I just wanted to chime in as someone who made this way more complicated than it needed to be! When I was filling out my daughter's FAFSA last year, I spent hours trying to figure out how to handle my ex-husband who hasn't been involved financially. Turns out I was overthinking it completely - the FAFSA truly only cares about where your daughter actually lives and who supports her day-to-day. Since she lives with you and your current husband, that's it! One thing that really helped me was thinking of it this way: the FAFSA is trying to figure out what resources are actually available to help pay for college. Your ex isn't providing any resources, so he's not relevant to their calculation. Your current husband is part of your household and willing to help, so his income matters. It's actually pretty logical once you wrap your head around it. You've got this!

I'm also going through this process right now with my stepdaughter and had the same confusion! It's so reassuring to see everyone confirming that you only need to include yourself and your current husband. I was worried because her biological mom hasn't contributed anything in years either, but lives in another state. One thing I learned that might help - if you're using the online FAFSA form, there's actually a "Help and Hints" section that specifically addresses divorced/remarried parent situations. It clearly states that only the custodial parent and their current spouse (if any) need to provide information. Sometimes seeing it directly from the official source helps ease the worry! Also, don't forget to gather all your tax documents and your husband's before you start - having everything ready makes the process much smoother. Good luck!

UPDATE: My niece tried several of your suggestions and FINALLY got through the loop! What worked was a combination of: using Microsoft Edge, filling ALL fields with exact dollar amounts (no cents or commas), and doing it at 1am when traffic was low. She's submitted her FAFSA and got confirmation! Now we're working with her school's financial aid office about extending that emergency loan deadline. Thank you all SO MUCH for your help - this community is amazing!

So relieved to see this success story! As someone new to navigating FAFSA issues, this thread has been incredibly educational. The combination of technical workarounds (specific browsers, timing, exact formatting) plus the institutional support options (financial aid office extensions, bursar hardship policies) really shows how complex these problems can be. It's reassuring to know there are so many different approaches when the system fails students. Bookmarking this thread for future reference - hoping it helps other families facing similar nightmares with the FAFSA system!

What a relief to see so many success stories in this thread! As a newcomer to this community, I have to say I'm impressed by how everyone came together to help solve this frustrating technical issue. I'm currently dealing with a similar loading screen problem for my son's FAFSA renewal, and reading through all these detailed solutions gives me hope that I'll be able to get it resolved. The combination of technical troubleshooting steps from the financial aid professionals and real-world success stories from parents who actually got through the system is exactly what I needed to see. I'm planning to try the early morning access (around 6am) combined with a fresh browser profile and different device approach this weekend. It's incredible that we need to become IT specialists just to submit financial aid forms, but I'm grateful for communities like this where people share their hard-won knowledge. Thank you all for taking the time to document your solutions so thoroughly - it's going to help so many families navigating this broken system!

As someone who just joined this community after struggling with the exact same FAFSA loading screen issue, I can't thank everyone enough for these incredibly detailed solutions! I've been trying to help my daughter complete her FAFSA for three days now and was starting to panic about missing her deadline. Reading through all the success stories and technical troubleshooting advice here has given me a clear action plan. I'm going to try the early morning access (6am) combined with my tablet in private browsing mode, plus I'll adjust those cookie settings and make sure my VPN is disconnected. The tip about contacting the school's financial aid office for technical difficulty documentation is something I never would have known about - that's invaluable backup information for anyone facing tight deadlines like we are. It's honestly ridiculous that families have to become IT experts just to access financial aid, but this community support makes all the difference. Will definitely report back with results to add to the success stories here!

I'm in a similar boat - 41 and looking at graduate programs in counseling. One thing that's helped me get realistic about the financial commitment is using the Federal Student Aid website's loan simulator tool. You can input your expected loan amounts and see projected monthly payments under different repayment plans. It's sobering but necessary. Also, have you looked into whether your state has any mental health workforce shortage programs? Some states offer loan repayment assistance for therapists who commit to working in underserved areas for a certain number of years. California actually has several programs like this - worth researching before you make your final decision. The age factor is real, but I've also heard from several career changers that their life experience actually made them better therapists and helped them build practices faster than younger graduates. Still, the math has to work. Maybe consider setting a hard limit on how much you're willing to borrow and see if you can make the program work within that budget?

I'm reading through all these responses as someone who recently went through a similar decision process, and I want to emphasize something that might help with your timeline pressure: you DON'T have to decide everything right now. Most graduate programs will allow you to defer admission for a year if you request it before the deadline, which could give you time to stabilize your housing situation and save some money to reduce your borrowing needs. I'd also suggest looking into whether your program offers any thesis/non-thesis track options, as these can sometimes affect the total cost and timeline. Some students don't realize that FAFSA dependency status for grad students means your aid is based solely on your income, not family income, which can actually work in your favor if you're currently earning less. Before you make any final decisions, I'd recommend calling the financial aid office and asking specifically about: 1) Deferral policies, 2) Any emergency aid funds available for students with housing instability, 3) Graduate assistantships or work-study opportunities that aren't widely advertised, and 4) Whether they have partnerships with local mental health agencies that offer tuition assistance. Many schools have funding they don't actively promote that could significantly reduce your debt load. Your age and life experience aren't necessarily disadvantages - many supervisors and employers actually prefer older grad students for their maturity and life perspective. But you're absolutely right to be concerned about the debt-to-income ratio in this field.

I'm new to this community and facing a very similar situation with my husband's VA benefits and SSDI. Reading through all these responses has been incredibly helpful and reassuring! As someone just starting this process, I wanted to thank everyone for sharing such detailed experiences. The checklist that Zane created is exactly what I needed, and the tip about contacting schools' veterans' affairs coordinators beforehand is brilliant. One question I haven't seen addressed: Has anyone dealt with reporting irregular benefit payments? My husband's VA rating was increased mid-year in 2023, so he received some back-pay that made our total benefits for that year higher than our "normal" annual amount. Should I report the actual total received in 2023 (including the back-pay) or try to calculate what our regular annual amount would be? Also, for those who went through verification - did you need to provide any documentation explaining the lump-sum payments, or were the standard benefit statements sufficient? Thank you all for creating such a supportive space for military families navigating this confusing process. It's such a relief to know we're not alone in feeling overwhelmed by the FAFSA complexities!

I'm new to this community and dealing with almost the exact same situation! My husband is a 100% disabled veteran receiving both VA disability compensation and SSDI, and I've been a stay-at-home mom for years. Reading through all these responses has been such a relief - I had no idea so many military families face these same FAFSA challenges. The clarifications about what to report vs. what not to report have been invaluable. Just to make sure I understand correctly: VA disability compensation should NOT be reported anywhere on FAFSA, but SSDI should be reported in the untaxed income section, right? And since we don't file taxes either, I'll select "Will not file" but still need to provide both parents' information. I'm definitely going to follow the advice about contacting my daughter's schools' veterans affairs coordinators before submitting. Has anyone found certain schools to be more military-family friendly than others when it comes to understanding our unique benefit situations? Thank you all for creating such a supportive environment for military families navigating this process. It's so reassuring to know we're not alone in feeling overwhelmed by these complexities!