Does missing Pell Grant on school portal mean my daughter didn't qualify for FAFSA grant?

Unfortunately, if Pell Grant isn't listed, it likely means she didn't qualify. For the 2025-2026 aid year, Pell eligibility typically cuts off around an SAI of 3900-4000 for full-time students (exact thresholds can vary). With an SAI of 4800, she's just outside that range. All financial aid offers should be listed on that portal page - they wouldn't hide a Pell Grant somewhere else if she qualified for it.

Yes, you can absolutely request a financial aid appeal based on change in circumstances! Since your ex-husband lost his job after FAFSA submission, this qualifies as a valid special circumstance. Contact the financial aid office immediately and ask about their "Professional Judgment" or "Special Circumstances" appeal process. You'll need to provide documentation of the job loss and current financial situation. This could potentially adjust your daughter's SAI enough to qualify for Pell Grant funds.

The WHOLE system is RIGGED!!!! My daughter had an SAI of 3200 and STILL didn't get Pell on her award letter!! I called the school and they said "oh we're still processing, check back in 2 weeks" but I KNOW they're just trying to force us into taking out MORE LOANS!!!! The FAFSA is a JOKE - they collect all this personal information and then give nothing back to middle class families!!!

I had this exact problem with my son's financial aid! I spent HOURS trying to get through to someone at Federal Student Aid to understand why he wasn't getting Pell when his friends with similar finances were. After weeks of getting disconnected or waiting on hold forever, I found this service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that got me connected to an actual FSA agent in under 25 minutes. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ. The agent explained that there was an income verification flag on our application that was holding everything up, and once we cleared that, the Pell Grant showed up in his portal about a week later.

Yes! That's exactly why I tried it - kept getting the high call volume message for like 2 weeks straight. It definitely worked for me and saved my sanity. The agent I finally spoke with said they're dealing with huge backlogs this year because of all the FAFSA changes.

hey i had this same thing happen last year my financial aid page only showed loans at first but then like 3 weeks later the pell grant appeared!!! sometimes the schools update stuff in waves, so loans first and then grants later. maybe just wait a bit???

I just called the financial aid office and learned something important - they said they're still finalizing all grant awards for incoming freshmen! The loans were processed first, and Pell Grants are being added to accounts next week. So I might have panicked for nothing. They also said they'll send me the special circumstances form for the job loss situation, which could potentially increase her aid even further. Thanks everyone for your help!

omg my daughters friend had this same issue and it turned out her fafsa had a mistake where her dad put his retirement account as a regular savings account which made them look like they had way more money than they actually did... might be worth double checking all your numbers?

That's such great news that the school is still processing grants! This is actually pretty common - many schools do process federal loans first since they're easier to calculate, then work through the Pell Grant determinations afterward. The timing can vary a lot between institutions. And definitely pursue that special circumstances appeal for your husband's job loss - those appeals can make a real difference in your daughter's aid eligibility. Keep us posted on how it turns out!