As someone who just went through this process with my daughter, I can confirm everything that's been said here is correct! The key thing to remember is "ownership determines reporting" - since you're the legal owner of the account, it goes in your contributor section regardless of the money's intended purpose. I made a spreadsheet to track all our assets and their FAFSA treatment, and it really helped avoid confusion. Also, double-check that you're using the correct "as of" date for reporting asset values - it should be the date you sign and submit the FAFSA, not when you started filling it out. The $14,500 will only contribute about $817 to your SAI calculation at the 5.64% parent asset rate, which is much better than the $2,900 it would have added if mistakenly reported as a student asset!

Just wanted to add my experience as a financial aid counselor - this is one of the most frequently asked questions we get! The confusion is totally understandable because it seems counterintuitive. But yes, everyone here is absolutely correct: if YOU are the legal account holder, it's YOUR asset for FAFSA purposes, period. The intent doesn't matter, only legal ownership. I always tell parents this is actually a blessing in disguise because of that lower assessment rate (5.64% vs 20%). One more tip: if you have multiple children and separate savings accounts for each in your name, you'll report the TOTAL of all those accounts in your parent assets section. The FAFSA doesn't ask you to break down which money is "for" which child - it just cares about your total reportable assets as the contributor.

As someone completely new to FAFSA (my oldest just turned 18), I wanted to add my thanks to everyone who's shared their experiences here! This thread has been incredibly valuable for understanding how to handle joint accounts. I'm in the exact same situation - joint checking and savings accounts with my daughter that were set up when she was younger, with a mix of her part-time job earnings and birthday/gift money I've deposited over the years. I was really stressed about getting this wrong and affecting our aid eligibility. The practical advice about going through bank statements and using the spreadsheet method to track deposit sources is so helpful. I love the tip about searching for her employer's name in mobile banking - that's going to make identifying her work deposits much easier than trying to remember dates and amounts. From reading all the responses, it seems like the key is being honest about actual ownership, documenting your reasoning, and not overthinking it if the amounts are relatively small. The proportional approach that several people mentioned makes a lot of sense - report based on who actually contributed and owns the money, even if both names are on the accounts. I'm planning to look back through about a year of statements, categorize the major deposits, and report proportionally. Thanks to everyone for making this feel much more manageable!

As a newcomer to this whole FAFSA process, I just wanted to say how helpful this entire discussion has been! I'm dealing with the exact same joint account situation with my daughter - accounts we set up when she was younger that now have a mix of her work earnings and occasional deposits from me. Reading through everyone's experiences has really clarified the approach I should take. The spreadsheet method and mobile banking search tips are genius - I never would have thought to search for her employer's name to easily identify her job deposits versus other sources. What's been most reassuring is seeing that this is such a common situation and that the key principles are straightforward: be honest about actual ownership, document your reasoning, and don't stress too much about perfect precision if the amounts aren't massive. The proportional reporting approach based on who actually contributed the money makes complete sense. I'm planning to follow the one-year lookback method that several people recommended, create that simple spreadsheet to categorize deposits, and then report proportionally. The fact that so many families have successfully navigated this gives me confidence that we can handle it too. Thanks to everyone for sharing your real-world experiences and practical solutions - this community approach to helping each other through the FAFSA maze is exactly what newcomers like me need!

Just wanted to add my experience from this year - we were in a similar situation with my daughter having about $3,500 in refunds sitting in her account. We decided to pay her spring semester textbooks and supplies early (around $800) and prepaid her meal plan for the next semester ($1,200). Both were legitimate expenses she was going to have anyway, and it brought her reportable assets down significantly. The key is to only spend on things you were already planning to purchase - don't go buying unnecessary items just to reduce the balance. Her financial aid package this year was noticeably better than last year when we didn't think about asset timing. Good luck with your decision!

As someone who just went through this process with my own kid, I'd definitely recommend having your son pay his rent in advance if that was his plan for the money anyway. We did something similar last year - my daughter had about $5,200 from a combination of refunds and summer work savings. We paid her housing deposit and first two months of rent early, which dropped her reportable assets significantly. Her financial aid counselor actually told us this was a smart move as long as we kept all the documentation. The 20% assessment rate on student assets really does add up, so reducing that balance by even a few thousand can make a meaningful difference in aid eligibility. Just make sure he gets proper receipts and maybe even a letter from his landlord confirming the advance payment in case you get selected for verification later.

