whats ur SAI number? if its right on the border for pell eligibility maybe different schools interpret it differently????

UPDATE: Finally got through to Monmouth's financial aid office! You all were right - it was an error on their part. They said with the new FAFSA system this year, some of the federal aid wasn't automatically populating in their award letters. They're sending me a revised package that includes the $740 Pell Grant. The Green Lawn Grant is staying too - it's their institutional aid. Thanks everyone for your help and encouragement to follow up on this!

Yes, schools are absolutely still reviewing special circumstances appeals! In fact, this is more important than ever given that the FAFSA is using older tax data (2022) that may not reflect current situations. Document your changed circumstances thoroughly (termination letter, unemployment benefits statement, etc.) and contact each school's financial aid office about their specific appeal process. Many schools have streamlined their appeals process this year knowing these issues would arise.

omg thank you so much!! ill tell my parents to start collecting all that paperwork now. this gives me hope!

Has anyone mentioned that they now want MUCH more investment information???? Like literally every single account. We had to report my husband's small employee stock purchase plan that we'd completely forgotten about and it delayed our whole application by THREE WEEKS because we had to get special valuation statements. They even wanted information about a tiny inheritance my husband received that was only $5,400! Ridiculous how they penalize families who save responsibly while giving massive aid to families who never bothered to save a cent for college.

Just went through this with my kid who's a freshman now. I recommend taking screenshots of EVERYTHING during the FAFSA submission process. Our confirmation page never arrived by email even though the system said it sent it. Also, make sure your daughter lists all potential schools on the FAFSA when she first submits it - adding schools later triggers additional verification steps sometimes. And weirdest thing - after submitting, login to the studentaid.gov account every few days to check status. They don't always send notifications when there are problems or if they need more info. We almost missed a verification request because the email went to spam.

btw make sure u didnt get any FAFSA verification emails. my cousins application got flagged for verification and she had no idea until she checked her junk mail folder. if that happens the schools wont process ur aid package even if they got the fafsa

Verification is fairly common - about 25% of all FAFSA applications get selected. It can be random or triggered by certain factors like missing information or discrepancies. If you were selected, you'd receive an email from Federal Student Aid and would also see a verification flag when you log into studentaid.gov. To directly answer your original question: by this time in the application cycle (mid-cycle), most schools are receiving FAFSA data within 7-10 days after processing, though some reports indicate 10-14 days this year due to the new FAFSA rollout. As long as you can prove you submitted before the priority deadline, most schools will honor your place in line for institutional aid.

this is why the whole system is so unfair. its not about need anymore, its about who knows how to game the system. my niece didnt get any aid and her parents make less than 40k

Thank you everyone for all the helpful responses! I'm going to wait until we have all offers in hand, then draft formal appeal letters to each school using the appropriate terminology. I'll focus on my daughter's fit with each school while respectfully presenting the competing offers. Definitely feel more confident navigating this process now!