FAFSA SAI calculation completely wrong after parent divorce - what now?

Ugh, the exact same thing happened to my brother last year!!! The system is SO broken when it comes to divorce situations. You need to file a special circumstances appeal with each individual college financial aid office - the federal system won't fix it. Start collecting all documentation showing the date of the divorce finalization and your mom's custody arrangement. The FAFSA system is notorious for this kind of screw up.

This is definitely a known issue with the 2025-2026 FAFSA. The system sometimes incorrectly applies both parents' income even after divorce. You need to contact each school's financial aid office directly, but FIRST you should try to get your FAFSA corrected at the source. Here's what you need to do: 1. Submit a correction to your FAFSA and specifically note in the comments section that your parents are divorced 2. Prepare a packet with your divorce documentation (final decree showing date) 3. Include documentation of custody arrangement 4. Add your mom's W-2 forms showing her actual income 5. Write a clear cover letter explaining the situation If you can't reach FSA by phone, try the live chat feature on studentaid.gov - it's sometimes faster.

the system is rigged lol they WANT ur sai to be high so u get less aid. my cousin had the same thing and ended up having to take out max loans anyway. good luck

I actually work in financial aid at a community college, and we see this ALL THE TIME with divorce situations. The key is to contact each college individually through their financial aid office - they have a process called "Professional Judgment" where they can override your federal SAI calculation based on documented special circumstances. Don't panic about the high SAI - this is fixable! Just start the process ASAP because it can take time.

Have you called ur dad to c if he got any emails about FAFSA? Maybe he submitted something too and thats why ur getting double counted???

I struggled with reaching anyone at Federal Student Aid for weeks about a similar issue (my parents' business income was double-counted). I finally used a service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that got me connected to an actual FSA agent in about 20 minutes instead of waiting on hold forever. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ The agent was able to flag my application for manual review and explained exactly what documents I needed to submit to prove my case. Saved me so much frustration!

I had almost the exact same issue but with my mom's new husband's income (my stepdad who doesn't support me financially at all). My SAI came back at $28,000 which was INSANE considering I'm basically independent. What worked for me was: 1. I couldn't get through on the phone either 2. I submitted a correction online 3. I went IN PERSON to my top choice school's financial aid office 4. They helped me file a special circumstances form 5. I had to provide my mom's tax returns, the marriage certificate showing when my stepdad entered the picture, and a statement explaining my financial independence It took about 3 weeks but they adjusted my aid package to reflect my actual situation. Don't give up!!

It also might be worth checking if you entered something incorrectly on the FAFSA. With the new FAFSA Simplification Act changes, sometimes people get confused about which parent should be listed. Did you specifically indicate that your parents are divorced? There's a specific question about that, and if you missed it, the system might be assuming a two-parent household.