skimomma Posted February 13, 2020 Share Posted February 13, 2020 (edited) Dh is unexpectedly unemployed as of today. We are confident he will get another job eventually but it is likely that his salary will be much lower. Sigh. Dd is in 11th grade. I think I understand from what I can see online that her FAFSA will be based on our 2019 taxes? That its not likely to accurately represent our a actual income when she attends college. Is there anything we can do or is this just the way it is going to be? Edited February 13, 2020 by skimomma Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sneezyone Posted February 13, 2020 Share Posted February 13, 2020 (edited) You will enter the FAFSA data like normal and call each financial aid office to find out how they want you to proceed/where to send your "Special Circumstances" appeal. At a minimum, you'll need to send a letter detailing the issue. Be specific, saying exactly how much monthly income was lost. ETA: You may also want to apply for FinAid and send in your documentation as soon as possible after the filing window starts. The further into spring you go, the more money has been awarded and the less "discretionary" institutional funding may be available. Edited February 13, 2020 by Sneezyone 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skimomma Posted February 13, 2020 Author Share Posted February 13, 2020 31 minutes ago, Sneezyone said: You will enter the FAFSA data like normal and call each financial aid office to find out how they want you to proceed/where to send your "Special Circumstances" appeal. At a minimum, you'll need to send a letter detailing the issue. Be specific, saying exactly how much monthly income was lost. ETA: You may also want to apply for FinAid and send in your documentation as soon as possible after the filing window starts. The further into spring you go into spring, the more money has been awarded and the less "discretionary" institutional funding may be available. Thanks! I will put that out of my head for now. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MerryAtHope Posted February 13, 2020 Share Posted February 13, 2020 I’m so sorry. I hope he finds something else soon. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom0012 Posted February 13, 2020 Share Posted February 13, 2020 We had a similar situation here as my dd applied to colleges this year. I cannot now remember whether it is on the FAFSA or just the CSS profile that you can note things like this. I did go ahead and note our change in income, though I did receive advice not to do that until after my dd was accepted to college since our lower income might impact her admission chances. I was told it might be better to appeal FA after admission. In the end, I chose to just report it and hope that “need blind” schools wouldn’t axe her because of our income. She was accepted to a need blind school and has received fantastic financial aid. We just got her aid package today and were able to go ahead and place her enrollment deposit. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JanetC Posted February 17, 2020 Share Posted February 17, 2020 The Profile has a section for special circumstances, but the FAFSA does not. If, when you file your FAFSA, the relevant tax return significantly overstates your current income, you will have to file an appeal with the financial aid office of each school to which your child applies. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J-rap Posted February 17, 2020 Share Posted February 17, 2020 As others have said, you'll need to file a special circumstances appeal. I'd contact the financial aid offices directly so you have a real person walking you through it. This is what we did and it was definitely worth it. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marbel Posted February 27, 2020 Share Posted February 27, 2020 On 2/17/2020 at 8:26 AM, J-rap said: As others have said, you'll need to file a special circumstances appeal. I'd contact the financial aid offices directly so you have a real person walking you through it. This is what we did and it was definitely worth it. Was about to say pretty much the exact same thing. One note, the private school was able to be more flexible than the public school (I have a kid in each type of school.) 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arcadia Posted February 27, 2020 Share Posted February 27, 2020 (edited) I just did this as my course homework for this week. Read this pdf https://professionals.collegeboard.org/sites/default/files/alternate-year-income-parents.pdf Page 3 “The Smith family has appealed their financial aid award for their daughter Helen. They sent a letter stating that Helen’s father lost his job during the recent year due to the fact that the business he worked for closed. With his earnings, overtime, and severance pay, the recent year income was significantly higher than the base year. His only earnings in the anticipated year will be his social security benefits because he is now retired. Mrs. Smith works as a home health aide. Her income fluctuates based on the number of clients she cares for during that particular year.” ETA: This link has all the other scenarios https://professionals.collegeboard.org/higher-ed/financial-aid/im/tips Edited February 27, 2020 by Arcadia 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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