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After you receive the award letters from each school, make sure you carefully review all the different types of aid they're offering. Many schools front-load their packages with loans rather than grants or scholarships. Look specifically for: 1. Free money (grants and scholarships) that doesn't need to be repaid 2. Work-study opportunities 3. Subsidized loans (government pays interest while in school) 4. Unsubsidized loans (interest accrues immediately) 5. Parent PLUS loans (these are in the parent's name) Some schools make their packages look generous by including large Parent PLUS loan amounts, so be careful when comparing offers.
This is incredibly helpful advice - thank you! I'll make sure we're comparing apples to apples when the packages arrive. Definitely prefer grants over loans if possible.
also u need to be super careful abt deadlines for accepting aid. some schools have different deadlines for accepting admission vs accepting financial aid. my brother almost lost his aid package cuz he didn't realize he had to accept it separately from accepting admission
Oh wow, I had no idea! I'll make sure we check for separate deadlines. This whole process is so much more complicated than when I went to college.
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everyone keeps saying "dependency override" but from personal experience, those are INCREDIBLY hard to get approved. i work in a high school guidance office and we help seniors with fafsa every year. out of maybe 25 override requests ive seen in the past 3 years, maybe 5 got approved. schools are super strict about this. honestly? just put the mom's info in, put $0 for her income if she doesnt file US taxes, and move forward. financial aid offices know how to handle international parent situations. its way more common than you think.
While I understand you're trying to simplify things, I'd caution against simply putting $0 for the mother's income without proper documentation. This would almost certainly trigger verification, and if they can't then provide documentation, it could lead to even more delays and potential issues with aid. Better to be upfront and follow the proper channels.
financial aid verification happens randomly anyway. like half the students i work with get selected no matter what. might as well just put the info in the simplest way and deal with verification if it happens. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
UpdateI: After researching this further, I want to add something important: For the 2025-2026 FAFSA, there are new rules about who counts as a "contributor" (they don't use "parent" anymore). If his biological father is deceased and his mother is his only living parent, then she would be the contributor whose information is required, regardless of where she lives. One advantage: The new SAI (Student Aid Index) calculation under the simplified FAFSA gives more favorable consideration to single-contributor households, especially with low income. So if his mother in Mexico has minimal income, this might actually work in his favor for aid calculations.
I really appreciate this update. We're going to try contacting his mom in Mexico to get her information. Do you know if there are any specific documents we would need from her since she doesn't file US taxes? Would something like proof of her income in pesos be sufficient?
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This is becoming more common for the 2025-2026 cycle. The Department of Education made significant improvements to their processing times after the delays from last year's FAFSA Simplification rollout. Schools with efficient financial aid offices can now turn around packages much faster than in previous years. One important note: Early packages sometimes contain estimated federal aid amounts if the school processed before receiving your official FAFSA data. Check if the letter mentions anything about estimates versus final offers. Also, if your income situation has changed since the tax year used for FAFSA (2023 taxes for 2025-2026 FAFSA), you can request a professional judgment review from the financial aid office.
do u know if we can see what our daughters actual SAI score is somewhere? the financial aid letter just showed awards but didnt say what our actual SAI was
To answer the follow-up questions I'm seeing: @profile7 - Yes, SAI (Student Aid Index) replaced EFC (Expected Family Contribution), but they work slightly differently. The SAI is used to determine eligibility for federal financial aid, but it is NOT necessarily what you'll pay. Your actual cost depends on the school's cost of attendance, your financial need, and what the school offers in aid. @profile6 - You can see your SAI score in your Student Aid Report (SAR). Log into studentaid.gov, go to your FAFSA application, and view your SAR. Your SAI should be clearly listed. @profile3 - Absolutely consider appealing if the package isn't sufficient. Prepare documentation of any special circumstances and competing offers. Many schools have formal appeal processes.
Thank you so much! I finally worked up the courage to open the package and it's... decent. Not amazing, but workable. About $17K in grants and scholarships, $5.5K in work-study, and $7.5K in direct subsidized/unsubsidized loans. Still leaves about $15K we need to figure out, but it's better than I feared. I'll definitely look into the appeal process though.
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This new FAFSA system is a complete DISASTER!!! My daughter had the same issue and we had to wait 12 DAYS before we could make corrections. Then after making corrections, her SAI somehow went UP by $2,300 even though we ADDED income information that should have made it go DOWN!!! Now we're in some kind of "verification" process that's taking FOREVER. The whole thing is ridiculous and I'm convinced they're purposely making it complicated to reduce the number of students who successfully complete it.
The SAI calculation doesn't always work the way people expect it to. When you add additional income, it can actually increase your SAI even though that seems counterintuitive. The formula takes into account many factors including family size, number in college, asset protection allowances, and income protection allowances. It's complicated but not designed to be punitive.
UPDATE: The correction option just appeared on my account this morning! It took exactly 7 days from submission. Now I'm going through the correction process to add my mom as a contributor. Thanks everyone for your help! For anyone with the same issue - just be patient and keep checking your dashboard daily.
That's great news! Make sure you have your mom complete her part ASAP. Also important - after she submits her info, YOU still need to go back in and complete the final submission step. A lot of people miss that and wonder why their corrections never processed.
Andre Laurent
lol its actually kinda genius of ur ex if he knows what hes doing. if hes higher income and does the FAFSA ur kid will get less aid. if u do it with lower income they might get more. maybe hes actually trying to help? just saying its possible
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Luca Esposito
•Trust me, he's not trying to help. He's been financially manipulative throughout our divorce. I think he's trying to create confusion or possibly sabotage the application entirely.
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Nia Thompson
•This is actually a common misconception. FAFSA requires the parent who provides more than 50% of support to complete the form, regardless of which parent would provide a more advantageous financial picture. Deliberately choosing the "wrong" parent to get more aid could lead to verification issues and potential penalties for misrepresentation.
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Luca Esposito
Update: I called my child's prospective college financial aid office, and they recommended I start a completely new FAFSA application as the contributing parent. They said it's better than trying to modify his abandoned application. They also suggested I keep all receipts and documentation showing I provide most of the support (housing, food, clothing, etc.) in case we get selected for verification. Apparently, this situation is pretty common with divorced parents. Thanks everyone for the advice!
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Aisha Abdullah
•Great update! The financial aid office gave you exactly the right guidance. Starting fresh is always cleaner than trying to modify an application someone else began. Good luck with the process!
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Yuki Tanaka
•Smart move calling the school directly! They usually give the best advice since they're the ones who'll actually be processing the aid.
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