Just wanted to add that I went through something very similar with my son's FAFSA this year! We had my elderly father living with us and I was providing most of his support, but I initially didn't include him in our household size because he receives Social Security. After talking to our financial aid counselor, I learned that Social Security income doesn't disqualify someone from being counted in your household if you're still providing more than 50% of their total support. The counselor explained that you look at ALL their expenses (housing, food, medical, etc.) and if you're covering more than half, they should be included. In your case, even though your boyfriend's mom gets Social Security and he claims her on taxes, if you're truly covering 70% of everyone's living expenses, both of them should probably be counted. The tax dependency and the FAFSA household size rules are completely separate things. I'd definitely recommend calling the school's financial aid office before making changes though. Our counselor was able to walk me through exactly how to document everything and even gave me a rough estimate of how the correction would affect our SAI. The whole process took about 3 weeks once I submitted the correction, and my son ended up qualifying for about $2,800 more in Pell Grant money. Don't give up - household size corrections can make a huge difference with the new FAFSA formula!

I'm new to this community but wanted to share what I just learned from my own FAFSA household situation! I had a similar dilemma with my stepmom who isn't legally married to my dad yet but lives with us. After reading through all these responses, I called my school's financial aid office yesterday and they were super helpful. The advisor told me that the 50% support rule is the key factor - not marriage status, not who claims who on taxes, but who actually provides the majority of financial support. She also mentioned something really important: with the new FAFSA formula this year, household size has a much bigger impact on your SAI than it did with the old EFC system. So getting this right could make a significant difference in aid eligibility. For anyone in this situation, definitely call your school's aid office first! Mine was able to do a quick calculation to show me how changing household size would affect my aid before I made any corrections. That way you know if it's worth going through the verification process. Hope this helps - sounds like Sophia has gotten some great advice here and I'm rooting for you to get this sorted out!

I'm actually going through something very similar right now! My son's FAFSA was delayed until just last week, and we're now comparing offers that came in way after the May 1 deadline. The stress is real! Before making any decisions, I'd definitely recommend calling Lakeside's financial aid office first like Kennedy suggested. We tried this approach with my son's first choice school and while they couldn't match the competing offer completely, they did increase his aid by $3,500/year which made the decision easier. If you do end up switching, just make sure to get everything in writing - both the withdrawal confirmation from Lakeside and the acceptance confirmation from Mountainview. The whole FAFSA delay situation has been such a nightmare for so many families this year, but schools seem to be more understanding about late changes because of it. Good luck with whatever you decide! That $14k/year difference is definitely worth pursuing.

This situation is exactly why the FAFSA delays have been so frustrating for families this year! You're definitely not alone - I've seen so many posts about people having to make decisions with incomplete financial information. A few thoughts from someone who went through college applications with my daughter last year (pre-FAFSA disaster): 1. Definitely try the negotiation route first as others mentioned - bring Mountainview's offer to Lakeside and see if they can bridge some of that gap 2. If you do switch, make sure your daughter understands she'll likely be at the back of the line for housing, meal plans, orientation sessions, and course registration 3. $14k/year is $56k over four years - that's life-changing money and worth the hassle of switching even if it's stressful right now One thing I haven't seen mentioned yet - make sure to check if there are any additional fees or requirements at Mountainview that weren't included in their initial offer. Sometimes schools will have mandatory fees, technology costs, or program-specific expenses that don't show up in the basic financial aid package. You're being a great advocate for your daughter by pursuing this. The whole system is broken right now, but you're working within it to get the best outcome for your family!

what ever you do DONT waste ur time trying to call the fafsa 800 number... legit was on hold for 2 hours and then they hung up on me lol. just submit online and pray i guess

