Wow, what a comprehensive thread! As someone who's been lurking in this community for a while but never posted, I had to jump in because this exact scenario is my biggest fear as I'm preparing to fill out my son's FAFSA for the first time next month. Dylan, your experience and everyone's responses have been incredibly educational - I'm taking notes on everything from setting up separate FSA IDs to using Claimyr for phone support. The fact that this is such a common mistake actually makes me feel better, knowing there are established solutions. I'm definitely going to have my son sit with me when we fill it out so we can double-check everything together. Thank you all for being so helpful and supportive - this community is amazing!

This thread has been incredibly helpful! As a college counselor, I see families struggle with FAFSA issues like this regularly, and Dylan's situation really highlights how a simple mix-up can snowball into a major stress. I'm so glad to see the community providing such practical solutions - especially the tips about using Claimyr, documenting everything, and working with school financial aid offices directly. For anyone else reading this thread, I'd also recommend creating a FAFSA checklist before you start the application process. Include items like "verify student vs parent information," "double-check SSNs," and "review all entries before submitting." Prevention is always easier than correction! Dylan, you should be proud of how you handled this situation - persistence and good documentation really do pay off with federal agencies.

Just to add some specific numbers to this discussion: a $390K difference in reported assets could change your SAI by approximately $22,000 using the federal methodology (about 5.64% of the additional assets). That's potentially significant for aid eligibility, especially at schools that closely follow federal formulas. But the impact varies dramatically depending on your income level. If your income is above certain thresholds, many schools will consider you non-need eligible regardless of the asset correction. If your income is moderate, this correction could make a substantial difference in grant eligibility. After making the correction online, I recommend: 1. Save/print confirmation of the correction 2. Email each school's financial aid office with your daughter's name, ID number, and a brief explanation 3. Follow up by phone in 7-10 days if you don't see updated aid packages 4. If a school seems reluctant to adjust, request a professional judgment review based on the corrected information Most importantly, don't assume the correction will automatically flow through the system perfectly - be proactive with each school.

I work as a financial aid advisor and see this mistake frequently - you're definitely not alone! The good news is that retirement account errors are among the easier corrections to make and schools are very familiar with handling them. A few practical tips from my experience: 1. When you make the online correction, take screenshots of each step and save the confirmation page 2. Create a simple one-page summary showing "Original FAFSA: $490K investments" and "Corrected FAFSA: $100K investments (retirement accounts excluded: $390K)" 3. Include this summary when you contact schools - it makes it crystal clear what changed For contacting schools, I'd recommend calling first to speak with a counselor, then follow up with email containing your documentation. Many offices are swamped right now, so being persistent (but polite) is key. Also worth noting: some schools have their own institutional aid forms or may use CSS Profile data, so make sure any retirement account errors are corrected across all forms your daughter's schools require. You caught this mistake, which puts you ahead of many families who never realize the error. With proactive follow-up, this should be completely fixable before decision deadlines!

I just checked with mom and she definitely gets SSDI, not SSI. She says she can log into her Social Security account to get the information. Thank you so much for all the help! I feel much better about starting my FAFSA application now.

Great to hear you're feeling more confident about the process! Just wanted to add one more tip - when you're filling out the FAFSA, take your time with the disability income section and double-check the numbers against your mom's SSA-1099. Also, if you run into any technical issues with the FAFSA website (which happens more often than it should), don't panic - you can always save your progress and come back to it later. The system saves automatically as you go. Good luck with your application, and remember that having parents on disability often means you'll qualify for good aid packages!

I just went through this nightmare last week! Another thing that might help - if you're still getting locked out even after finding the backup code option, try waiting at least 30 minutes before attempting to log in again. I kept trying immediately after getting locked out and it seems like there's some kind of temporary lockout period that resets after waiting. Also, make sure you're typing the backup codes exactly as they appear (including any dashes or spaces) - I was removing the dashes thinking they were just formatting and that was causing them to be rejected. The whole system is definitely poorly designed but once you know these little quirks it becomes manageable. Good luck to anyone still dealing with this!

Just wanted to share my experience as someone who went through this exact same issue a few months ago! I was completely panicking because I couldn't access my FAFSA right before my school's deadline. The backup code option is seriously hidden - I think the government websites are designed by people who have never actually used them lol. What ended up working for me was following the steps that @Giovanni Moretti shared (thank you SO much for that detailed breakdown!). But I also want to add that if you're still having trouble, try using an incognito/private browsing window. Sometimes stored cookies and cache can interfere with the login process. Also, for anyone else reading this - DEFINITELY save those backup codes in multiple places when you first set up your account. I learned this the hard way. I now have them saved in my phone's notes app, written down on paper, AND saved in my password manager. The stress of being locked out right before a financial aid deadline is something I never want to experience again! Glad you got it sorted out @Jamal Carter - that SAI score sounds promising! 🎉

Hi! I'm new to this community and going through the exact same FAFSA confusion with my daughter who's starting college this fall. I'm divorced and have been trying to figure out which parent should complete the contributor section - my ex-husband makes significantly more than I do, but our daughter lives with me about 60% of the time. Reading through this entire thread has been incredibly helpful! I had no idea that it's based on where the student lives more rather than income levels. It's actually reassuring to know that my lower income might help her qualify for better financial aid. Thank you to everyone who explained the rules so clearly, especially about reporting child support and keeping documentation organized. This community is such a great resource for navigating these complicated federal aid requirements!

Hi! I'm new to this community and dealing with the exact same FAFSA confusion as many of you. I'm divorced and my son will be starting college next year. We have joint custody but he lives with me about 55% of the time, and his father earns roughly $18k more than I do annually. When I got that contributor invitation email from studentaid.gov, I immediately thought his dad should handle it since he's the higher earner. Reading through this entire thread has been such a relief - I had no clue that it's purely based on where the student lives more, not income! It's actually encouraging to know that my lower income might help my son qualify for better financial aid. Thank you to everyone who explained these rules so clearly, especially the details about child support reporting and documentation. This community is amazing for helping confused parents like me navigate what feels like an overly complicated system!