@original poster - You mentioned this is your first time applying on your own. Here's a timeline to help you understand what happens after your FAFSA shows "PROCESSED": 1. FAFSA processing complete (where you are now) 2. Data sent to schools you listed on your FAFSA 3. Schools determine if they need verification documents 4. Schools calculate your financial aid package 5. Aid offers sent out (usually March-April for most schools) From this point forward, most of your communications will come directly from schools, not from studentaid.gov. Each school has its own timeline and communication methods.

Just wanted to add one more tip for anyone in a similar situation - if you're really anxious about whether everything is correct, you can also check with your high school guidance counselor if you're still a senior. Even though you're doing this on your own now, most counselors are happy to do a quick review of your FAFSA status and help you understand what to look for. They see this stuff all the time and can often spot issues you might miss. My counselor caught a mistake in my parent tax info that I totally overlooked, even after I thought everything was perfect!

Just wanted to chime in as someone new to this whole FAFSA world - my daughter is a junior in high school and I'm trying to wrap my head around all this financial aid stuff before we have to file next year. Reading your story gives me so much hope! I'm also a single parent (divorced last year) working in education, so it sounds like we're in very similar situations. It's really encouraging to see that the system actually does work to help families like ours. I had no idea that divorce could impact the SAI calculation so dramatically, but it makes total sense when you explain it. Thank you for sharing your experience and congratulations on the great news for your son! This community has been such a lifesaver for learning about all these processes.

This is such great news and really encouraging to read! As someone who's just starting to navigate the financial aid world (my kid is a sophomore), I had no idea that major life changes like divorce could have such a positive impact on aid eligibility. It's honestly refreshing to hear a story where the system actually worked in favor of a hardworking single parent rather than against them. Your experience gives me hope that there really are safety nets in place for families going through tough transitions. Congratulations on the 0 SAI - your son is so lucky to have such a dedicated parent looking out for his education!

As someone who just went through this exact same process with my twin daughters, I can definitely relate to the confusion! Both of my girls work part-time jobs and made between $6,000-$8,500 last year. I was initially worried about the same thing - it felt like the FAFSA was ignoring their income entirely. But after speaking with a financial aid counselor at our local community college, I learned that the new system is actually much more student-friendly than the old one. The student income protection allowance is higher now, and like others have mentioned, only income above that threshold gets assessed at 50%. What really helped me was realizing that for dependent students, parent income and assets are weighted much more heavily in the SAI calculation than student income. So even if your son's $8,200 does have a small impact, it's likely to be under $300 total effect on his aid eligibility. The stress of not knowing is definitely worse than the actual financial impact!

I'm going through this exact situation right now and this thread has been a lifesaver! My son is 20, still my dependent, and made about $8,900 last year from his retail job. I had the same panic when I filled out the FAFSA - it felt like they were completely ignoring his income and I was convinced I had done something wrong. After reading all these responses about the student income protection allowance and how the IRS Data Retrieval Tool works, I finally understand why the form focuses so heavily on parent information. It's because that's what actually drives the calculation for dependent students! Based on what everyone is saying, it sounds like only about $1,300 of his income would even be above the protection threshold, so maybe $650 total impact on his SAI. That's so much better than I was fearing! Thank you all for explaining this - I was literally losing sleep over whether I had messed up his financial aid chances.

I'm new to this community and just reading through this thread has been incredibly helpful! Ashley, I'm so glad you found those major errors - the retirement account mistake especially seems like such an easy trap to fall into. I'm currently preparing to fill out the FAFSA for my son and this discussion has me creating a checklist of things to double and triple check. The tip about Claimyr for actually reaching Federal Student Aid is something I'm definitely bookmarking. I've been dreading the thought of trying to navigate their phone system. And seeing how supportive everyone has been with specific, actionable advice really shows what a valuable resource this community is. One question for those who've been through corrections - approximately how long did it take to get your revised SAI after submitting the changes? I want to set realistic expectations in case we run into any issues. Thanks to everyone for sharing your experiences and expertise!

I'm new to this community and currently stressing about my own FAFSA situation, so this thread has been incredibly reassuring! Ashley, I'm so glad you discovered those major errors - it shows how easy it is to make costly mistakes even when you're being careful. The retirement account exclusion seems to trip up so many families, and I never would have thought about the 529 double-counting issue. I'm in a similar boat with a rental property and was panicking about how it would affect our SAI. Reading through everyone's explanations about reporting net equity (market value minus mortgage debt) has been so helpful. I was confused about whether to report the full property value or just our equity portion. The tip about Claimyr for reaching actual Federal Student Aid representatives is going straight into my bookmarks - I've been dreading trying to navigate their phone system. And knowing that schools have professional judgment options gives me hope that there are multiple ways to advocate for fair treatment. Thank you to everyone who shared their experiences and advice. This community is proving to be such a valuable resource for navigating this overwhelming process!

Just wanted to add that if your son is already at UC Davis, their financial aid office can also help with this process! I had a similar situation with my daughter at UCSB last year. The financial aid advisors are really knowledgeable about how Selective Service registration affects aid packages and can walk you through everything. They can even help verify that his registration went through properly and is linked to his FAFSA. It might be worth giving UC Davis financial aid a call - they deal with this all the time and can provide campus-specific guidance about deadlines and procedures.

Just to add another perspective - I work at a community college in California and see this issue come up frequently. The key thing to remember is that Selective Service registration is tied to ALL federal aid programs, not just grants. So if your son has federal student loans (subsidized or unsubsidized), work-study, or any other federal aid, failing to register could affect all of it. Also, California state programs like Cal Grant A, B, and C all follow the same federal requirements. So it's not just federal aid at risk - it's potentially his entire financial aid package. The good news is that once he registers, it usually updates in the system pretty quickly (within a few weeks) and shouldn't cause any delays for future aid years as long as he stays registered. Definitely get it done ASAP - UC Davis has one of the more expensive tuition rates in the UC system, so you really don't want to risk losing that aid!