Don't panic! You're not alone in this situation - the FAFSA delays this year threw everyone's timeline off. Here's what I'd recommend: 1. Complete your FAFSA this weekend as planned. Have all your 2023 tax documents ready to make it go smoothly. 2. Immediately after submitting, contact each school's financial aid office. Let them know your FAFSA is submitted and ask about their specific timeline for your daughter's aid package. 3. Many schools are being flexible this year due to the widespread FAFSA delays. If you're cutting it close to May 1st, most will work with you on timing. 4. Remember that her acceptance is secure regardless of when financial aid is processed - those are separate processes. The good news is that once you submit, processing usually takes 3-5 days, and then schools typically have aid packages ready within 2-4 weeks. You should have plenty of time before the May 1st deadline if you get it done this weekend. Breathe! This is totally manageable, and your proactive approach shows you're on the right track.

I'm so sorry you're dealing with this stress - the FAFSA delays this year have been absolutely brutal for families trying to make college decisions! I went through something similar with my nephew last year (pre-FAFSA disaster) and here's what we learned: Merit scholarships for incoming freshmen almost never transfer if you do community college first. They're specifically designed to get students to enroll directly. However, I'd strongly recommend calling UConn and asking about: 1. Deferring enrollment for one year while keeping the merit award (some schools allow this) 2. Their specific transfer scholarship amounts - you might be surprised 3. Whether they have guaranteed transfer agreements with local CCs that come with scholarship opportunities Also, don't panic about the $20k gap until you see your full aid package! With a $12,500 merit award plus need-based federal and institutional aid, you might find it's much more affordable than you think. The new SAI calculations are supposed to be more generous for middle-income families. Hang in there - you're being a great advocate for your daughter by getting all the facts before making this huge decision!

I'm dealing with a very similar situation right now! My daughter got a $10,000 merit scholarship from her dream school but we're still waiting on our FAFSA after submitting it in January. The not knowing is the worst part - how are we supposed to make such a huge financial decision in the dark? Reading through all these responses has been so helpful. I had no idea that merit scholarships usually don't transfer if you go the community college route first. That's definitely something we need to factor into our decision making process. @Savannah Vin I'm so glad you were able to get through and get some answers! It gives me hope that persistence will pay off. I'm going to try that Claimyr service today - at this point I'm willing to try anything to get someone on the phone who can actually help us. The extended deadline option sounds like a huge relief. I think I'm going to call my daughter's school tomorrow and ask if they're offering the same flexibility. This whole FAFSA rollout has been such a nightmare for families, but it's encouraging to see schools recognizing that and trying to accommodate students who are caught in the middle of it all.

Just wanted to jump in as someone who literally just resolved this exact same issue yesterday! I'm a parent helping my son with his FAFSA and we were stuck in the "missing signatures" loop for over a week. After reading through all these helpful comments, I tried the combination approach: used Chrome browser, cleared cookies completely, had my son sign first, waited 24 hours, then I signed. But the absolute game-changer was realizing we needed to continue clicking through ALL the pages after the signatures - there were actually 3 more screens after the signature confirmation page before we got to the actual final submission with the confirmation number! The FAFSA interface is so misleading because it makes you think you're done after signatures, but you're not. Once we got that final confirmation number and email, our application moved to "processing" status within hours. For anyone still struggling - don't stop at the green checkmarks for signatures, keep clicking "Next" until you see an actual confirmation number on your screen!

As a newcomer to this community and the FAFSA process, I just want to say THANK YOU to everyone who shared their experiences and solutions here! I'm starting my son's 2025-2026 FAFSA application next week and was already feeling overwhelmed, but reading through all these detailed troubleshooting steps has given me a roadmap for avoiding this signature issue entirely. The key takeaways I'm noting down: use Chrome browser, clear cookies first, complete ALL screens until I get an actual confirmation number (not just stop at signature confirmations), and if we do get stuck, try the 24-hour signing method or contact FSA directly. It's so reassuring to see a community where parents and students actually help each other navigate these technical nightmares. Hopefully FSA gets their act together soon, but in the meantime, this thread is going to save so many families from weeks of stress!