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After you speak with the financial aid office, I strongly recommend submitting a formal appeal letter. Include: 1. Documentation of unusual expenses not captured by FAFSA 2. Any changes in financial situation since you filed 3. Competing offers from other institutions 4. Specific calculation showing how they're not meeting their 75% promise Be polite but firm. Many families don't realize appeals are standard practice and schools expect them. With an SAI of 2500, your son should qualify for substantial need-based aid at a school claiming to meet 75% of need.
Thank you for this detailed advice! We actually do have some medical expenses that weren't reflected in the FAFSA. I'll prepare all this documentation before our appeal.
As someone who went through this exact situation last year, I'd recommend creating a spreadsheet to track all your son's aid offers as they come in. Include columns for COA, SAI, calculated need, grants/scholarships, loans, and actual percentage of need met. This will help you see which schools are truly generous vs. just good at marketing. Also, don't forget to factor in indirect costs like travel home, personal expenses, and potential summer storage. These can add thousands to your actual family contribution even if the school "meets need" on paper. When you call the financial aid office, ask for their estimated indirect costs too - some schools lowball these numbers to make their aid packages look more attractive. Your instincts are right to question this package. With an SAI that low, most genuinely need-blind schools would offer significantly more institutional aid.
This is incredibly helpful advice! I love the spreadsheet idea - it'll make comparing offers so much clearer. You're absolutely right about the indirect costs too. I hadn't thought about summer storage or how travel expenses add up over four years. I'll definitely ask for their full breakdown of estimated indirect costs when I call tomorrow. Thank you for sharing your experience!
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Retirement accounts like 401k and IRAs are NOT reported on the FAFSA at all! They're completely excluded from the SAI calculation. So if your investment growth was primarily in retirement accounts, you don't need to worry about reporting that growth. Only reportable investments would include taxable brokerage accounts, 529 plans (reported as parent assets), stocks, bonds, CDs, etc. This is one reason why financial planners often suggest maximizing retirement contributions during college years.
Well that's another huge relief! Yes, almost all our growth was in our retirement accounts. We do have a small brokerage account but it didn't change much. I think I may have actually reported everything correctly. Going to double-check everything tonight. Thank you all so much for the help!
Just wanted to add - if you're still unsure about anything, most colleges have financial aid offices that are super helpful with FAFSA questions. I called my daughter's school last year when I was confused about asset reporting and they walked me through it step by step. They'd rather help you get it right the first time than deal with corrections later. Plus they know exactly how their school handles different situations, which can be really valuable info!
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FINAL UPDATE: My correction processed! My SAI went down by almost $4,700 after removing the retirement account. That should definitely increase my aid eligibility. So glad I caught this mistake and was able to fix it. If anyone else makes this error, definitely submit a correction ASAP!
That's a significant improvement! Congratulations on getting it fixed. This is exactly why understanding what assets to include (and exclude) on the FAFSA is so important. Thanks for sharing your experience - it will definitely help others who might make the same mistake.
Wow, this is such a helpful thread! I'm working on my FAFSA right now and I was about to include my dad's 403b account. Thank you everyone for clarifying that retirement accounts should NOT be reported - you just saved me from making the same mistake! @Ev Luca so glad you were able to get it fixed and saw such a big improvement in your SAI. The step-by-step correction instructions from @Marcelle Drum are super clear too. This community is amazing!
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Update: I was able to add the community college through the correction process! It was actually really simple - just logged in, selected "Make FAFSA Corrections," and added the new school code. The whole thing took maybe 5 minutes. I also called the community college's financial aid office, and they said we're well within their priority deadline for fall semester. Thanks everyone for your help!
That's great news! Glad it worked out so smoothly for you. Community college is such a smart financial choice for that first year - your daughter can always transfer later if she wants the university experience for her later years.
So glad to hear your update worked out! Just wanted to add for anyone else reading this - when you add schools through the FAFSA correction process, make sure to print or save a copy of the confirmation page. I learned this the hard way when there was a technical glitch and one school didn't receive my daughter's FAFSA data. Having that confirmation helped us resolve it quickly with Federal Student Aid. Also, keep checking your Student Aid Report (SAR) to make sure all the schools you want are listed there. Community college was the best decision my daughter made too - she's now at her dream university as a junior with zero debt from her first two years!
That's such great advice about saving the confirmation page! I'm definitely going to do that. It's really reassuring to hear so many success stories about the community college route - seems like it's becoming more and more common as a smart financial strategy. Thanks for sharing your experience!
TechNinja
Update: I finally got through to someone at Federal Student Aid who explained everything. Yes, pensions DO count as income on FAFSA. Since we're using 2023 tax info for the 2025-2026 FAFSA and my husband started receiving his pension in 2024, it won't show up on the initial FAFSA. BUT, she said we should absolutely submit a special circumstances form to each school explaining the new income source. Apparently, this is a really common issue with pensions, retirement distributions, and other income changes. Thanks everyone for your help! Now I'm just worried about how much this will affect his aid packages.
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Javier Morales
•You're welcome! One more thing to consider: UAW pensions can sometimes qualify for special consideration because they're tied to specific employment sectors. Some colleges have dedicated adjustment protocols for union pensions that won't penalize your son as heavily as regular income. Make sure to specifically mention it's a UAW pension when you submit those special circumstances forms!
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Keisha Johnson
Great update! I'm glad you finally got a clear answer from Federal Student Aid. Just wanted to add that when you're submitting those special circumstances forms, make sure to include documentation of the pension payments (like the 1099-R forms you'll receive) and be very specific about the monthly amount. Also, don't panic too much about the aid impact - many schools are pretty understanding about pension situations, especially for union pensions like UAW. The financial aid officers deal with this scenario frequently and often have ways to account for it that are more favorable than just adding it as straight income. Good luck with your son's college applications!
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