I went thru this with my tax guy last month. He said that for tax reporting purposes (not FAFSA), qualified 529 distributions aren't taxable income for anyone, but you still have to report them on Form 1099-Q. The tax form goes to whoever receives the money (usually the account owner or the student). Just something to keep in mind for tax season.

This is such valuable information! As someone new to navigating college savings and FAFSA, I'm really grateful for this discussion. It's reassuring to see that the FAFSA simplification actually made things better for families with grandparent-owned 529 plans. I'm curious though - for those of you who have been through this process, do you have any recommendations for staying up-to-date on FAFSA rule changes? It sounds like even financial professionals are struggling to keep current with all the recent changes. Are there reliable resources you trust for accurate, current information about college financial aid rules? Also, congratulations on the twin granddaughters! What an exciting (and financially planning-intensive) addition to the family!

I just want to echo everyone's reassurance here - I helped my nephew with this exact change just two weeks ago and it went completely smoothly! Reading through all these responses, the consensus is clear: the process is much more stable now than those old horror stories suggest. One small addition to all the great advice already shared: after you make the changes and get your confirmation email, I'd recommend logging back in after 24-48 hours just to double-check that everything still looks correct. Not because anything will go wrong, but just for that extra peace of mind. Also, if your daughter is anything like my nephew, she might be worried about "messing something up" - remind her that thousands of students make these kinds of corrections every day without issues. The FAFSA system is designed to handle these changes. You're being so smart by asking for advice first and planning this out carefully. With all the detailed step-by-step guidance from everyone here, you're absolutely going to handle this successfully. Take a deep breath - you've got this!

I just went through this exact process with my son last week, so I completely understand your anxiety! All the advice here is spot-on, but I wanted to add one more reassuring data point. The "horror stories" you're reading about are mostly from several years ago when the system was much less stable. The current FAFSA platform handles corrections really well, and the school list changes are actually one of the most common corrections students make. Here's what gave me confidence: I called the Federal Student Aid helpline first (early morning seems to be the best time to get through) and they walked me through exactly what to expect. The representative told me that school list corrections have a 99%+ success rate when done through the proper "Make FAFSA Corrections" pathway. We followed the same approach everyone's recommending - added the new school first since we weren't at the limit, then removed the old one. The whole thing took maybe 12 minutes, and we got our confirmation within 3 hours. One final tip that helped my peace of mind: before starting, I bookmarked the exact page where we'd make the correction so there was no chance of accidentally clicking on "new application" instead. Your daughter's hard work is completely safe - you're just updating the recipient list, not the application itself. You've got this!

when i had signature problems my financial aid advisor told me that the data sometimes gets sent to schools before the signature verification is complete... something about "preliminary data release" vs "official data release" idk the technical terms but thats why portland state got the info early. but u definitely need to fix the signature thing for sure or u might miss out on first-come-first-served aid

I'm dealing with this exact same issue right now! My FAFSA has been stuck on "signatures needed" for over two weeks, even though my parent and I both signed with our FSA IDs when we first submitted. It's such a relief to see I'm not the only one experiencing this glitch. The whole new FAFSA rollout has been a nightmare - I've heard so many horror stories from friends about applications getting lost, signature issues, and processing delays. I'm definitely going to try re-signing tonight based on everyone's advice here. Has anyone noticed if this happens more when you save and return to the application multiple times? I'm wondering if that's what triggered the issue for me since I had to come back to it a few times to gather tax documents.

Congrats on getting it sorted out! Just wanted to add something that might help others reading this thread - if you run into issues with consortium agreements in the future, many schools also have "visiting student" or "transient student" options where you can officially enroll at your home school but take classes at another institution. It's basically another way to make sure all your credits count toward your enrollment status. The paperwork is sometimes easier than consortium agreements, though it depends on the schools involved. Worth asking about if you ever face this situation again!

Just wanted to chime in as someone who went through this exact situation two summers ago! It's great that you got the consortium agreement started - that's definitely the right path. One thing I learned the hard way is to also confirm with Community College A that they understand their role in the consortium process. Sometimes the community college side gets confused about reporting enrollment to your home school. I had to call my CC three times to make sure they were properly communicating my enrollment status to my university. Also, since you mentioned textbook costs - check if either school has rental programs or if you can find used copies online early. Summer textbook buyback is usually terrible, so planning ahead can save you money. You're doing everything right by getting this sorted now rather than waiting until the last minute like I did!

I'm so sorry you're going through this! I just joined this community because I'm having similar issues with my FAFSA account being locked out. Reading through all these responses has been really helpful - I had no idea that so many people were experiencing the same problems with the new system. I'm definitely going to try calling right at 8 AM tomorrow using those specific phrases that Leila mentioned ("technical account access issue" and "FSA ID verification problem"). It's reassuring to know that there are actual FSA agents working on clearing the backlog and that schools are being understanding about extensions. Thank you everyone for sharing your experiences and solutions - this thread is like a lifeline for those of us stuck in FAFSA limbo!

Just wanted to add my experience here since I went through this exact same nightmare last month! I was locked out of my FAFSA account for almost a month and tried everything - calling dozens of times, filing complaints, you name it. What finally worked for me was a combination of the strategies mentioned here: 1. I called at exactly 8:00 AM using the "technical account access issue" phrase 2. I also contacted my school's financial aid office who gave me a 2-week extension 3. Most importantly, I had my congressman's office contact FSA on my behalf - they responded within 48 hours after that! Don't underestimate the power of getting your elected representatives involved. Their offices deal with federal agency issues all the time and know exactly who to contact. I just called my congressman's local office, explained the situation and my approaching deadline, and they submitted an inquiry to the Department of Education that same day. Also, definitely work on your CSS Profile separately like others mentioned - you don't need FAFSA access for that and many schools require both anyway. Hang in there Amina! The system is broken but there are ways to work around it. Your persistence will pay off!