<p>This is my fourth year in college, and I've always had access to Pell Grants, an institutional scholarship, and PHEAA (the state grant for Pennsylvania). My parents are separated, and my Financial Aid office never doubted this...until now. They requested a packet of verification paperwork at the tail end of August, which I promptly submitted. I was just informed three days ago that there are additional documentation requirements which were never communicated to me; I have a written record of all documentation that my Financial Aid Office requested, and they never stated that we needed this particular form to be completed. I got this to FA the following day, and contacted the director to expedite the processing of my paperwork. He never responded. As of now, I have lost 3/4 of my funding. If the grants are not restored, I will get saddled with a gigantic bill that I cannot afford, even with Stafford loans. I need to know by tomorrow (Monday), if my documentation has been approved. This is the last day to add/drop classes, and there are no tuition refunds after this point. I am going to try emailing, calling, and stopping by, but what do I do if Financial Aid remains unresponsive to my request? If my funding will permanently be revoked, I need to know this immediately; I'll have no choice but to take college one class at a time. In the event my school doesn't communicate the outcome to me promptly, my registration will most likely be put on hold for spring semester since I don't have the savings or the credit to cover remaining costs. </p>
<p>At what point, if any, do I have grounds for legal action? Any advice on how to resolve this situation? </p>
<p>You have no legal action because you have no entitlement to the money other than the PELL grant. I’d be at the FA office at 8 am on Monday and stay until your questions are answered or withdraw by the end of the day. If the Pell has been rescinded, that means there is something wrong with the FAFSA. If it is institutional aid that has been withdrawn, then the school can ask for whatever docs they want.</p>
<p>Just take all your paperwork and go stand in line.</p>
<p>My mother’s income is $11,000 a year, and no alimony is received from my father. My school said that the letter from the attorney was “insufficient,” and that we need more legal documentation, which worries me. I’ve submitted proof of separate residences (lease/mortgage documents, utility bills, photocopies of drivers’ licenses), and I don’t know what else I can do to prove that my parents are separated. I will note that there is no such arrangement as a legal separation in Pennsylvania, so technically they shouldn’t even be asking for an attorney letter; the separate residence documentation should suffice. Is there an appeal process for the Pell Grant? </p>
<p>Get to the Dean of students immediately. Find out who is someone who will advocate to get a financial aid officer to open the doors and work with you Monday. </p>
<p>What you have received is a low income verification. The school does not believe that your family can exist on 11k a year and wants to know how your family is meeting their day to day expenses. You must how ** everything** income from other sources; if family members are paying the bill. While your mother may not receive formal alimony, is she reviving temporary spousal support ( court ordered or non court ordered)? Us your dad informally giving money to your mom for rent, food, child support? The college had a right to ask and your parents must answer. Are the still jointly filing traces ? While you may be pell eligible you will not receive any aid until you complete the verification process </p>
<p>Whatever the fin aid office needs, it may not get today. The student needs someone with authority to stop the clock and work with fin aid.</p>
<p>I know this can be an issue when the custodial parent lives with other family members, say grandma who is providing the roof over her head (and that of the student when at home), feeding them and picking up a lot of the general expenses. A lot of times, most of the times, this is done adhoc with no documentation as to how much support someone is getting. I find it ironic that if charge my grown son official regular rent each month, that needs to be considered income on FAFSA, but if he’s just picking up costs on no organized basis but still putting the same amount towards the household, one can leave it off—unless total verification occurs and the subject comes up. </p>
<p>We don’t know for sure what the exact problem with the OP is,either. We are guessing, though I agree it sounds likely. Right now, the immeidiate problem is the deadline. IF the verification does not pan out, there may be more serious issues, like what about prior years when the same situation unverified went through, and the student got the money when he should not have? But right now, there needs to be an exact list of what is needed, and some reasonable time to get these things. IF the fin aid office did indeed give all of these requests and the OP just came up short, there may not be any more delays permitted, and sitting out the term might have to be done, while the financial status is verified. </p>