As a newcomer to this financial aid process, I'm finding this discussion incredibly helpful and reassuring! My situation is very similar to many here - I have one child currently in their second year receiving decent aid, and my youngest will be starting college this fall. I was honestly terrified about managing two tuition payments, but learning that having multiple kids in college actually tends to IMPROVE aid eligibility has been a huge relief. Reading through everyone's experiences, I'm creating a comprehensive action plan: submit both FAFSAs around the same time, maintain detailed documentation of everything, proactively contact both financial aid offices to ensure they understand our family situation, and prepare for potential technical issues with the new FAFSA system. The insights about school-specific sibling programs and possible merit scholarship adjustments are things I never would have thought to investigate on my own. One thing I'm particularly grateful for is hearing about the real-world challenges people faced - like processing delays and schools not initially recognizing sibling enrollment. These stories are helping me build realistic timelines with adequate buffer periods. I'm planning to start submitting applications as early as possible when the FAFSA opens to maximize time for resolving any issues that arise. Thank you all for sharing such valuable, practical advice that goes far beyond what you can find in official guides!

Welcome to the community, @Payton Black! Your comprehensive action plan sounds excellent - you're definitely approaching this with the right level of preparation and realistic expectations. It's so reassuring to see how this thread has helped multiple families realize that having two kids in college can actually work in their favor financially rather than being the burden we all initially feared! One additional suggestion based on what I've learned here: consider creating a shared calendar or reminder system for all the important deadlines across both schools. With two different institutions potentially having different FAFSA deadlines, verification requirements, and aid disbursement schedules, having everything in one place could be a lifesaver. Also, don't forget to ask both schools about their appeal processes when you contact their financial aid offices. Even if everything goes smoothly initially, it's good to know how to advocate for adjustments if your family's financial situation changes or if you need to provide additional context about your circumstances. The community knowledge shared in this thread really is invaluable - I've learned more practical information here than from hours of reading official websites! Best of luck with your applications, and feel free to update us on how the process goes. Your experience could help the next family navigating this same situation!

Hi! I'm new to this community and wanted to jump in because I'm dealing with this exact same FAFSA confusion! My daughter is also a freshman with dual enrollment credits (30 credits) that will make her a sophomore for spring registration. After reading through all these amazing responses, I finally understand that I should select "Sophomore/Second Year" on the 2025-2026 FAFSA since that's what she'll be classified as when the aid year begins in Fall 2025. I was so stressed about potentially making the wrong choice and messing up her financial aid eligibility, but seeing how many families are in similar situations and hearing about their positive outcomes has been incredibly reassuring! It's clear that dual enrollment credit advancement is really common now and doesn't negatively impact aid - some students even qualify for additional sophomore-level opportunities. I'm planning to call our school's financial aid office this week to confirm their specific policies, but I feel so much more confident about this decision now. Thank you to everyone who shared their experiences and advice - this community is amazing for helping navigate these confusing FAFSA questions!

Hi! I'm new to this community and just discovered this incredibly helpful thread while searching for answers to the exact same FAFSA question. My son is also a freshman with dual enrollment credits (26 credits) that have advanced him to sophomore status for spring registration, and I was completely confused about which grade level to select on the 2025-2026 FAFSA. After reading through everyone's responses, it's crystal clear that I should select "Sophomore/Second Year" since that's what he'll be officially classified as when the aid year begins in Fall 2025. I was really worried about making the wrong choice and potentially affecting his financial aid, but seeing so many parents share their positive experiences with this exact situation has been such a relief! It's amazing how common dual enrollment advancement has become and how well financial aid offices handle these situations now. The fact that some students even become eligible for additional sophomore-level aid opportunities is really encouraging. I'm definitely calling our school's financial aid office this week to confirm, but I feel so much more confident about this decision now. Thank you to everyone who contributed to this discussion - it's been a lifesaver for understanding what seemed like an impossible FAFSA question to answer correctly!

I'm dealing with a similar issue right now! My spouse also got the "SSN already associated with account" error. After reading through all these responses, it sounds like the key is getting through to an actual FSA agent who can look up what's causing the mismatch in their system. The fact that your husband's middle name was entered as his first name in the old account is exactly the kind of thing that would be impossible to figure out on your own. Really glad you got it sorted out before your deadline! This thread is super helpful for anyone else stuck on this frustrating error.

