FAFSA covered tuition but rejected dorm costs - what am I missing?

FAFSA doesnt actually pay for anything directly. its just the form that determines your eligibility. the school decides how to distribute the aid. sounds like they gave him scholarships or grants that are tuition-specific but not room/board eligible.

The previous commenter is correct. FAFSA is just the application that determines your son's Student Aid Index (SAI). Based on that index, your son qualified for certain types of aid - likely a combination of grants, scholarships, and loans. What's probably happening is that some of his aid has restrictions on what it can be used for. For example, many state grants and institutional scholarships can only be applied toward tuition and fees, not room and board. Federal Pell Grants can be used for any educational expense including housing, but if the Pell doesn't cover everything, the remaining aid might have those restrictions. I'd recommend asking the financial aid office for a detailed breakdown of each aid type in his package and the specific restrictions on each. You might need to supplement with a Parent PLUS loan to cover the housing costs.

same thing happened to my daughter last year! we ended up taking out a parent plus loan to cover the dorm. its BS they dont tell u this stuff upfront

The whole system is DESIGNED to be confusing!!! Schools can advertise their "generous financial aid packages" but then strategically distribute it so families still end up paying thousands more than expected. My son got a "full ride" that didn't include housing or meal plan - an extra $16k we weren't expecting! And when we called the financial aid office, they just kept transferring us around in circles and never actually helped. Three years in and we're STILL fighting with them every semester about what's covered. The financial aid system is BROKEN.

When you're looking at your son's award letter, check for these specific things: 1. Any mention of "tuition-specific" grants or scholarships 2. Whether he received any Federal Direct Subsidized/Unsubsidized loans (these CAN be used for housing) 3. If he received a Pell Grant (can be used for any educational expense) 4. Any state grants (often tuition-specific) Based on your SAI of 3200, he should qualify for some federal aid that could cover housing. The issue might be that the tuition and fees at his school used up all the unrestricted aid, leaving nothing for housing. I'd recommend calling the Federal Student Aid Information Center directly at 1-800-433-3243 to understand exactly what federal aid he qualified for based on his FAFSA. Then you'll know if the school distributed it correctly.

Thank you all for the responses! I called the financial aid office again and was more persistent about getting details. Turns out my son received a state tuition grant that can ONLY be applied to tuition (about $8,600) and a merit scholarship from the university (about $5,000) that's also tuition-restricted. His Pell Grant was only $3,700 which went toward books and part of the meal plan. So now we're looking at Parent PLUS loans to cover the housing. I wish they had explained this clearly from the beginning instead of just saying "here's your financial aid package" without explaining all the restrictions. Is it worth appealing for more aid at this point?

also check if theres cheaper housing options. sometimes the expensive dorms arent the only choice. my kid saved like 4k by picking a different dorm building with less amenities

One important thing to remember is that your FAFSA for 2025-26 can be adjusted if your financial situation has changed since you filed. If you've had any reduction in income, increased medical expenses, or other financial hardships, you can submit what's called a Professional Judgment Request (sometimes called a Special Circumstances form) to the financial aid office. This can result in a recalculation of your son's SAI, potentially qualifying him for additional aid that could help with housing costs. About 30% of the professional judgment requests I've helped families with have resulted in additional aid. Also, for the Parent PLUS loan - make sure to only borrow what you absolutely need. The interest rates are higher than direct student loans, and they start accruing interest immediately.

my cousin went thru this at michigan state!! turns out some schools have separate housing scholarships u have to apply for. they're not automatic with fafsa. tell ur son to ask about housing specific scholarships!! sometimes there's weird deadlines for those too

I'm new to this whole financial aid process and reading through this thread has been so helpful! My daughter is a junior in high school and we're starting to look at colleges. I had no idea that FAFSA was just the application and that different types of aid have different restrictions. This is definitely something I need to understand better before we start applying places. Oliver, I hope you're able to get some additional aid through the appeal process - it sounds like you have some good strategies to try now. Thank you everyone for sharing your experiences, this is exactly the kind of real-world advice that's so hard to find elsewhere!

This thread has been incredibly eye-opening! I'm dealing with something similar for my daughter's upcoming freshman year. We received what looked like a generous aid package, but when I broke it down, most of it was loans and tuition-restricted grants. The "gap" for room and board ended up being much larger than expected. One thing that helped us was requesting a meeting with a senior financial aid counselor (not just the front desk staff) and bringing a detailed list of questions about each line item in the award letter. They were much more helpful in explaining the restrictions and even pointed us toward some additional scholarship opportunities we hadn't considered. Also worth noting - some schools will match aid offers from comparable institutions, so if your son has other acceptance letters with better aid packages, it might be worth mentioning that during your appeal.

As someone who just went through this exact situation with my son last year, I feel your frustration! The financial aid system really is unnecessarily confusing. One thing that ended up helping us was asking the school if they had any emergency or supplemental housing grants available - many schools have small pools of funding specifically for situations like this that aren't widely advertised. Also, if your son has any special circumstances (first-generation college student, specific major, etc.), there might be targeted scholarships available through individual departments or student organizations. The financial aid office won't always volunteer this information, so you have to ask specifically. We ended up finding a $3,000 housing grant through his intended major's department that completely changed our situation. Don't give up on the appeal process - persistence really does pay off in these cases!

I'm going through this exact same situation right now with my twin daughters! Both got accepted to the same state school, and we're facing nearly $30,000 in unexpected housing costs between the two of them. What's really frustrating is that the school's website made it sound like their "comprehensive financial aid packages" would cover most expenses for families in our income bracket. Turns out "comprehensive" just meant they listed everything you'd need to pay for, not that they'd actually help pay for it all! Reading through everyone's advice here has given me so much hope though. I'm going to try the appeal process, look into department-specific scholarships, and definitely ask about those emergency housing grants Norman mentioned. Has anyone had experience with schools being more flexible when you have multiple kids attending the same institution? I'm wondering if that gives us any additional leverage in negotiations.

I'm just starting to learn about all this financial aid stuff as my youngest is beginning her college search, and this thread has been incredibly educational! The distinction between FAFSA being just an application versus actual funding, and all the different restrictions on various types of aid - I had no idea it was this complicated. Oliver, it sounds like you're getting some great actionable advice here. I'm definitely going to bookmark this conversation for when we go through this process next year. One question for the group - are there any resources or websites you'd recommend for learning more about these aid restrictions and appeal processes before we get to the application stage? I want to be as prepared as possible so we don't get blindsided like so many families seem to be.