As a newcomer to this community, I wanted to add my perspective after reading through all the excellent advice here. The overwhelming consensus seems clear - file the FAFSA even with higher income and assets. What really struck me from everyone's experiences is how FAFSA has evolved into more than just a need-based aid application. It's become a prerequisite for accessing merit scholarships, demonstrating interest to colleges, and keeping financial options open for unexpected circumstances. The risk-reward calculation is compelling: spending 1-2 hours on paperwork versus potentially missing out on merit scholarships or other opportunities you didn't even know existed. Several people mentioned discovering scholarships that required FAFSA submission regardless of financial need, which I never would have anticipated. I'm also in a similar financial situation and was initially planning to skip it entirely. But after reading these real-world experiences, especially from families who went through this recently, I'm convinced it's worth doing. The potential upside far outweighs the modest time investment. Thanks to everyone who shared their stories - this discussion has been incredibly valuable for helping families make this decision!

As a newcomer to this community, I found this discussion incredibly helpful! I'm facing the exact same dilemma with my daughter who's a high school senior. Our financial situation is very similar - household income around $150K and significant assets that would likely disqualify us from need-based aid. What really convinced me after reading through all these experiences is the recurring theme about merit scholarships requiring FAFSA submission regardless of financial need. I had no idea this was so widespread across different types of colleges. The demonstrated interest angle that several people mentioned is also fascinating - the idea that colleges might view FAFSA completion as a signal of serious intent to enroll. The risk-reward analysis makes perfect sense too. Spending a couple hours on paperwork to potentially unlock opportunities we don't even know about seems like an obvious choice when framed that way. Plus, the point about keeping options open in case of unexpected financial changes during college is really smart planning. Thanks to everyone who shared their real-world experiences - this thread has completely changed my perspective on whether to file FAFSA. I'm definitely going to complete it now!

I'm in a very similar situation with my daughter! Her dad works in Japan and files taxes there, and I receive SSI which is below the filing threshold. One thing that really helped us that I haven't seen mentioned yet is contacting the Federal Student Aid Information Center (1-800-433-3243) and asking specifically for their "International Income" specialist. Regular customer service reps often give conflicting advice, but the specialists actually know how to handle these complex cases. They walked me through exactly which sections to use for foreign income vs. untaxed income. Also, when you get that Spanish tax document, make sure to note the exchange rate used BY THE SPANISH GOVERNMENT when they converted any USD amounts to Euros (if applicable) - sometimes verification officers want to see consistency in conversion methods. The verification process took us about 6 weeks total, but having all documents ready from day one made a huge difference. Don't let the complexity discourage you - financial aid offices see this more than you'd think, especially at schools with international student populations!

I'm currently going through this exact same situation with my twin brother! Our mom doesn't file taxes because she's on disability, and our dad works in the UK and files there. After reading through all these incredibly helpful responses, I wanted to share a few things we learned that might help: 1) When we called that International Income specialist line that Javier mentioned (1-800-433-3243), they told us to make sure we have documentation showing the student's citizenship status ready for verification - apparently some families get delayed because they can't quickly prove the student is eligible for federal aid. 2) Our school's financial aid office recommended creating a "cover letter" to submit with our verification documents explaining our family situation in simple terms - they said it helps reviewers understand the context immediately. 3) For the currency conversion, we found out that some schools prefer you use the Federal Reserve's exchange rates rather than commercial sites like xe.com, so it's worth asking your specific schools about their preference. The whole process definitely feels overwhelming at first, but seeing how many families have successfully navigated this gives me so much hope! Thank you to everyone who shared their experiences - this thread is going to save so many people from the stress and confusion we initially felt.

As a newcomer to this community, I'm incredibly grateful to have found this thread! I'm just starting to navigate the financial aid process for my daughter who's a junior, and I had no idea how complex the divorced parent situation could be. Reading everyone's experiences here has been eye-opening. One thing I'm wondering about after going through all these detailed responses - has anyone dealt with a situation where the non-custodial parent (for CSS Profile purposes) lives in a different state? My ex moved across the country last year, and I'm concerned about potential complications with state residency requirements for some of the public universities on my daughter's list. Do the CSS Profile schools care about which state the non-custodial parent lives in, or is that only relevant for determining in-state tuition eligibility? Also, I want to echo what others have said about this thread being more helpful than any official guidance - the real-world experiences and practical tips from parents who've actually been through this process are invaluable! Thank you to everyone who has shared their knowledge here.

