to create a preliminary aid package while waiting for the official FAFSA results. This approach won't work for federal aid directly, but it can give you a good idea of what to expect and help with your decision-making process.

I just wanna say i applied for sm scholarship in high school and like never heard from most!! its super normal dont worry lol. they only tell u if u win something its crazy but thats how it works good luck!!!

While you're waiting to hear back about these scholarships, I recommend reviewing your son's current financial aid package from his chosen school(s). With the higher-than-expected SAI score, you may want to submit a Professional Judgment appeal (sometimes called a Special Circumstances review) to the financial aid office. If your financial situation has changed since the tax year used for FAFSA calculations, or if you have unusual expenses not captured by the FAFSA, this process might help increase his institutional aid offer regardless of these outside scholarships.

Update: I finally got it to work! Combination of solutions that worked for me: 1. Compressed all my PDFs to under 1MB each using an online tool 2. Renamed files to just numbers and letters 3. Used a computer at my school's library 4. Did it at 6:30am when server load was probably lower Thanks everyone for your help! For anyone else struggling with this issue - keep trying different solutions and don't give up. The verification status in my account updated almost immediately once the upload finally went through.

Great news! For others who may find this thread: If you're still experiencing upload issues after trying these techniques, there are two official workarounds recently announced by FSA: 1. Request a secure email link by calling the FSA helpline (though wait times are still long) 2. Ask your school's financial aid office about their "FAFSA verification bypass protocol" - a temporary measure allowing schools to verify certain documents through their own systems The Department of Education has also extended many internal verification deadlines due to these technical difficulties, so don't panic if you're running into these issues close to your school's priority dates.

Great to hear you got it working! Just a heads-up - make sure you check back after the verification processing completes. Sometimes the verification results can affect other parts of your application that might need updating.

thx for posting what worked! gonna bookmark this for when mine inevitably breaks again lol