I'm going through the exact same nightmare! Our SAI jumped $42K with virtually identical financials and we also have 3 kids in college. What's really frustrating is that nobody warned us this was coming - we budgeted for this year based on last year's aid packages and now we're scrambling. I've been following this thread closely and I'm definitely going to try calling each school's financial aid office directly like @Luca Russo did. Has anyone had luck with private scholarships or work-study programs as a way to help fill this gap? I'm exploring every possible option at this point because taking on massive Parent PLUS loans feels like it would bury us financially for decades.

Just wanted to chime in as another family dealing with this exact situation. Our SAI went up $39K this year with two kids in college and nearly identical income. What's been most helpful for us is creating a spreadsheet documenting the exact differences between our old EFC and new SAI to present to financial aid offices. I also discovered that some schools have "sibling enrollment verification" forms that weren't required before but can trigger additional institutional aid review. One of our schools actually proactively reached out after we submitted this form. Also, don't overlook your state's higher education agency - ours has a emergency grant program specifically for families caught in the FAFSA transition that wasn't widely publicized. It's only $2500 per student but every bit helps right now. Hang in there everyone - it sounds like schools are really trying to find solutions even if the federal formula isn't helping us.

You're absolutely doing the right thing by protecting your retirement! I'm a recent college grad who went through a similar situation with my parents 4 years ago. They had a modest retirement fund and FAFSA expected them to contribute way more than they could afford without jeopardizing their future. I was initially disappointed about not going to my "dream school" but ended up at our state university with merit scholarships. Here's what worked for us: I applied to 12 schools where my stats put me in the top 25% of applicants for merit aid. Ended up with a full tuition scholarship at a great state school. Now I'm debt-free, have a good job, and my parents can actually retire someday. Meanwhile, friends from high school are drowning in loan payments for degrees that aren't any better than mine. Your daughter might be upset now, but you're teaching her an invaluable lesson about financial responsibility. There are SO many paths to success that don't involve crushing debt. Stand your ground!

You are absolutely NOT wrong to protect your retirement! I'm a financial advisor and I see this scenario constantly - parents being guilted into taking on massive debt for their kids' education while their own financial security crumbles. At 52 with $217K saved, you're actually behind where you should be for retirement (rule of thumb is 5-6x your annual income by age 50). Taking on $150K+ in Parent PLUS loans would be financial suicide. The harsh reality is that your daughter has options - she can attend a less expensive school, earn merit scholarships, or take on reasonable student debt herself. But you cannot get loans for retirement. Social Security alone won't be enough, and working until you're 75 because you drained your savings for college is not a viable plan. I've seen too many families destroy their financial futures for the "college experience." Your daughter will adapt and thrive elsewhere, but your retirement security, once gone, is nearly impossible to rebuild at your age. You're being a responsible parent by setting financial boundaries.

UPDATE: We logged in tonight and re-signed the FAFSA. It seems to have worked! The status now shows "Processing" instead of "Action Required." According to the site, it should take 3-5 days for processing, and then schools will receive our information. Thanks everyone for your help and suggestions! This new system has been such a headache.

So glad to see you got it resolved! This same thing happened to my family last month and it was incredibly stressful. For anyone else dealing with this issue, I found that clearing browser cache and cookies before attempting to re-sign can help avoid some of the technical glitches. Also, if you're still having trouble, try logging in during off-peak hours (early morning or late night) when there's less traffic on the system. The whole FAFSA rollout has been a nightmare this year, but at least there are workarounds for most of these issues.

Just wanted to add one more thing that helped us - keep track of all the deadlines! Even if you decide to file both FAFSAs, the deadlines can be different for each academic year. Some state grants and institutional aid have earlier deadlines than the federal ones, and these can vary between the gap year and enrollment year. We almost missed a state grant deadline because we assumed they were the same. Also, if your daughter ends up changing her mind about which school to attend during her gap year, you might need to update her FAFSA with the new school code. Good luck navigating this process!

As someone who works in financial aid, I want to emphasize something that hasn't been mentioned yet - timing of when you submit can matter for state aid! Some states have limited funding pools that are distributed on a first-come, first-served basis. If your daughter is planning to attend college in your home state, check if your state has early FAFSA deadlines or limited grant funds. For example, some states require the FAFSA to be submitted by March 1st for maximum state grant eligibility. This could influence whether you want to submit the gap year FAFSA just to establish that early filing pattern. Also, if your family's financial situation is likely to change significantly between 2023 and 2024 (job loss, divorce, major medical expenses, etc.), the different tax years used for each FAFSA could work in your favor or against you, so factor that into your decision too.

UPDATE: We fixed it! Thanks everyone for your help. What worked was having my dad log in and complete his ENTIRE contributor section. After he submitted his part, I waited about 2 hours, then I tried the tip from @profile4 about using the "Start a New FAFSA" link, and it worked! I was able to access my application again and continue where we left off. No data was lost thankfully. For anyone else with this issue, make sure your contributor completes their ENTIRE section before you try to continue.

Wow, this thread is incredibly helpful! I'm dealing with the exact same issue right now - added my mom as a contributor yesterday and now I'm completely locked out of my FAFSA. Reading through all these responses, it sounds like the key is making sure the parent contributor completes their ENTIRE section first. I'm going to have my mom log in tonight and finish everything on her end, then try the "Start a New FAFSA" workaround tomorrow. It's so frustrating that this is such a common problem with the new system - you'd think they would have fixed these bugs by now! Thanks everyone for sharing your experiences and solutions.