Welcome to the community! As someone who just went through this exact same situation last year with my son, I can tell you that you're definitely asking all the right questions. The divorced parent FAFSA rules with 50/50 custody are incredibly confusing, and it sounds like you've gotten some great advice here already. One thing I wanted to add that really helped us: when we were trying to determine who provided "more" financial support in our true 50/50 situation, we discovered that our state's child support calculator worksheet could be a useful reference point. Even though we don't pay formal child support since we split everything evenly, running the numbers through the calculator helped us see which parent would theoretically be the "supporting" parent based on income differences. This gave us extra confidence that choosing the lower-income parent for FAFSA was the right approach. Also, regarding your concern about "gaming the system" - don't worry about that at all! You're following the rules exactly as they're written. The FAFSA system is designed to capture the financial reality of the household that provides the most support, and in true 50/50 situations, that defaults to the lower-income household. That's completely legitimate. One last tip: start a shared Google doc or spreadsheet with all your school deadlines, requirements, and document checklists now. With 6 schools on your list, staying organized will be crucial, especially when dealing with different CSS Profile requirements for each school. You've got this!

I'm so glad I found this thread! I've been dealing with that exact same phantom "FAFSA Correction Started" status since early May and have been absolutely panicking about it. Like everyone else here, I definitely never started any correction myself, so it's such a relief to read that this is a confirmed system glitch affecting tons of students. Reading through all your experiences has been incredibly reassuring - it's clear that clicking "remove myself from correction" is the solution. I was terrified to touch anything because I didn't want to accidentally mess up my entire application, but seeing so many success stories gives me the confidence to finally do it. @Logan Chiang thank you for the professional insight from someone who actually works in financial aid! It makes such a difference to have official confirmation that this is a known issue. And @Miles Hammonds that email matching tip is something I definitely need to verify with my parents before they complete their contributor portions. I'm going to remove myself from correction right now and then keep checking daily for any verification requests that might pop up afterward. Fingers crossed I'll finally be able to get my SAI calculated and move forward with my financial aid applications. This whole 2025-2026 FAFSA rollout has been such a disaster, but at least we're all helping each other navigate through it! Thanks everyone for sharing your experiences - this community support has been invaluable during such a stressful time! 🙏

This thread has been incredibly helpful! I'm dealing with the exact same phantom "FAFSA Correction Started" status that appeared on my account in early May without me ever starting a correction. Reading everyone's experiences here has been such a relief - it's clear this is a widespread system glitch and not something we did wrong. I was hesitant to click "remove myself from correction" because I was scared of messing up my application, but seeing all the success stories gives me confidence to finally do it. @Logan Chiang thank you for the professional insight confirming this is a known issue! And @Miles Hammonds that email matching tip is super valuable - I'll definitely double-check that with my parents. Going to remove myself from the phantom correction right now and then monitor my account closely for any verification requests over the next few days. This whole 2025-2026 FAFSA year has been such a mess, but this community support has been amazing. Thanks everyone for sharing your experiences and helping each other through this stressful process! 🙏

Just wanted to add my experience from this year - I helped my neighbor's daughter submit her 2025-2026 FAFSA last month with the exact same situation (mom has ITIN, no SSN). We followed the process everyone mentioned here: selected "No" for SSN question, entered all zeros, completed everything in one Firefox session with mom present. The application went through smoothly and they got their SAI back in about 8 days with no verification requests! It's definitely much better than the nightmare stories from last year. The key really seems to be having all the parent info consistent and completing it without interruption. Hope this gives you confidence to move forward with your students - the system actually works now!

As a newcomer to this community, I want to thank everyone for this incredibly detailed thread! I'm starting to volunteer at our local library to help with FAFSA applications and was honestly intimidated by the no-SSN parent situations after hearing horror stories from last year. Reading through all these experiences - especially the recent success stories with 8-10 day turnarounds - gives me so much confidence. I'm taking notes on all the tips shared here: Firefox/Edge browsers, single session completion, having all documents ready, early morning timing, and the specific steps for the SSN field. The checklist idea mentioned by Jamal is brilliant - I'm definitely creating one for our library program. It's amazing how this community shares practical solutions that actually work. Looking forward to helping families navigate this process successfully!