Wow, this is such a helpful thread! I'm a high school counselor and I see families dealing with this exact situation every year. The inconsistency between schools on appeals is one of the most frustrating parts of the financial aid process. Miles, I'm so glad you were able to get through to College B and discover the issue with how they calculated your income adjustment. That 30% reduction vs. complete removal makes a huge difference in SAI calculation and explains the different Pell Grant outcomes perfectly. For other families reading this - don't be afraid to ask specific questions about HOW they calculated your appeal adjustment. Schools should be able to explain their methodology, and if it seems unreasonable compared to your actual circumstances, push back politely but firmly.

This thread has been so educational! I'm dealing with a similar situation right now - my daughter and I both lost our jobs due to company layoffs in January, and I'm about to file SAI appeals for my twin sons who are seniors. Reading about the different ways schools can calculate income adjustments (30% reduction vs. complete removal) is incredibly helpful. I had no idea there could be such variation in how schools handle identical circumstances. I'm definitely going to ask each school specifically how they plan to calculate the adjustment and push back if one seems unreasonably conservative compared to our actual financial reality. Thank you Miles for sharing your experience and everyone else for the practical advice - this gives me hope that persistence will pay off!

I'm a newcomer here but this thread is so helpful for understanding complex family situations with FAFSA! I'm dealing with something similar - we have foster children who receive benefits, and I was completely confused about how to answer those household questions. Reading everyone's experiences, it sounds like the key takeaways are: 1) Answer honestly about household members receiving benefits, 2) Prepare for likely verification by gathering documents early, and 3) Don't assume you won't qualify for aid with that income level when you have multiple dependents. @Naila Gordon - it seems like you're on the right track and got great advice here. The fact that so many families with similar situations received meaningful aid (like the $3,500-4,200 Pell Grant amounts mentioned) is really encouraging. Your $70K with multiple dependents definitely puts you in a similar range to the success stories shared here. Has anyone found good resources for understanding how adoption subsidies specifically factor into the FAFSA calculations? That seems like one of the more complex aspects of these mixed family situations.

Welcome to the community! Your situation is actually more common than you might think, and you handled the FAFSA correctly by marking "yes" for household Medicaid recipients. I wanted to add a perspective from someone who works with families in transition - the fact that you're navigating both adoption subsidies and college planning shows incredible dedication to all your children. With $70K income and multiple dependents, your biological son should definitely qualify for aid. I've seen families in your exact income range receive $3,000-5,000 in Pell grants plus subsidized loans. A few practical tips that haven't been mentioned yet: - Contact the financial aid offices at prospective schools directly to discuss your unique family composition. Many are understanding about mixed family situations. - Consider applying for outside scholarships specifically for children of adoptive families - there are several organizations that offer these. - Keep records showing how adoption subsidies are used exclusively for your adopted children's needs, as this might help during verification or appeals processes. Your son is fortunate to have parents who are being so thorough about maximizing his educational opportunities. The system can feel overwhelming, but families like yours do receive meaningful aid that makes college accessible.

Oh man, this is bringing back nightmares from when I was applying! 😅 I remember having the exact same "no activity" issue with my mom's contributor section. What ended up working for me was actually having her log out of ANY existing FSA account she might have had open in another tab, then clicking the invitation link again. Sometimes the system gets confused if there are multiple sessions running. Also - and this might sound weird - but try having your dad click the link on his phone instead of a computer. Mobile seems to handle the FAFSA invitations better for some reason. Good luck, and don't give up! The system is definitely glitchy but it'll work eventually.

I went through this exact same nightmare last year! The "no activity" glitch is so common it's ridiculous. Here's what finally worked for me after trying everything else: 1. Have your dad completely close all browser windows and restart his browser 2. Make sure he's NOT logged into any other government sites (like IRS, SSA, etc.) 3. Have him go directly to studentaid.gov and log in with his FSA ID there first 4. THEN click the invitation link from the email The key seems to be establishing that FSA session first before clicking the FAFSA invitation. Something about how their authentication system works gets confused otherwise. Also pro tip: if you're still having issues, try submitting the FAFSA during off-peak hours (like early morning or late evening). The system is less glitchy when fewer people are using it. Hang in there - I know it's super stressful but you'll get through it! 💪

Welcome to the community! I'm also new here and going through this exact same situation with my daughter who's a senior. Reading through this entire thread has been incredibly helpful - I had no idea about the complexity of the divorced parent rules or the differences between FAFSA and CSS Profile. One thing that really stood out to me from everyone's experiences is how important it is to document everything thoroughly. Like others mentioned, keeping detailed records through co-parenting apps seems crucial in case you get selected for verification. I'm also realizing I need to start having the CSS Profile conversation with my ex much sooner than I originally planned. For those who mentioned calling schools directly about their specific policies - did you find that financial aid offices were generally helpful and willing to explain their divorced parent policies over the phone? I'm wondering if it's better to call now during the less busy season or wait until closer to application time. Thanks to everyone who has shared their experiences here. This thread should honestly be pinned as a resource for other parents dealing with divorced parent financial aid situations!

Welcome to this amazing community! As someone who's been lurking here for a while but just joined, I have to say this thread has been absolutely incredible for understanding divorced parent financial aid situations. I'm facing a very similar scenario with my son who's a junior - divorced parents with shared custody, and I had no idea about the complexity of CSS Profile vs FAFSA requirements until reading all of your experiences here. One thing I wanted to add that our college counselor mentioned recently: make sure to also check if any schools on your list have "early decision" or "early action" financial aid deadlines that are even earlier than their regular CSS Profile deadlines. Some schools want financial aid applications submitted with the early admissions applications, which could be as early as November 1st for some schools. Also, regarding the conversation with your ex about CSS Profile - I'm dreading this too! But reading through everyone's advice about framing it as "required for our child's best aid opportunities" rather than optional has given me a much better approach. I think I'm going to compile a list of each school's specific CSS requirements from their websites to show him it's not negotiable if we want our son to be considered for institutional aid. Thank you to everyone who has shared their real-world experiences here - this has been more helpful than any official guidance I've found elsewhere!

I just wanted to add my experience from this past fall - I completed my FAFSA on my iPad Pro with a Magic Keyboard attached and it worked pretty well! The external keyboard definitely made a huge difference for data entry. However, I did run into one specific issue that I haven't seen mentioned yet: the browser would randomly zoom in on certain form fields when I tapped them, and then I couldn't figure out how to zoom back out to see the whole page. It was super annoying and happened like 5-6 times during the process. I had to close and reopen Safari each time. If you do end up using an iPad, here's a tip that saved me: go to Settings > Safari > Page Zoom and set it to 100% before starting. That seemed to reduce (but not eliminate) the zooming issues. But honestly, after reading everyone's experiences here, I think using a laptop is definitely the smarter choice. The iPad *can* work, but why deal with potential headaches when financial aid is on the line? Good luck with your application!

Hey! I'm just starting my FAFSA journey and this thread has been incredibly helpful - thank you all for sharing your experiences! Reading through everyone's stories, it seems like the iPad issues are pretty consistent across different models and iOS versions. The zooming problems, document upload failures, and session timeouts that multiple people mentioned really concern me since I can't afford to have my application get messed up. I was originally planning to use my iPad since it's what I have readily available, but based on all the feedback here, I'm definitely going to find a way to use a laptop instead. My school's library has computers I can use, so I think I'll just go there with all my documents prepared and knock it out in one session. One question for those who've completed it recently - about how long should I expect the whole process to take if I have all my documents organized and ready? I want to make sure I reserve enough time at the library computer so I'm not rushed. Thanks again everyone - this community is awesome! 🙏