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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

Financial aid office update: Most schools are handling this reprocessing situation by: 1. Extending May 1st deposit deadlines to May 15th for affected students 2. Prioritizing revised award letters for those students 3. Maintaining original award amounts in many cases, especially if the SAI change is minor 4. Only adjusting federal aid components if legally required I recommend accepting your best current offer but explaining to that school that your FAFSA is being reprocessed. Most institutions are being very understanding this year given all the FAFSA challenges.

Yes, now that your reprocessing is complete and your SAI decreased, you should: 1. Immediately contact all schools that previously provided aid packages 2. Let them know your SAI has decreased by $1,200 after the Department of Education's reprocessing 3. Ask if they'll recalculate your aid package based on the updated information 4. Request an update on timing for any revised offers With a $1,200 SAI decrease, you might see modest improvements in need-based aid at some schools. This could mean a few hundred dollars more in grants or subsidized loans, depending on each school's awarding policies. Based on conversations with other advisors, most schools are recalculating packages within 48-72 hours for reprocessed FAFSAs at this point. Good luck!

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.

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.