My DD and I are going down the path of asking her school’s OFA to correct this. It’s a big state school, so the OFA is very impersonal and institutional.
I should point out - my DD will be a rising junior in 2018-19, so there is only one school involved. As opposed to incoming freshmen.
The first phone call was a bust. The counselor told us we had to wait for their Special Circumstances Appeal form to come out in early 2018! The problem is that this school tends to award rolling financial aid, so even if you “win” the appeal, they may not have any more FA to give you.
We decided to next make a written request, so we can document the school’s response.
If they still punt, the next step would be to appeal in person.
The final step (this is what the FAFSA phone agent advised us) is to file a complaint at https://feedback.studentaid.ed.gov/
This whole thing is quite outrageous.
If someone has a better way, I am all ears!