UPDATE: Success! We followed the advice from this thread and had my daughter sign first, then I signed immediately after (same session). We got the confirmation screen with the checkmarks for both signatures! The estimated SAI appeared right away too - though it's much higher than I expected which is concerning. I guess that's a question for another thread... Thank you all for your help! This community has been more useful than any official guidance we've found.

Congratulations on getting through the signature process! 🎉 It's such a relief when it finally works after all that stress. For the higher SAI issue you mentioned - definitely worth starting a new thread about that. The SAI calculation changed significantly from the old EFC formula, so many families are seeing unexpected increases even with the same financial situation. There are some income protection allowances and other factors that shifted in ways that aren't always intuitive. Thanks for updating us with your success! It's really helpful for other families dealing with the same signature nightmare to know what actually worked.

I'm just starting this process with my ex for our son's college applications and reading through all these responses has been incredibly helpful! One question I haven't seen addressed - if we use the Other Parent Account feature, do we both need to create our accounts at the same time, or can one parent start the process and the other join later? I'm worried about timing issues since my ex travels a lot for work and might not be available right when I want to get started. Also, has anyone dealt with situations where one parent lives in a different state? I'm wondering if that adds any complications to the CSS Profile process.

Just went through this exact situation last year with my daughter's applications! The Other Parent Account feature definitely works for keeping financial info separate, but here's what I wish someone had told me upfront: make sure you BOTH understand that you're essentially creating two completely separate CSS Profile applications that the colleges have to manually link together. The biggest issue we ran into was that some schools' financial aid offices weren't immediately aware that we had used separate accounts, so they kept sending "incomplete application" notices to my daughter. What saved us was being proactive - I called each school's financial aid office about a week after we both submitted and specifically told them "Both parents have submitted separate CSS Profiles using the Other Parent Account feature, please confirm you have both submissions linked to [daughter's name] application." Most schools said "Oh yes, we see both now, thanks for letting us know!" One school actually hadn't linked them properly and was able to fix it right away because of my call. Would definitely recommend this proactive approach rather than waiting for problems to surface later when deadlines are looming. Also, the fees do add up quickly when you're both paying for multiple schools, but the peace of mind of keeping finances separate was worth it for us. Good luck!

I'm dealing with a similar situation right now with my daughter's financial aid package! She's technically a sophomore with 31 credits but they classified her as a freshman too. After reading all these helpful comments, I'm going to try the chat feature on our school's website first before calling. It's so frustrating that this seems to happen at multiple schools - you'd think the systems would automatically sync up the academic and financial aid records by now. Thanks everyone for sharing your experiences and tips - this thread is a goldmine of practical advice for navigating these issues!

This thread has been incredibly helpful! I'm a new member here and currently dealing with FAFSA issues for my son who's starting his sophomore year in the fall. After reading everyone's experiences, I realize we should probably double-check his grade level classification now rather than waiting until his aid package arrives. Does anyone know if there's a way to verify his classification status before the financial aid office processes his FAFSA? I'd much rather catch any discrepancies early than have to scramble to fix them when tuition payments are due. Also, huge thanks to everyone who shared the practical tips about optimal calling times, chat features, and bringing documentation - this community is amazing!

Hey Chloe! I just went through this exact same struggle a couple months ago when I was applying for financial aid. Yes, you and your mom definitely need separate FSA IDs - it was so confusing at first because the website doesn't make this super clear upfront! Here's what I learned: think of the FSA ID like a digital signature. Since both you and your parent are legally signing the FAFSA document, you each need your own unique "signature" (FSA ID). You can't share one because you're both providing different financial information and taking responsibility for different parts of the form. The process is: you create your FSA ID with your email, your mom creates hers with her email (both at studentaid.gov/fsa-id), then when you fill out the FAFSA, you'll complete your student section and she'll log in separately with her FSA ID to complete and sign the parent section. One heads up - after creating the FSA IDs, there might be a 1-3 day verification period before you can actually use them on the FAFSA, so don't panic if they don't work immediately! Also make sure you both write down your login info because you'll need it multiple times throughout the year. You're definitely not going to mess up your application by asking questions - it's way better to get it right the first time! Good luck! 🍀

Hey! I'm also new to this whole FAFSA process and your question really helped me understand what I need to do. I was planning to just use my own account for everything, but after reading all these responses, I realize my dad and I definitely need separate FSA IDs too. One thing that's been really helpful for me is bookmarking the studentaid.gov/fsa-id page and making sure I have all my documents ready before starting. From what everyone's saying, it sounds like having both accounts created at the same time with a parent sitting next to you is the way to go - that's definitely what I'm going to do this weekend. Thanks for posting this question! Sometimes it's nice to know other people are just as confused as you are about navigating all this financial aid stuff. The whole process seems pretty overwhelming at first, but all the advice in this thread makes it feel much more manageable. Good luck with your application - sounds like you're well on your way now that you got both accounts sorted out! 🙂

As a newcomer to this community, I'm finding this thread incredibly helpful! I'm in a similar situation with my son - we submitted his FAFSA but only included 6 schools initially. Reading through all these responses has given me so much confidence about adding the additional schools he's considering. One question I haven't seen addressed yet - if we add schools after the original submission, do those newly added schools receive the same SAI (Student Aid Index) that was calculated from our initial FAFSA, or does the system recalculate anything when we make changes? I want to make sure the financial information they receive is exactly the same as what the first batch of schools got. Also, thank you to everyone who mentioned taking screenshots and saving confirmation emails - I definitely would have overlooked that step without these tips!

As a newcomer to this community, I'm really grateful for all the detailed advice in this thread! I'm in the exact same situation with my daughter - we submitted her FAFSA with only 7 schools but she's now interested in 3 more after receiving some unexpected acceptance letters. I have a follow-up question about timing that I'm hoping someone can help with: if we add these additional schools now (late January), but some of them have financial aid priority deadlines that were in early January, will they still consider her for their full range of aid programs? Or do the priority deadlines mean she'll only be eligible for federal aid and not institutional grants from those schools? Also, I noticed someone mentioned that schools can see the full list of where else she's applying. Should I be strategic about the order in which I add schools, or does it really not matter for admissions/aid decisions? Thank you again to everyone sharing their experiences - this process feels much less overwhelming with guidance from parents who've been through it!