Quick update to my earlier advice - check if Twin A's SAI calculation has been processed yet. If it has, the correction option should be available now. If it's been more than 5 business days with no calculation, that's when you should definitely call FSA directly, as there might be additional verification flags on the account due to the SSN discrepancy.

Did you ever get this fixed?? I'm dealing with something similar now and pulling my hair out!

Great job getting that fixed! Just wanted to add for anyone else reading this thread - if you're in a similar situation, don't panic. This is actually one of the most common FAFSA mistakes, especially with the new system. The key is catching it early like Ethan did. I've helped several families through this exact issue and it's totally fixable. One tip: if you're married filing separately, always double-check the "Contributors" section shows both parents before submitting. The system should auto-prompt for both, but it doesn't always work perfectly. Thanks for sharing your experience - it'll help other parents who run into the same thing!

Welcome to the community, Rhett! You're absolutely right to catch this early - it's so much easier to get it right the first time than to fix it later. Since you and your spouse file separately, here's a quick checklist before you submit: 1) Make sure both parents show up in the Contributors section, 2) Have both of your tax returns handy (you'll need income info from both), and 3) Don't forget that you'll both need to provide asset information too. The new FAFSA interface can be a bit confusing, but take your time with each section. If you run into any issues while filling it out, feel free to post here - this community has been super helpful for navigating these tricky situations!

Thank you SO MUCH for this template! I just got off the phone with the financial aid office, and they explained their

This is such a frustrating situation and unfortunately more common than it should be. As someone who went through something similar with my daughter's volleyball scholarship, I'd recommend a few things: 1) Get everything in writing from now on - follow up phone calls with emails summarizing what was discussed, 2) Ask for a meeting with BOTH the athletic department AND financial aid office together so they can't pass the buck between departments, and 3) Come prepared with your total cost of attendance breakdown showing how you planned to use the combined aid. The key argument is that athletic scholarships and need-based aid serve different purposes and shouldn't be mutually exclusive. Also, make sure you understand exactly what type of FAFSA aid is being counted - grants vs loans make a huge difference in your appeal strategy. Don't give up without fighting for it!

I'm so glad I found this thread! I'm a college freshman and just ran into this exact same issue with the greyed out correction button. Reading through everyone's experiences has been incredibly helpful - I had no idea that schools downloading your FAFSA data could affect your ability to make corrections directly on the website. I was starting to panic thinking there was something wrong with my application. I'm going to contact my school's financial aid office first thing Monday morning. It's really reassuring to know this is a common issue and not something I did wrong. Thanks to everyone who shared their solutions!

As someone who just joined this community and is navigating FAFSA for the first time, this thread has been incredibly eye-opening! I had no idea there were so many technical issues with the new system this year. The fact that schools downloading your data can lock you out of making corrections directly is something I never would have known without reading everyone's experiences here. It's really helpful to see the step-by-step solutions people found - starting with the school's financial aid office seems to be the key. Thanks to everyone who shared their struggles and successes. It's reassuring to know there's such a supportive community here to help newcomers like me navigate these confusing processes!

As a newcomer to this community, I'm incredibly grateful to have found this thread! I'm also dealing with FAFSA business reporting confusion as the spouse of a small business owner (my partner runs a digital marketing agency), and this discussion has been more helpful than anything I've found through official channels. What really strikes me is how many of us are in similar situations - feeling overwhelmed by the lack of clear guidance for small business owners. The detailed breakdowns everyone has provided about what to include as liabilities (accounts payable, accrued expenses, business credit card debt, etc.) and the documentation strategies are exactly what I needed to hear. I'm particularly interested in @Keisha Taylor's worksheet approach and @Fatima Al-Mansour's suggestion about using the same percentages we claim on tax returns for mixed-use assets. That consistency makes so much sense and gives me confidence in the methodology. One thing I'll add from my research - I found that some financial aid offices have specific worksheets or guidelines for business owners on their websites. It might be worth checking with your student's school directly, as they sometimes have more detailed guidance than the general FAFSA resources. @Yuki Nakamura, thank you for having the courage to ask this question publicly! You've helped so many of us who were struggling with the same issues in silence. This community knowledge sharing is invaluable for navigating these complex situations.

As a newcomer to this community, I want to echo everyone's gratitude to @Yuki Nakamura for starting this essential discussion! I'm also navigating FAFSA as a small business owner's spouse (my husband runs a home renovation business) and was feeling completely lost until I found this thread. The collective wisdom shared here has been incredible. I've been taking notes on everyone's advice and wanted to add one more consideration that might help others: timing your business payments strategically before filing FAFSA. Several business owners I know pay down their accounts payable or business credit cards right before completing the form to legitimately reduce their business net worth. This isn't manipulation - it's smart cash flow management that accurately reflects your business equity. Just make sure you have the cash flow to do this without hurting your operations, and keep records showing the payments were legitimate business expenses. The documentation strategies everyone has shared (@Keisha Taylor's worksheet approach, @Fatima Al-Mansour's consistency principle, etc.) are gold. I'm creating my own "FAFSA Business File" with all supporting documents before we even start the application. Thank you all for turning what felt like an impossible task into something manageable. This community support is exactly what small business families need!