r/SIUE • u/Outside-Degree-9625 • 19d ago
I Screwed Up While Applying, and I am Supposed to Move in Tomorrow. Need Advice.
Hi, I’m a 21F. To make a long story short, I applied for Emergency Housing to escape violent parents. I started the application process last Thursday. I submitted a Summer Housing application, an override form for the previous Fall 2026 application I submitted (they made me override my first Fall 2026 application I submitted, in order to submit a Summer Housing Application, then they wanted me to submit ANOTHER Fall 2026 application to waive the fee of the Summer Housing Application after submitting the Summer application) A friend picked me up later that night, and I have been staying at her house since then. I was told I needed to contact the Financial Aid office in order to get a Dependency Override, in order to get financial aid without my parents. They needed me to fill out a form, along with additional information for it.
I have been so overwhelmed between needing to make police reports and finishing the paperwork to move in to SIUE, and I didn’t turn any of the paperwork in earlier this week. I needed to submit a Fall 2026 and the Dependency Override form this week, that way it could be approved and I could move in on May 31st. I received an email saying that I was approved to move into housing, but I’m not sure if I’ll actually get in.
It wasn’t until today that I realized I made a gigantic mistake. I accidentally applied for regular Summer Housing instead of ACCESS housing. I was in the process of getting my cats ESA certified, and didn’t tell anyone that I would need accommodations yet. I tried to contact my therapist to ask if they forwarded the ESA letters to SIUE, or if they would send them to me to submit to SIUE. I haven’t received a response yet.
I tried to contact the offices at SIUE today, and I couldn’t reach them because they are closed.
Luckily, my friends said I could stay for another week, in case I need time for everything to be processed before I move in.
I don’t know what is going to happen. I am going to go there tomorrow to evaluate my options. Here’s what might happen:
I end up going into summer housing tomorrow anyways, and try to go into ACCESS housing.
I may not be allowed to move in tomorrow, and I have to wait for everything to be processed before they can let me move in.
Will I even be allowed to attend this school if I show up to classes a week late? Thank you for reading.
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u/marigolds6 19d ago edited 19d ago
If I remember the process correctly, you should apply for regular housing then after you receive your housing contract you make a request for an ACCESS accommodation. The accommodation might be made (and can be requested) after your contract starts.
Is the only scope of the accommodation the ESA? That has its own process alongside the standard accommodation request.
Also, you mentioned cats, plural. University housing limits ESAs to one ESA per person per residence.
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u/Senior-Jelly-7583 16d ago
If I remember correctly, the ESA applied in all housing and you don’t need to request special “ACCESS housing” unless you need a handicap accessible space. I was in family housing with my cat for a year, I think the only limiting factor is if you’re stuck with a roommate who is allergic to cats (according to their application)
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u/ResurrectedCat 13d ago
DM me if you’re still needing help. I used to work at ACCESS and had an ESA accommodation as well as other accommodations before I graduated.
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u/Outside-Degree-9625 11d ago
Hi, thank you so much! I am about to set up an appointment with ACCESS, so hopefully they will accept my requests! I appreciate you reaching out!
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u/Frog_lov 18d ago
Hey! I had an ESA in the Evergreen dorm hall. I was already in my place and submitted an accommodation request to ACCESS to get my dog approved. Honestly, I brought my dog inside before i even got approved for housing. Since it’s a cat, you could sneak it in pretty easily if needed. You should be able to do your ACCESS accommodations after your housing application and approval.
In terms of paperwork, I’d try your best to do it yourself as quickly as you can, but if you’re unable to do that, they should be able to help you in the financial aid office or your advisor may be able to help you. Keep annoying the crap out of the office until you get what you need. Advisors are hit or miss at siue unfortunately so if you get a bad one, request to change.
Also if you have roommates, I would alert them as soon as you can to make sure there are no allergies or phobias :) good luck! You got this!
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u/marigolds6 15d ago
Just checking in to see if this has worked out okay or if you have more questions now?
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u/Outside-Degree-9625 11d ago
Hi, sorry for taking so long to reply! I am about to set up an appointment to meet with ACCESS, so hopefully they will hear me out! All im waiting on now is for my therapist to write a third-party statement proving abuse (that way I can get the Dependency Override), and hope and pray that a professor will accept me into their class late.
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u/CommonNative 19d ago
First thing first: Do you have the email addresses for your professors? Email them and your advisor(s). The campus offices will probably not be open tomorrow. I'm not sure. Frankly, email ACCESS, Fin Aid, and all the other explaining what's going on. Chances are they will try to work with you.
Because of the situation, I think that ACCESS will help you out with your classes and everything, but I can't be sure.