<p>Based on the info you provided about the possibility of lower income (and in today’s market it may go lower next year???) and the added medical expenses from your mother’s illness, you should become familiar with professional judgement:</p>
<p>“Professional Judgment refers to the authority of a school’s financial aid administrator to make adjustments to the data elements on the FAFSA”</p>
<p>Follow this link to read more. Make sure you click on the links at the bottom of the page to read more.</p>
<p>[FinAid</a> | FinAid for Educators and FAAs | Professional Judgment](<a href=“http://www.finaid.org/educators/pj/]FinAid”>Professional Judgement - Finaid)</p>
<p>With professional judgement the school is able to change the data on your FASFA to reflect any special circumstances, resulting in a new SAR and EFC. However, from what I’ve read on CC not all schools are willing to do this, and the ones that do will require documentation. I’ve also heard that visiting the school with this information is more effective than just filling out an appeal and mailing it (and I think one of your parents should be the one talking to the FA officer as they will be better prepared to discuss actual finances/expenses.</p>
<p>Like everyone is saying, cast a wide net and look for schools that meet a high percentage of need and/or offer merit money to someone with your stats.</p>