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For the professional judgment appeal, most schools have a specific form on their financial aid website. If not, you'll need to write a formal letter explaining your circumstances and provide documentation. Focus specifically on circumstances that weren't captured in your FAFSA/CSS Profile, like that $18k medical expense. Regarding private loans - be extremely cautious. Interest rates are typically higher than federal loans, and they lack the protections and flexible repayment options of federal loans. Make sure you understand the total cost over the life of the loan. Have you considered: 1. Work-study programs at your school? 2. Asking if your dream school has an installment payment plan to break up the remaining costs? 3. Checking if your state has any grants or scholarships you might qualify for? 4. Looking into outside scholarships from community organizations, employers, etc.? Sometimes a combination of solutions works best. Also, don't overlook smaller departmental scholarships within your intended major - many students don't apply for these, so competition can be lower.
Update: Thanks everyone for the advice! I spent yesterday writing a formal appeal letter and gathering all our medical bills from last year. I also found two departmental scholarships I'm eligible for that could cover about $3,500 total. My parents agreed to help me cover $5k per year if I maintain a 3.5 GPA. With the unsubsidized loan and hopefully a successful appeal, I might be able to make this work. Still nervous about the whole situation but at least I have a plan now.
That sounds like a great plan! Be sure to keep in touch with the financial aid office throughout your college career - sometimes more aid becomes available later in the year, and your circumstances might change. Also, once you're enrolled, you may find additional opportunities like campus jobs, research assistantships, or resident advisor positions that can significantly reduce costs. Good luck with your appeal!
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Congratulations! I work in college admissions and want to explain why this happened, as it might help others. When your FAFSA was flagged for verification, they likely discovered information that actually LOWERED your SAI from what was initially calculated. This happens more often than people realize. Verification isn't always bad news - sometimes it results in more aid! For anyone still waiting, remember that schools often have two waves of financial aid offers: early offers based on initial FAFSA data, and revised offers after verification is complete. The second wave can be more generous if verification improves your situation.
That makes SO much sense! I was wondering why her final SAI seemed lower than what I initially calculated. Thank you for explaining this - I wish the FAFSA process was more transparent about how all these pieces fit together.
did your daughter have to do anything special on her application beside the fafsa? my son is applying this fall and i'm trying to figure out if we need to fill out CSS Profile too or just fafsa?
Great question! No CSS Profile for her school (state university), but she did have to complete a separate scholarship application through the university portal. Definitely check each school's financial aid website because some require CSS Profile and others have their own institutional forms. The deadlines are often different from FAFSA deadlines too!
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wait did u include the condo as an asset?? i think theres a way to exclude your primary home from FAFSA calculations!
Actually, that's a common misconception. The primary home IS excluded from FAFSA calculations. The OP's issue is likely related to their combined income and possibly retirement/investment accounts, not their primary residence. This is one of those areas where speaking directly with a FSA representative can help clarify what specific factors influenced their SAI.
UPDATE: Thanks everyone for the advice! We had a productive meeting with the financial aid office today. Turns out there were a few issues: 1. We incorrectly reported my 401k as an investment rather than a retirement account 2. We didn't document that we're both still paying off our own student loans 3. My wife qualifies for a teaching grant program for her specific field (special education) We're submitting a professional judgment review with the correct information and documentation of our current student loan payments. The aid counselor thinks this should significantly lower our SAI. Plus the teaching grant doesn't depend on FAFSA numbers anyway. Really appreciate all the help from everyone here. The system is definitely complicated when you're in that middle-income zone!
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I just dont understand why they didnt EMAIL US about this!!! How are we supposed to know whats going on if they dont tell us??? The whole system is broken and they expect us to just figure it out!
The Department of Education actually did send out a press release about this, but they're relying on schools to communicate with individual families. It's definitely a communication failure on their part. Always check studentaid.gov for updates rather than waiting for emails - they often post system-wide notices there first.
Just to follow up on my earlier comment - I checked with some colleagues today, and based on what we're seeing, these automatic corrections are taking about 3-5 days to process (not the 2-3 days the system claims). After that, schools typically need 5-7 business days to reprocess aid packages. Most schools are being very understanding about deposit deadlines right now. Don't panic if you don't have all the aid information by the standard May 1 deadline - just be proactive in communicating with the schools.
Thank you for the update! We've heard back from two schools already - one extended their deadline to May 15th for everyone, and the other said they'd work with us on a case-by-case basis. Such a relief to know we won't have to make decisions without all the information.
Malik Johnson
my kid's SAI was like $56,000 even though we don't make anywhere near that much money. the whole system is BROKEN.
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QuantumLeap
•That sounds unusually high. You might want to check if there was an error in your application. Common mistakes that inflate the SAI include reporting retirement assets as investments, counting the same income twice, or not properly entering household size. You can submit a correction to your FAFSA if you find errors.
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Chloe Taylor
Does anyone know if we need to wait for the SAI to show up before colleges can offer financial aid packages? My son's #1 choice is asking for his "official SAI" but we only have an estimate from their net price calculator.
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Freya Larsen
•Yes, colleges need the official SAI from the processed FAFSA before they can finalize aid packages. The net price calculator is just an estimate. Once your FAFSA is processed and the SAI is generated, schools automatically receive this information if your son listed them on his FAFSA. If his application shows as 'processed' but the school says they don't have it, you may need to check if the school's code was correctly entered on the FAFSA.
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