One more important point: make sure you correctly answer the questions about who you lived with. The FAFSA will specifically ask which parent you lived with more in the last 12 months. Answer based on your actual living situation, not based on custody arrangements on paper. If you split time exactly 50/50 between both parents, then you report information for the parent who provided more financial support.

Just wanted to add - if your stepdad adopted you legally, that actually simplifies things even more since he'd be considered your legal parent for FAFSA purposes. But even without adoption, since you live with your mom and she's married to him, his info is required. Also, keep copies of everything you submit in case you need to reference it later. The whole process can feel overwhelming but you're doing everything right by following the actual FAFSA rules rather than trying to work around them!

One more thing to consider - if you do decide to file separately, make sure you understand the timing. You'll need to file your taxes separately for the tax year that corresponds to the income information you're providing on your IBR application. So if you're applying for IBR now and using 2024 tax information, you'd need to file separately for 2024 taxes (which you'll file in early 2025). Also, keep in mind that you can switch back to filing jointly in future years if your situation changes - you're not locked into separate filing forever. But you'd need to recertify your income annually for IBR anyway, so you can reassess the joint vs. separate decision each year based on your current circumstances. The key is running those numbers as others have suggested. In my experience helping friends with similar situations, the break-even point usually requires either a large income gap between spouses OR a very high loan balance relative to income. Good luck with your calculations!

Just wanted to add another perspective as someone who went through this exact decision recently! I was in a similar boat with Mohela after SAVE plan issues. What really helped me was creating a simple spreadsheet with three columns: current joint filing scenario, separate filing loan payments, and separate filing tax impact. Here's what I learned that wasn't mentioned yet - when you file separately, you also lose the ability to deduct IRA contributions if your income is above certain thresholds (even if you could deduct them when filing jointly). This was another $1,200 in lost deductions for us. Also, don't forget about state taxes! Some states have additional penalties for married filing separately that can add up. I'm in California and this added about $400 to our state tax bill. After running all the numbers, we ended up staying with joint filing and instead focused on increasing our 401k contributions to lower our AGI for the IBR calculation. Sometimes there are other ways to reduce your discretionary income calculation that don't involve the tax filing status change. The studentaid.gov loan simulator is definitely your best friend here - just make sure you're looking at the total cost over the life of the loan, not just the monthly payment difference.

UPDATE: Our FAFSA was processed this morning (took 4 business days) and we were able to successfully update my husband's email! For anyone finding this thread later - the correction process was really simple. My daughter logged into studentaid.gov, clicked on "Make FAFSA Corrections," updated the email, and submitted. It's already showing the new email in the system. Thanks to everyone who helped calm my nerves about this!

So glad to see your update that everything worked out! This is such a common worry for families and your experience shows exactly how manageable these corrections really are. Thanks for coming back to share the resolution - it'll definitely help other parents who find this thread when they're in the same panic mode you were in a few days ago. The 4-day processing time sounds pretty typical for what we're seeing this year too.

will she have to do all this paperwork every year or just once?

I'm so sorry for your cousin's loss. This is such a difficult situation to navigate while dealing with grief. Everyone here has given excellent advice about selecting 'None of the above' for that specific question - that's definitely the right approach. One thing I'd add is to make sure your cousin keeps copies of ALL documentation she submits. I helped my nephew through a similar process and having backup copies saved us when one school's financial aid office lost his paperwork. Also, if she's applying to multiple schools, each one might have slightly different requirements for the dependency override documentation, so don't be surprised if she needs to provide additional statements or forms for different colleges. The most important thing is to stay organized and communicate proactively with each school's financial aid office. They're usually very understanding about these situations and want to help students get the aid they need. Your cousin is lucky to have you advocating for her during this tough time!

I'm dealing with the exact same situation! My son is heading into his junior year at Pitt and we submitted his FAFSA in early March. Still radio silence from PHEAA and his tuition bill is due August 15th. What's really frustrating is that last year we had the state grant info by May, so this delay caught us completely off guard. I've been checking the PHEAA portal obsessively and it just keeps saying "application under review." Reading through these comments makes me feel better knowing we're not alone, but also worried about how widespread this problem is. Going to call both PHEAA and Pitt's financial aid office first thing Monday morning. Thanks for starting this thread - it's really helpful to know other families are going through the same stress!

I'm so relieved I found this discussion! My son is starting his sophomore year at Penn State and we're experiencing the exact same PHEAA delays. We submitted his FAFSA in early February and have been stuck with the "application under review" status for months now. His tuition is due August 13th and I've been checking the PHEAA portal daily with no changes. Reading through all these comments has been incredibly reassuring - I had no idea this was such a widespread issue affecting so many PA families! It's both comforting to know we're not alone and really concerning to see the scale of these delays. I'm definitely going to call Penn State's financial aid office first thing Monday morning to request a payment deferral based on all the excellent advice shared here. Has anyone had any luck getting through to PHEAA recently, or is the phone system still completely overwhelmed? Thank you all for sharing your experiences - this community support is exactly what I needed during such a stressful time!