This is such a helpful thread! I'm a new student dealing with FAFSA for the first time and was completely panicking when I hit this same error yesterday. Reading through everyone's experiences here really helped me understand that this is actually a pretty common issue with the new system, not something I did wrong. I'm going to start with having my spouse try the password recovery option like Giovanni suggested, and check that all the name formatting matches exactly with his Social Security card. It's reassuring to know that even the financial aid professionals are seeing this frequently - makes me feel less alone in this process. Thanks everyone for sharing your solutions and experiences!

As a newcomer to this community, I just wanted to say how incredibly helpful this thread has been! I'm currently working through my FAFSA application and was completely stuck on this exact same Foreign Earned Income Exclusion issue. Like everyone else here, I kept trying to enter it as a negative number since that's how it appears on my tax return, and I was getting so frustrated when the system wouldn't accept it. Reading through all of your experiences has been such a relief - it's validating to know that this counterintuitive formatting requirement has tripped up so many people. The fact that you have to enter tax exclusions as positive numbers in their dedicated fields, even though they show as negative adjustments on your actual tax documents, is something that really should be explained much more clearly in the official FAFSA instructions. I'm planning to submit my application tonight using the positive number approach that everyone has successfully validated here. Thank you all for sharing your experiences and creating such a comprehensive resource for navigating these international income complications. This is exactly why online communities like this are so valuable - you've filled the gap where official documentation falls short!

As a newcomer to this community, I'm so relieved to have found this thread! I'm currently struggling with the exact same Foreign Earned Income Exclusion issue on my FAFSA application. Like everyone else here, I've been trying to enter the exclusion as a negative number since that's how it appears on my tax return ($118,500), but the system keeps rejecting it. Reading through all of your experiences has been incredibly validating - it's reassuring to know that this counterintuitive formatting requirement has caused confusion for so many people. The fact that you need to enter exclusions as positive numbers in their dedicated fields, despite them being negative adjustments on your actual tax documents, is something that definitely should be explained more clearly in the official instructions. I'm going to try submitting my application this evening using the positive number approach that everyone here has successfully validated. Thank you all for sharing your experiences and creating such a comprehensive guide for navigating these international income complications. This community has provided the clear guidance that the official FAFSA documentation is clearly lacking!

Hey Mason! I'm new to this community but wanted to share my recent experience since I just went through this exact same confusion a couple weeks ago when filling out my FAFSA! Those tax schedule questions are honestly the most confusing part of the whole application - you're definitely not alone in feeling lost about them. From reading through all the great advice here, it sounds like you've already gotten confirmation from your dad that your family only had W-2 income and didn't itemize, which means you're absolutely safe entering $0 for all those schedule fields. What really helped me get past my anxiety about this was understanding that these schedules are basically "specialty forms" that only get attached when families have specific types of income beyond regular jobs - like rental properties, significant stock trading, business income, etc. If your parents could do their taxes without needing an accountant or dealing with complex investments, they almost certainly didn't file any of these additional schedules. You're being so responsible by asking questions and double-checking with your parents instead of just guessing or leaving things blank. That's exactly the approach that leads to a smooth FAFSA process! The application has to ask about every possible income source to be comprehensive, but most families with straightforward situations won't have anything to report for these specialty schedules. Sounds like you've got everything figured out now - good luck submitting your FAFSA! This community is such a great resource for navigating all these confusing financial aid questions.

I'm new to this community but wanted to jump in because I just went through this exact same situation when I was filling out my FAFSA earlier this year! Mason, your confusion is completely understandable - those tax schedule questions are honestly one of the most intimidating parts of the whole application process. It looks like you've already gotten some fantastic advice here and confirmation from your dad about your family's tax situation. Since they only had W-2 income and took the standard deduction, you're absolutely correct to enter $0 for all those schedule fields. What really helped me when I was in your position was thinking about it this way: if your parents' tax situation was simple enough that they didn't need to hire a professional tax preparer or deal with complex forms, then they almost certainly didn't file any of these additional schedules. These are really just "add-on" forms for families who have rental income, significant investments, business ownership, or other non-standard income sources. You're being so smart by asking questions and verifying information with your parents instead of just guessing. That thoroughness is exactly what will help you avoid problems down the road. The FAFSA has to ask about every possible type of income to be comprehensive, but the reality is most families with straightforward jobs won't need to report anything for these specialty schedules. It sounds like you've got everything you need now to submit your FAFSA with confidence. Don't let the confusing terminology discourage you - you're handling this exactly the right way!