As someone who recently went through the NJ residency verification process, I wanted to add one more helpful resource that saved me during a particularly stressful moment! **Emergency Contact Strategy**: If you ever find yourself in a time crunch with NJFAMS deadlines approaching, try reaching out to your high school's guidance counselor or college counselor. Even though you attended school out of state, many counselors are familiar with multi-state residency issues and can sometimes provide template letters or documentation strategies that have worked for other students. **Document Scanning Pro Tip**: Use a scanning app like CamScanner or Adobe Scan on your phone instead of just taking regular photos. These apps automatically enhance the image quality, straighten documents, and convert to PDF format - exactly what NJFAMS prefers for uploads. **State Aid Renewal Heads Up**: Once you get through this initial verification process, make sure to understand the renewal requirements for subsequent years. Some students assume it's automatic, but you typically need to resubmit FAFSA and complete NJFAMS renewal forms each year to maintain your state aid eligibility. The amount of detailed, practical advice in this thread is incredible - it's exactly what I wish I had found when I was first starting this process! It's clear that helping each other navigate these complex systems makes such a difference. Best of luck to everyone working through their applications!

This thread has been absolutely incredible - thank you to everyone who shared their experiences! As someone who's been lurking here trying to figure out this whole NJFAMS/residency verification maze, I can't believe how much clearer everything is now. I'm in a similar boat (family moved from Delaware to NJ during my senior year) and was totally panicking about whether I'd missed important deadlines or messed something up. Reading through everyone's real-world timelines and document checklists has been such a relief. A few things that really stood out to me: - The fact that NJFAMS notifications are so unreliable - I would have definitely been waiting around for emails that never come - How important it is to have ALL addresses match exactly on documents (down to abbreviations) - That TAG grants can be $10K+ which makes this bureaucratic hassle totally worth it - The scanning app recommendations for high-quality document uploads I'm creating my NJFAMS account tomorrow and starting the document gathering process this weekend. One quick question for those who've been through this - when you were gathering utility bills and other proof documents, did you need them to be in your parents' names specifically, or could some be in other family members' names if they're living at the same address? Thanks again for turning what felt like an impossible process into a manageable action plan!

As someone completely new to this community and the FAFSA process, I've been reading through this discussion with great interest! My son is a sophomore, so I'm trying to learn as much as possible before we have to navigate this ourselves. From everything I'm reading here, it sounds like the consensus is pretty clear - since your family income was $87,000, which is above the $60,000 threshold for the simplified needs test, you should change your Medicaid answer to "no." The simplified needs test requires BOTH federal benefits AND income under $60k, and you only met one of those criteria. What's really helpful to see is how many other families are dealing with similar Covid-era Medicaid complications. It seems like the emergency enrollment extensions created a lot of confusion about how to answer these questions accurately. The fact that your children were only eligible due to the emergency provisions (not normal income-based qualification) supports changing your answer. I'm definitely taking notes on all the practical advice shared here - taking screenshots before submitting, keeping detailed records of benefit enrollment dates, and being prepared for potential verification. It's also reassuring to know that financial aid offices understand these system glitches and that honest corrections won't cause problems. Thank you to everyone who has shared their experiences so openly - this community is such a valuable resource for parents trying to navigate this complex process!

As someone completely new to this community and the FAFSA process, I've been following this discussion with great interest! My daughter is a junior, so I'm trying to get ahead of the curve and understand all these complexities before we're in the thick of it. From reading everyone's experiences, it's crystal clear that you should change your Medicaid answer to "no" since your income was $87,000 - well above the $60,000 threshold needed for the simplified needs test. The key insight that keeps coming up is that you need BOTH the federal benefits AND income under $60k to qualify, and you only had one of those criteria. What really strikes me is how the Covid emergency Medicaid extensions have created this exact confusion for so many families. It seems like a widespread issue where people were legitimately enrolled in benefits but wouldn't have qualified under normal circumstances. Your situation of being disenrolled when the emergency rules expired in July 2024 perfectly illustrates this dilemma. The practical advice throughout this thread has been incredible - taking screenshots before submitting, keeping detailed benefit timelines, and being prepared for potential verification. It's also so reassuring to hear that financial aid offices understand these technical glitches and that honest corrections are encouraged. Thank you to everyone who has shared their experiences so openly. This community support makes what initially seemed like an overwhelming process feel much more manageable. I'm definitely bookmarking this discussion as a reference when our time comes!

