Just double check all the school’s enrollment dates…many have pushed it later than May 1 due to all the FAFSA issues.
College websites/phone calls/student portals and communications are likely the most accurate ways to verify, but NACAC has a master list too (but again double check the info). No need to put down money until the enrollment date!
Continued good luck as you navigate appeals.
Thanks. So far both schools have May 1 on their websites.
I am so terribly sorry for your situation, across the board. Did your child’s guidance counselor break down any potential nearby-state options for your child?
I hope that your youngest child’s current high school college planning/guidance group is thinking a few steps ahead to devise a plan for them in light of your family circumstances, taking into consideration where you as a family end up college-wise with your current senior.
There is 1 state option my child is considering. Its a good school, but its 10 minutes from where we live. She was really hoping to live someplace new and get that experience. we will see.
She got into American University yesterday too. But so far Northeastern is actually cheaper, but American didnt have her eligible for any Federal grants, which she should be if they looked at her financial aid forms closer. I’ll have to call them if she decides shes interested in persuing that.
Federal grant meaning Pell?
Yes. The Pell grant wasnt included. The only thing that was Merit Aid for $17k and then 2 small federal loans, but not for the full $5500 she should be eligible for.
I don’t think you’re eligible for Pell based on the info above?
But the 2 federal loans should indeed add up to 5.5k.
All students in the US are eligible for student federal loans, whether they are subsidized or unsubsidized is based on finances.
You probably won’t be Pell eligible once the SAI is calculated. You can request a special circumstances review once that happens. The school might choose to remove the insurance payout from untaxed income. If they do that, they will leave the sum of the payout in assets. Depending on the rest of your financial situation, your assets may or may not be considered in the SAI formula. You won’t know how this will play out until a review is completed, and that won’t happen for a while. I’m glad that your D has a viable option in case another school doesn’t work out.
If my income is under $60k/year she is not eligible for a Pell Grant? When I did one of those SAI calculators on the FAFSA site, it said the SAI was 0.
Which calculator did you use? If it was MyIntuition…I would suggest you use the ones on each college website instead.
I’ve done the ones at each school but I tried to estimate based on only my income + assets. Some (BU) was as high as $53k/year which is more than I take home a year. Others (Harvard) was about $25k. I know I will have to call every school because once they get the FAFSA info it will be based on my husband’s income and thats just not our reality anymore.
@kelsmom: would sending a death certifiacte to the Financial Aid office (proactively) make things smoother or does OP need to wait for the initial award announcement?
@kinVT: I can’t begin to comprehend having to deal all together with a staggering loss alongside with college admissions, the family budget’s upheaval, your children’s grief, and the FAFSA mess. 
Is anybody nearby who can help you with the administrative/financial side of college admissions?
This is a situation that will require a special circumstances review, which must be specifically requested. I can’t imagine any school processing this kind of review prior to acceptance. But she can call, explain the situation & ask how to proceed.
Didn’t the FAFSA request you to manually enter your income information when you completed it? I thought that this was triggered when a parent checked widowed and the filing status was married filing jointly. If not, you will definitely need a special circumstances review at each school so that they can assess your current situation. I encourage you to reach out to each school to discuss this proactively.
I dont think there was a thing specifically for widowed. the CSS profile allowed you to put in just your income, but the FAFSA had it straight from 2022 Taxes i believe.
I dont know who would help me with this. I feel like its something I need to do myself, right? Like unless I’m just going to hand over all my financial info to someone else and have them call? I think the schools will want to talk to me or my daughter, and she doesnt really want to tackle this issue.
This is the FAFSA page/question @kelsmom is talking about…did you check widowed here?
I filled it out online. I guess I probably did mark Widowed then.
Then, you should have filled out your income manually, as discussed at the link below (rather than have FAFSA automatically pull in your 2022 joint return from the IRS). But, it sounds like you did not manually enter the part of the 2022 tax return attributable to you?
From the FSA site:
If you became divorced, separated, or widowed after filing your 2022 federal tax return, you’ll need to determine the tax information that only applies to you to correctly answer the FAFSA questions.
If you and your spouse at the time filed separately, you can use your tax information as it is.
If you filed your 2022 taxes jointly, subtract your former spouse’s tax return information and report only the information that applies to you. If any item applies equally to you and your former spouse, report half of the total for that item.
https://studentaid.gov/2425/help/marital-status-taxes
We will help you figure this out!!
Wow thanks. I didnt even know it was an option to do that.
I cant even see my daughter’s FAFSA form because it is still “in review”. So I dont know that I am able to correct it.
