Military spouse denied Pell Grant for 2025-2026 despite eligibility - caught in FAFSA/school referral loop

u probly did ur tax info wrong or somethin. my cousin had this happen n it was cuz she checked the wrong box on her w2 info. call fafsa again n just stay on the line til they fix it

The exact same thing happened to me this year! I should have qualified based on our household income and my SAI was definitely in the eligible range. After getting the runaround for weeks, it turned out there was a flag on my application because my husband's military pay wasn't properly categorized. Apparently there's a specific way combat pay and BAH need to be reported, and if it's not done correctly, it can mess up your eligibility calculation.

Financial aid advisor here. This is most likely related to how military compensation was reported on your FAFSA. The system often flags applications from military families for verification because BAH (Basic Allowance for Housing) and other military benefits are sometimes incorrectly reported as taxable income. You need to request a formal SAI recalculation. Here's what to do: 1. Contact your school's financial aid office and specifically request a "professional judgment review" based on military compensation reporting issues 2. Bring documentation showing your husband's LES (Leave and Earnings Statement) that clearly separates base pay from allowances 3. Make sure your financial aid counselor understands that BAH should NOT be counted as income for FAFSA purposes 4. Ask them to submit a formal correction to your FAFSA based on this review If they continue to push you back to FAFSA, ask to speak with the director of financial aid, as this is absolutely something your school needs to help with.

idk why ur stressing so much. just take out loans like everyone else does lol. pell grants aren't guaranteed just cause ur husband is military. my brother is e4 and his wife didn't get any grants either.

You mentioned you've used Pell for 3 semesters previously - are you absolutely sure about your remaining eligibility? The lifetime limit is 600% (equivalent to 6 years of full-time enrollment), but the system can sometimes show incorrect calculations if you've had any semesters with unusual enrollment patterns. I had a similar issue where my part-time semesters weren't properly calculated.

Having worked through this exact issue with multiple military families this year, I can tell you that the 2025-2026 FAFSA has been especially problematic for reporting military compensation correctly. The new FAFSA simplification was supposed to make this easier, but it's actually created new complications. The most likely culprits are: 1. Military housing allowance (BAH) incorrectly counted as income 2. Combat pay exclusions not properly applied 3. A verification flag that's stuck in the system I've found that the most effective solution is using Claimyr to get through to an actual FAFSA specialist who can see the specific flag on your account. Regular phone calls just get you to general support who can't see these details. I used their service (claimyr.com) last month when dealing with a similar issue for a student - they got me connected to an agent in 15 minutes instead of the usual 2+ hour wait. There's a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ Once you reach a specialist, specifically ask them to check for "verification code V4 or V5" on your account, which are commonly triggered by military income reporting issues.

I experienced the same frustrating loop last semester with my Pell Grant denial. After weeks of getting nowhere, I discovered there was a "dependency status flag" on my application that nobody had bothered to tell me about. The school couldn't remove it, only FAFSA could, but FAFSA said they needed documentation submitted through the school! Eventually I had to: 1. Submit a dependency status verification form 2. Provide additional tax transcripts (not just the returns) 3. Get my husband's commanding officer to sign a letter verifying his service status Only after all that did my Pell Grant suddenly appear in my aid package. The system is completely broken for military families - they should have a specialized department just for handling these cases.

Based on all the responses, it sounds like you're dealing with one of the common military family verification issues. To add to my earlier advice, be aware that the FAFSA simplification changes for 2025-2026 have created some specific technical problems for military families: 1. The new simplified formula sometimes incorrectly includes BAH in the Student Aid Index calculation 2. The "military question" on the new FAFSA doesn't properly distinguish between types of military compensation 3. There's a known system issue where military dependents are being flagged for unnecessary verification In addition to the professional judgment review I mentioned, you might need to complete a "Special Circumstances Form" specifically citing the military compensation reporting issue. Most schools have this form available but don't advertise it unless you specifically ask for it.

Update on my similar situation: I FINALLY got my Pell Grant approved after submitting the Special Circumstances form that @financialaidadvisor mentioned. The key was providing documentation showing exactly how much of my husband's military compensation was BAH vs base pay, and explicitly requesting that they recalculate my SAI without counting the housing allowance. It took about 3 weeks for everything to process, but my aid package was updated yesterday and now includes the full Pell Grant amount I was eligible for. Don't give up - it's definitely worth fighting for!

I'm going through something very similar right now! My husband is also active duty (E4) and we got denied for Pell Grant despite our low income. After reading through all these responses, I'm realizing we probably made the same BAH reporting mistake. One thing I wanted to add - when you do get through to FAFSA (whether through Claimyr or waiting on hold), make sure to ask them to email you a summary of what they find on your account. I learned this the hard way after multiple calls where different agents told me different things and I had no record of what was actually discussed. Also, if your school continues to give you the runaround, try reaching out to your state's higher education department. Many states have student advocacy offices that can help when you're stuck between FAFSA and your school. It's another option if the professional judgment review doesn't work out. Good luck - you shouldn't have to take on unnecessary debt when you clearly qualify for the grant!

I'm a newcomer here but dealing with almost the exact same situation! My husband is Navy E-3 and we were also denied Pell Grant despite our income being well under the threshold. Reading through everyone's responses has been incredibly eye-opening - I had no idea about the BAH reporting issues or the Special Circumstances forms. What really resonates with me is the frustrating back-and-forth between FAFSA and the school. I've been told three different things by three different people at my financial aid office, and each time they just send me back to call FAFSA. It's like nobody wants to take ownership of actually solving the problem. I'm definitely going to try the Claimyr service that @ava mentioned and ask specifically about those verification codes. I'm also going to request that Special Circumstances form from my school tomorrow. Thank you all for sharing your experiences - it's given me hope that this can actually be resolved instead of just accepting that I have to take out loans I can't afford. For other military spouses reading this thread, it seems like we need to be much more aggressive about advocating for ourselves and not accepting the runaround. These aren't just random system glitches - there are specific solutions if we know what to ask for!