same thing happend to my roomate last semester!!!! he's from colombia and fafsa was a NIGHTMARE for him. his finacial aid didnt come through until 3 weeks after classes started but the school gave him some kind of emergency loan to cover until then. ask ur school about emergency funding options!!!!

Update: Just checked the FSA website and today's maintenance is scheduled to end at midnight Eastern time. So you should be able to make corrections tomorrow. However, I still recommend pursuing the school waiver as your fastest option, as FAFSA corrections are taking 7-10 days minimum to process right now.

Has anyone actually received their aid package yet? We submitted in January, got our SAI score three weeks ago, but still no actual aid package from any of the schools. My son's decision deadline is May 1st and we're completely in the dark!

i feel u my scholarship got messed up cuz of fafsa too. ended up having to go to state school instead of private school i wanted. this whole system is trash

To address your follow-up question about documents for a special circumstances appeal, here's what you should gather: 1. Personal statement detailing your situation (be specific about financial separation while legally married) 2. Documentation showing you pay household expenses (mortgage/rent, utilities, insurance) 3. Documentation showing you'll be solely responsible for education costs 4. Tax returns with a statement explaining why the joint return doesn't reflect your actual situation 5. Budget worksheet showing your income and expenses separately 6. If applicable, any documentation regarding why your spouse cannot contribute (medical issues, etc.) Regarding Work-Study: Even if it wasn't initially offered, during your appeal process you can request to be considered for it. Many schools have additional work-study funds they can allocate during appeals. One last suggestion - see if your son's school offers any tuition installment plans. These don't reduce the cost, but they break payments into smaller monthly amounts that might be more manageable than lump-sum semester payments.

btw my neighbor's kid got like 5k more in aid after appealing so it def works sometimes! also dont forget to fill out FAFSA again next january, sometimes sophomore yr they give more aid (happened for my daughter).

anyone else notice how the FAFSA changes this year screwed everything up? i heard some schools aren't even requiring SAI for early packages...they're just estimating and will adjust later

UPDATE: I finally called my school's financial aid office this morning! They told me they're processing applications in the order received and mine should be ready within the next 7-10 days. They also said they're aware of the May 1st deadline and are prioritizing packages for undecided students. The woman I spoke with was actually super helpful and took my name down to flag my application for priority processing since I mentioned I'm waiting on the package to make my decision. Thanks everyone for the advice to call directly!

WHY are parents like this?!?! My dad was the same way. FAFSA deadline was LITERALLY the next day and he still hadn't done his part. I had to threaten to make him pay the difference in whatever aid I lost before he finally logged in. Parents have NO IDEA how expensive college actually is or how much these deadlines matter for OUR FUTURE.

UPDATE: I finally got through to my dad! I showed him exactly what he needed to do, made an estimate of how much aid I might lose (about $6000 based on last year's institutional grants), and set up a calendar invite with all his login info included. He completed it last night! Thank you all for your advice - especially about not sending another invitation since that could have reset everything. The application now shows "processing" status. So relieved!