I know a woman in a similar situation here in NY. Her daughter’s paperwork did not come through on schedule but she did graduate from a NY highschool and was able to get funding from the SUNYs and maybe the state though no federal funds until recently, two years into college. She’s been commuting to a community college. She was a very good student with good test scores but going away to college was not affordable. They are hoping that she can transfer to some school next year. She’s now eligible to federal money but SUNYS dont tend to give money towards anything other than tuition. She’ll likely commute to a 4 year SUNY. She has very good grades