My daughter went through something similar!!! The financial aid office at her school actually helped create a payment plan for the balance she owed from the previous mistake. Most schools have some kind of option for that. Good luck!

I'm in a very similar boat! I'm 22, work full-time, and pay all my own expenses but still have to file as dependent because I don't meet any of the independence criteria. It's frustrating but I learned the hard way that it's better to follow the rules exactly than risk owing money back. One thing that helped me was scheduling an appointment with my school's financial aid office BEFORE submitting my FAFSA. They walked me through the dependency questions and helped me understand what documents I'd need from my parents. Even though my parents were hesitant about sharing their info, having the financial aid counselor explain why it was necessary made the conversation easier. Also, don't let that old balance at LaGuardia stress you out too much - most schools are willing to work with students on payment plans, especially when the debt was caused by confusion during COVID. Call them and explain what happened. You might be surprised how understanding they can be!

One more important thing about Fresh Start that no one mentioned yet - if you have wage garnishment or tax refund offsets happening now, those stop immediately when you enter the program. For me, that was the biggest immediate benefit since they were taking 15% of each paycheck. After Fresh Start, that stopped, and then with my income-driven payment being much lower, it made a huge difference in my monthly budget. Also, entering Fresh Start doesn't restart the clock on forgiveness options. If you've made qualifying payments before defaulting, those still count toward the 20/25 year forgiveness timeline under income-driven plans.

Just wanted to add that when you do Fresh Start, make sure to keep detailed records of everything - save copies of all forms you submit, confirmation numbers, and dates of phone calls. I've seen cases where people had to resubmit paperwork because the servicer "lost" it or claimed they never received it. Also, once you're in the program, don't ignore any communications from your servicer. They'll send you forms to complete the process and if you miss deadlines, you could get kicked out of Fresh Start and go back to default status. The whole process took about 6-8 weeks for most people I know who've done it. Good luck with getting this sorted out! The fact that you're asking the right questions and doing research shows you're approaching this smart.

As someone who just went through the medical school application process with my daughter, I can confirm that filing separately was beneficial for us since I was the custodial parent with lower income. However, I'd strongly recommend getting professional tax advice first - we almost lost out on some education tax credits that would have saved us more than the potential FAFSA benefit. Also, make sure to check each school's net price calculator if they have one. Some schools like Harvard, NYU, and a few others have implemented free tuition programs for families under certain income thresholds, which could make your filing status decision less critical for those particular schools. One thing I wish we'd known earlier: start having conversations with the financial aid offices at your top choice schools now, before applications are due. They can often give you school-specific guidance about their policies regarding divorced parents.

As a newcomer to this community, I'm finding this discussion incredibly helpful as I'm facing a similar situation with my daughter who's applying to medical school next year. One thing I'm curious about that I haven't seen mentioned yet - does the timing of when the divorce was finalized matter for FAFSA purposes? My divorce won't be finalized until later this year, but we've been separated since early 2024. I'm wondering if the legal finalization date affects which parent is considered custodial, or if it's purely based on where the student lived during the 12-month period prior to filing. Also, has anyone dealt with schools that have different policies for in-state vs out-of-state students regarding parent financial information requirements? Thanks for all the insights everyone has shared - this is exactly the kind of real-world guidance that's hard to find elsewhere!

I'm dealing with this same anxiety! My daughter's SAI came through around the same time as your son's. What's been helpful for me is creating a spreadsheet to track everything - her current SAI, all the aid offers from different schools, and any communications we receive. I'm also screenshotting everything in case we need documentation later. One thing that gave me some peace of mind: I called a few of the colleges she applied to directly, and their financial aid offices were already aware of this issue and said they're prepared to work with families if corrections need to be made. They seemed much more responsive than trying to get through to FSA directly! Also keeping in mind that even if her SAI does get corrected upward, it sounds like most schools are going to honor their original offers for this year given the circumstances. Hang in there - we're all navigating this mess together!

I'm in the exact same situation! My daughter's SAI came through on 3/21 and I've been losing sleep over this news. What's really frustrating is that we can't even tell if we're affected until they decide to notify us. I've been checking studentaid.gov obsessively but there's no self-service way to verify if your SAI is part of the error batch. One thing I did was reach out directly to the financial aid offices at her top choice schools to let them know we're concerned about potential SAI corrections. Most were really understanding and said they're tracking this issue closely. A couple even said they'd give us a heads up if they receive any correction notices from FSA before we do. I'm trying to stay optimistic that the majority of SAIs are probably correct, but man, the timing with decision deadlines is just awful. Hoping we all hear something definitive soon!

UPDATE: You guys were totally right! I went through the correction process and found TWO major mistakes I made. I had included my retirement account as an asset AND counted my contributions as untaxed income, plus I had accidentally included the value of my car (which isn't supposed to be reported). After fixing those and a couple other small things, my SAI dropped from $42,800 to $18,200! That's still higher than I expected but WAY more reasonable. Thanks everyone for your help!

Amazing update! So glad you got it sorted out. Those are exactly the kinds of mistakes that trip up so many people - the retirement account double-counting is probably the most common error I see. Your new SAI of $18,200 should definitely open up more aid opportunities, especially for federal grants and subsidized loans. Make sure to keep checking your student aid report over the next few days to confirm everything processed correctly. You should be in much better shape for your financial aid package now!