FAFSA calculated $8400 tuition gap despite public housing & SNAP eligibility - who can fix this?

Your situation definitely sounds like there might be an error in the SAI calculation. The most effective approach is to contact your daughter's school's financial aid office directly. They can initiate what's called a "Professional Judgment Review" when there are special circumstances. Make sure you document your public housing status and SNAP eligibility - bring those official letters when you meet with them. They have authority to adjust the SAI based on documented special circumstances.

I went through this exact nightmare last year. The original FAFSA calculation completely ignored our Section 8 housing situation. First, definitely request the Professional Judgment like suggested above. But also double-check if you properly reported your housing assistance on the FAFSA form - it's under the "untaxed income" section but many people miss it because the wording is confusing. If housing benefits were reported as regular income rather than untaxed benefits, that could cause this exact problem.

have u checked if ur daughter is eligible 4 Pell Grants? with ur situation she probably qualifies for max Pell which is around $7,395 this yr. that would cover most of that gap

I know EXACTLY how you feel! FAFSA completely MESSED UP my son's application last year showing we could pay $12,000 more than we actually could!!! We had to fight them for MONTHS!!! They kept saying "the calculation is correct" but wouldn't explain HOW. Finally got it fixed after senator's office got involved! The system is BROKEN!!! Try calling your congressional rep's office - they have special contacts at Education Dept!!

If you're getting disconnected after waiting on hold with Federal Student Aid, you might want to try using Claimyr (claimyr.com). I discovered it when I was having similar issues getting through to fix my FAFSA verification problems. They basically wait on hold for you and call you back when an actual human picks up. Saved me hours of frustration. They have a demo video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ

One thing nobody mentioned yet - you should also check if you correctly entered your SNAP benefits on the FAFSA. There's a specific question that asks if anyone in your household received SNAP during the past two years. If you check that box, it should positively impact your SAI calculation. Sometimes people miss this question or think it's asking something else.

my cousin works in financial aid office says lots of people with public housing get wrong calculations cuz the system thinks they have more money than they do

After you contact the school's financial aid office, your next step should be to request an SAI recalculation directly through studentaid.gov. Look for the "Request Professional Judgment Review" option. You'll need to provide documentation proving your housing status and SNAP benefits. Also ask about dependent verification - sometimes being selected for verification and providing additional documentation can actually help your case when there are special circumstances.

For the immediate tuition gap problem, also ask the financial aid office about institutional grants or emergency assistance funds. Many schools have special funds specifically for situations like yours where there's a clear financial need that wasn't properly reflected in the federal calculation. Bring documentation of your public housing and SNAP benefits to that conversation too. Some schools can turn these requests around very quickly when deposit deadlines are approaching.

I'm really sorry you're dealing with this - the FAFSA system can be incredibly frustrating when you're clearly in need but the numbers don't reflect your reality. One thing that helped me when I had a similar issue was keeping a detailed log of all my calls and interactions. Write down dates, times, reference numbers, and who you spoke with. This documentation becomes really valuable if you need to escalate or if different representatives give you conflicting information. Also, when you do get through to someone, ask them to walk you through exactly how your SAI was calculated step by step. Sometimes they can spot the error right there on the call. Don't give up - with your housing and SNAP situation, there's definitely something wrong with that calculation.