I'm new to this community but dealing with this exact same rental property question for my daughter's 2025-26 FAFSA! We own a single rental house that we've been managing ourselves for about 4 years, and like many others here, I was really hoping it might qualify as a business asset since we handle all the maintenance, tenant relations, and property management duties ourselves. After reading through everyone's experiences, it's now crystal clear that I need to report our rental as an investment asset, not a business asset. The business exclusion criteria are much stricter than I realized - requiring formal business operations with multiple employees and substantial activities that go way beyond typical landlord responsibilities. For valuation, I'm planning to follow the approach many of you have outlined: gathering recent comparable sales from our area, checking our county's current property assessment, and using several online valuation tools to establish a reasonable market value range. It's reassuring to know that formal appraisals aren't necessary as long as I document my methodology well. While it's disappointing that our hands-on management doesn't change the classification, understanding that parent assets are assessed at a maximum rate of 5.64% definitely helps put the impact in perspective. Our rental has about $180K in net equity, so we're looking at roughly $10,100 added to our SAI - significant but not the complete disaster I was imagining. Thanks to everyone who shared their real experiences here - this thread has been incredibly valuable and way more helpful than anything I found on the official FAFSA resources!

As a newcomer to this community, I'm dealing with this exact same rental property question for my child's 2025-26 FAFSA! We own a small rental condo that we've been managing ourselves for several years, handling everything from tenant screening to maintenance and repairs. Like many others here, I was really hoping our hands-on management approach might qualify it as a business asset rather than an investment. After reading through all these detailed experiences, it's become clear that I need to report our rental as an investment asset. The FAFSA business asset exclusion criteria are much more stringent than I realized - requiring formal business operations with multiple employees and substantial activities that go far beyond typical landlord duties. Simply being a dedicated, hands-on property manager and filing Schedule E just doesn't meet their threshold. For valuation, I'm planning to follow the excellent approach many of you have outlined: gathering recent comparable sales from our area, checking our county's current assessed value, and using multiple online valuation tools to establish a defensible market value range. It's really helpful to know that formal appraisals aren't required as long as I document my methodology thoroughly. While it's disappointing that our extensive property management work doesn't change the classification for FAFSA purposes, understanding that parent assets are assessed at a maximum rate of around 5.64% definitely helps put the financial impact in perspective. It's significant but not the complete aid eligibility disaster I was initially worried about. Thank you to everyone who has shared their real-world experiences with verification processes, documentation requirements, and actual aid impacts. This thread has been incredibly valuable and far more informative than anything I could find in the official FAFSA guidance!

This whole new FAFSA system is a complete disaster. My daughter's application was stuck in draft for WEEKS and we missed her school's priority deadline. The financial aid office told us they're seeing this constantly. The Department of Education should be embarrassed by this rollout.

Glad you got it sorted out! For anyone else dealing with this, another thing to check is if you accidentally marked yourself as having dependents when you don't (or vice versa). That question determines a lot of the workflow and can cause weird submission blocks. Also, if you're a transfer student, make sure you didn't accidentally list your old school in the school selection section - that tripped me up last year and kept my FAFSA in draft status for days. The new site really doesn't give clear error messages when something's wrong.

As a newcomer to this community, I wanted to chime in with some encouragement! Your daughter's stats sound very strong for Zell Miller eligibility. I just went through this process with my son last year, and while the waiting period is definitely anxiety-inducing, everything worked out smoothly once we got organized. One tip I didn't see mentioned yet - if you're like me and tend to worry about paperwork getting lost, you can request email confirmations from both GSFC and UGA when they receive documents. This was a lifesaver for my peace of mind! Also, keep copies of everything in a dedicated folder (physical or digital) - you'd be surprised how often you might need to reference submission dates or confirmation numbers. The fact that you're being so proactive and asking all the right questions tells me your daughter is in great hands. The Georgia scholarship system really is designed to reward students like her who've worked hard academically. Best of luck with the process!