I'm also new to this community and unfortunately dealing with this exact devastating situation! Our SAI went from $2,400 to $8,100 when our second child started college this fall - more than tripling our expected contribution right when we need to pay for TWO tuitions. Like so many others here, we had absolutely no warning this massive change was coming and had budgeted based on the old system where multiple students would reduce our per-child contribution. This thread has been incredibly helpful - I had no idea about using specific language like "FAFSA Simplification Act impact" and "multiple student household adjustment" when contacting schools, or asking directly about "transition funds" that schools may have created for this exact situation. I'm going to implement all these strategies immediately. What's particularly frustrating is that we're classic middle-class casualties - we make too much to qualify for significant need-based aid but nowhere near enough to easily afford multiple full-price tuitions. The timing couldn't be worse, and the lack of advance notice feels completely unfair to families who spent years planning and saving based on the previous formula. I'm contacting both schools this week and also planning to reach out to local media and our state representatives. The more families that speak up about this crisis, the better chance we have of getting emergency funding or policy changes. Thank you to everyone sharing their experiences and advice - it's giving me hope that we can navigate this disaster together!

I'm also new to this community and unfortunately dealing with this exact same devastating situation! Our SAI jumped from $2,200 to $7,600 when our second child started college this fall - nearly quadrupling our expected contribution right when we need to cover two tuitions. Reading through all these experiences has been both validating and incredibly helpful. Like everyone else here, we had absolutely no warning about this massive change and had spent years planning our college savings based on the old EFC system where multiple students would reduce our per-child contribution. I'm implementing all the excellent strategies shared here - especially using the specific language like "FAFSA Simplification Act impact" and "multiple student household adjustment" when contacting schools, and asking directly about "transition funds" that @Brianna Muhammad mentioned schools may have created specifically for this crisis. What's most frustrating is being caught in that classic middle-class squeeze - we make too much to qualify for significant need-based aid but nowhere near enough to handle multiple full-price tuitions. The timing and lack of advance notice feels completely unfair to families who planned and saved responsibly. I'm contacting both schools this week using all the advice shared here, and also reaching out to our local newspaper and state representatives. The more families that speak up about this policy disaster, the better our chances of getting emergency institutional funding or policy changes. Thank you to everyone for creating such a valuable resource for navigating this crisis - it's giving me hope that we can find solutions together!

As a newcomer to this community, I'm so grateful to have found this thread! I'm in the exact same situation with my daughter at UC Irvine - we went through the grueling Parent Plus approval process for fall (took forever with multiple credit appeals) and now I'm realizing we need spring funding too. Reading through everyone's experiences here has been incredibly reassuring. It sounds like the consensus is clear: since I only applied for fall initially, I'll need to submit a completely new application for spring, but the good news is that my credit approval should still be valid for 180 days. I'm definitely going to start the application today and make sure to select "Spring 2025" as the loan period - seems like that's a critical detail that's easy to mess up! Thanks to everyone who shared their timelines and practical tips. It's such a relief to know that the spring approval typically takes days instead of weeks. This community is amazing for helping navigate these stressful financial aid processes!

As a newcomer to this community, I'm so thankful I found this thread! I'm dealing with the exact same situation with my daughter at UC Santa Barbara - we finally got approved for a Parent Plus loan for fall semester after what felt like an endless process of appeals and documentation, and now I'm panicking because I just realized we'll need additional funding for spring too. Reading through everyone's experiences here has been incredibly helpful and reassuring. It sounds like since I only applied for fall initially, I'll definitely need to submit a new application for spring, but at least my credit approval should still be valid within that 180-day window. I'm planning to start the application today and will make sure to double-check that I select "Spring 2025" as the loan period - thanks for all the warnings about that common mistake! It's such a relief to hear that spring approvals typically take just days instead of the weeks (or months!) that the initial fall applications seem to take. This community is such a valuable resource for navigating these confusing and stressful financial aid processes. Thanks to everyone who shared their timelines and practical tips!