I went through this exact same situation with my twins' FAFSAs this year! The confusion is totally understandable - the new system's instructions are really unclear about contributor requirements. Just to add some reassurance to what others have said: if you file jointly, you're all set with just one parent completing the contributor section. My husband also created an FSA ID thinking he needed to be linked too, but it turned out to be unnecessary. Both my daughters' applications processed smoothly with just me as the contributor. The key thing is making sure your section is fully complete and submitted. Don't stress about your husband's account not showing as linked - that's actually normal for your situation!

I'm new to this whole FAFSA process and feeling pretty overwhelmed! My daughter is a high school senior and we're just starting the 2025-2026 application. Reading through this thread has been incredibly helpful - I had no idea that only one parent needed to be linked as a contributor when filing jointly. We were about to create separate FSA IDs for both my spouse and me thinking we both had to complete sections. This saves us so much confusion! Quick question though - after the one parent completes their contributor section, is there anything else we need to do, or does the application automatically get processed from there? Thanks to everyone for sharing their experiences - it's making this process feel much less intimidating!

My situation is a bit diffrent but maybe helpful - we have a working farm but it's owned by an LLC with my husband and his brother as 50/50 owners. FSA told us we report just my husband's 50% ownership value (minus debt) under the business/farm section, NOT under real estate investments. But all personal checking accounts (including the one we use for our share of farm income) had to be reported in full.

Just wanted to add my experience as someone who went through this exact situation last year! We have a small cattle ranch where we live on the property and do all the work ourselves. After reading through all the responses here, I can confirm that @Dananyl Lear and @Carmella Popescu are giving accurate advice. The three-part test is key: if you live on the farm/ranch property, actively participate in operations, and have fewer than 100 employees, the property value is excluded from FAFSA reporting. But ALL bank accounts must be included, even dedicated farm accounts. One tip I learned the hard way: keep detailed records of your farm operation to prove active participation if you're ever selected for verification. We had to provide documentation showing we weren't just passive landowners. Also, if you're unsure about anything, definitely call FSA directly rather than guessing - the stakes are too high for college funding!

As a newcomer to this community, I'm so relieved to have found this thread! I'm dealing with the exact same terrifying situation with my daughter's FAFSA showing that "No loans or grants available" message, and I've been absolutely panicking for days thinking we were completely denied any financial aid. Reading through everyone's experiences here has been such a huge weight off my shoulders - it's incredible to learn that this confusing message is actually very common and typically just indicates processing delays rather than actual rejection. The consistent advice about calling the school's financial aid office directly instead of trying to interpret those cryptic FAFSA portal messages is exactly what I needed to hear. It's clear this community has some really knowledgeable and experienced members who genuinely care about helping families navigate this overwhelming process. Thank you to everyone who shared their real-world stories and practical guidance - I'm definitely calling my daughter's school tomorrow morning with so much more confidence now! This thread should be pinned for other panicking parents to find.

As a newcomer to this community, I just wanted to say how incredibly helpful this thread has been! I'm going through the exact same panic-inducing situation with my daughter's FAFSA showing that dreaded "No loans or grants available" message. Like so many others here, I was absolutely convinced this meant we were getting zero financial aid and started losing sleep over how we'd possibly manage college costs. Reading through everyone's real experiences has been such an enormous relief - it's amazing to discover that this confusing message is actually very common and typically just indicates processing delays rather than actual aid denial. The unanimous advice about calling the school's financial aid office directly instead of trying to decode those vague FAFSA portal messages is exactly the guidance I needed. It's clear this community has some wonderfully experienced members who genuinely want to help families navigate this incredibly stressful process. Thank you to everyone who shared their stories and practical advice - I'm definitely calling my daughter's school first thing tomorrow morning with so much more confidence now!