Welcome to the community! As a newcomer here, I wanted to share something that might help ease your anxiety about the timing. My daughter just finished her freshman year at UGA with Zell Miller, and I remember being in your exact position last spring - constantly checking emails and worrying about deadlines! One thing that really helped us was understanding that even if there are any hiccups with the initial notification, Zell Miller awards can be processed retroactively. So if for some reason there's a delay in March/April, it won't affect her actual enrollment or ability to register for classes. UGA's billing system is set up to handle scholarship adjustments even after the semester starts. Also, since your daughter is planning to attend UGA, I'd recommend joining the UGA Parents Facebook group if you haven't already - there's a wealth of real-time information from other parents going through the exact same processes. The Georgia scholarship system can seem complicated from the outside, but it really is designed to work in favor of students who meet the qualifications like your daughter clearly does. Hang in there - you're doing everything right!

As a newcomer to this community and the FAFSA process, I can't thank everyone enough for sharing such detailed and practical advice! I have twins who will be starting college in 2026, and I was completely confused about how FSA IDs work with multiple children. This thread has been a goldmine of information - especially learning that I only need one parent FSA ID that can be used for both of my kids' applications, while they each get their own student FSA IDs. The tip about using different email addresses for each child is brilliant and something I never would have considered. I'm also grateful for the mention of services like Claimyr since I've heard horror stories about trying to reach FSA directly. It's so reassuring to know there are other parents navigating this same situation and that the new FAFSA system is actually designed to make it easier for families with multiple students. I'll definitely be bookmarking this thread and coming back to reference it when we start our applications!

As a newcomer to this community, I want to say how incredibly helpful this entire discussion has been! I'm a parent of three kids - my oldest will be a college sophomore next year, my middle child starts as a freshman in fall 2025, and my youngest will follow in 2027. I was completely overwhelmed thinking about managing multiple FAFSA applications, but reading through everyone's experiences here has made it so much clearer. The fact that I can use my single parent FSA ID for all three kids while they each maintain their own student FSA IDs is such a relief! I especially appreciate the practical tips like using different email addresses for each child and the heads up about monitoring their individual application statuses. It's also encouraging to know that having multiple kids in college simultaneously can actually help with aid eligibility through the SAI calculation. This community seems like such a valuable resource for navigating these complex processes - thank you all for sharing your real-world experiences and making this less intimidating for us newcomers!

Hi Lukas! Welcome to the community! I'm also new here and currently working toward PSLF myself - I'm at 84 qualifying payments right now. Seeing someone at 117 payments is so encouraging and really helps me visualize the light at the end of the tunnel! Everyone has already given you such comprehensive advice about being able to submit your ECF immediately when you hit 120 with no waiting period. I just wanted to add my voice to say how inspiring it is to see someone so close to forgiveness after what must have been years of dedication to this process. The anxiety you mentioned about wanting everything to process correctly really resonates with me. Even though I still have 36 payments to go, I already find myself worrying about the final steps and making sure I don't mess anything up! But reading all these responses from people who have successfully completed PSLF is incredibly reassuring and gives me confidence that the system does work when you follow the right steps. I'll definitely be following your journey closely as you complete those final 3 payments and submit for forgiveness. Please keep us posted throughout the process - your experience will be invaluable for those of us still working our way there. You're almost at the finish line after such a long commitment. Congratulations on making it this far, and best of luck with everything! 🎉

Hi Lukas! Welcome to the community! I'm also new here and working toward PSLF myself - currently at 101 qualifying payments, so we're almost in the same boat! Reading through all these responses has been incredibly helpful. It's so reassuring to see multiple people confirming that you can submit your ECF immediately when you hit 120 with no waiting period. I had the same question about timing that you did, so this thread has been perfect timing for me too! The tips about saving PDFs, taking screenshots, and including a cover letter with your final submission are all things I'm definitely adding to my checklist for when I get there. It's amazing how this community shares such practical, real-world advice from people who've actually been through the process. You're so close to the finish line - just 3 more payments after years of dedication! I'll definitely be following your progress and would love to hear how the final submission and review process goes. Your experience will be incredibly valuable for those of us just behind you. Congratulations on making it this far, and best of luck with those final payments! 🎉