As a parent who just completed FAFSAs for both of my kids this year, I can confirm the transfer feature works well when you follow the right steps! A few additional tips that haven't been mentioned: 1) Make sure you have all your tax documents handy even when using the transfer - sometimes the IRS Data Retrieval Tool will prompt you to re-verify information. 2) The transfer works best during off-peak hours (early morning or late evening) when the servers aren't overloaded. 3) If you're planning to use 529 plan distributions for either child, double-check those amounts in the assets section after transfer since they're student-specific. The whole process for my second child took about an hour including review time, compared to nearly 4 hours for the first application. Definitely worth using this feature despite the occasional technical hiccups!

Just completed this process for my second child last week and wanted to share my experience! The "Transfer My Information" feature worked perfectly, but I learned a few things that might help others. First, make sure you're using the same email address for your parent FSA ID that you used for the first application - I initially had issues because I tried to use a different email. Second, the transfer happens during the parent contributor section, not right at the beginning like I expected. You'll complete all the student info first, then when you get to the parent section, you'll see the transfer option. The system transferred everything including our tax information from the IRS DRT, which saved tons of time. One thing to note - after transfer, I had to manually update our household size and number in college (went from 3 household members with 1 in college to 3 household members with 2 in college). The whole second application took me about 30 minutes compared to 2.5 hours for the first one. Definitely recommend using this feature!

For future reference, schools typically allocate work-study based on these factors: 1. Filing date (priority deadline varies by school) 2. SAI (lower numbers get priority) 3. Remaining need after other aid 4. School's total FWS allocation from the Department of Education Many institutions exhaust their work-study funds by mid-February for the following academic year. Your FAFSA processing completion date of March 18th might have been the issue, despite submitting in January. Also, for anyone reading this - the school with the $79K cost of attendance should be providing more institutional aid with an SAI of 3470. That's a concerning gap even with $50K in aid already awarded.

Glad to hear you got the work-study resolved! As a newcomer here, I'm wondering - when you mention drafting an appeal letter for more institutional aid, do you have any guidance on what to include? My family is in a similar situation with a low SAI but still facing a significant gap even after federal aid. Should the appeal focus on comparing aid packages from other schools, or are there other factors that tend to be more persuasive to financial aid offices?

As a newcomer to this community, I want to add my voice to thank everyone for this incredibly detailed discussion! I'm in the exact same situation with my daughter's school district participating in CEP. Reading through all these responses has been so enlightening - I was initially hesitant to mark "yes" because our income is around $76,000, but the financial aid counselor's explanation really clarified that we're answering about actual program participation, not income eligibility. My daughter does receive free lunch every day through this official federal program, so "yes" is the honest answer. I'm planning to contact our school district this week to get that CEP participation letter proactively. It's amazing how this community breaks down such complex situations with real experiences from families who've actually been through it. Thank you all for making this confusing FAFSA process much more manageable for newcomers like me!

As a newcomer to this community, I want to express my gratitude for this incredibly thorough discussion! I'm dealing with the exact same CEP situation - my daughter's school district provides universal free lunch regardless of family income, and I was completely uncertain about how to answer this FAFSA question honestly. Our household income is around $74,000, so like many others here, my initial instinct was to mark "no" since we wouldn't qualify based on income alone. However, after reading through all the detailed responses, particularly the financial aid counselor's explanation that the question asks about actual program participation rather than income eligibility, I now understand that "yes" is the correct answer. My daughter literally receives free lunch every day through this official federal program, and that's exactly what the FAFSA is asking about. I'm definitely going to follow the excellent advice about proactively contacting our school district to get a CEP participation letter before submitting our application. It's so reassuring to see that many families in similar income situations have successfully navigated this with proper documentation. This community has been invaluable for helping newcomers like me understand these complex financial aid questions with real-world experiences and practical guidance!

As a newcomer to this community, I'm so relieved to have found this discussion! I'm currently facing the exact same frustrating situation with my parents who moved to Canada six months ago. The FAFSA system keeps rejecting their address no matter how many different ways I try to format it, and I was starting to feel completely overwhelmed. Reading through all the detailed solutions and experiences shared here has been incredibly enlightening - I had no idea about the FSA ID creation needing to be done separately first, or the "00000" zip code workaround. The step-by-step guidance from everyone who's successfully navigated this process is exactly what I needed to feel confident moving forward. What really stands out to me is how this seems to be such a widespread issue affecting so many families, yet there's virtually no clear official guidance from Federal Student Aid on handling international addresses. It's frustrating that we have to rely on community knowledge to figure out workarounds for what should be standard functionality in a government system. I'm planning to have my parents create their FSA IDs first thing tomorrow morning using the "Foreign Country" option and following all the formatting tips shared here. I'll also reach out to my college's financial aid office to explain our situation and see if they can flag my account while we work through these technical issues. Thank you all for sharing your hard-won knowledge and creating such a supportive resource. I'll definitely update this thread with our experience once we get through the process - every success story helps build the collective wisdom for other families dealing with these same FAFSA international complications!

As a newcomer to this community, I'm incredibly grateful to have found this thread! I'm currently dealing with the exact same frustrating situation trying to help my younger sister with her FAFSA application. Our parents moved to Australia last year for work, and the FAFSA system has been rejecting their address for weeks now. Reading through all the detailed experiences and solutions shared here has been absolutely invaluable. I had no idea about the FSA ID creation needing to be done first with the "Foreign Country" option, or that using "00000" as the zip code was an accepted workaround. The step-by-step guidance from everyone who's successfully navigated this international address nightmare is exactly what we needed. What really strikes me is how this appears to be such a common issue affecting countless families, yet Federal Student Aid provides virtually no clear guidance on handling international parent addresses. It's incredibly frustrating that families have to become experts in system workarounds just to complete what should be a straightforward federal application. I'm planning to have my parents create their FSA IDs tomorrow morning using all the tips shared here: selecting Australia as the country first, using standard English characters only, avoiding any special symbols, and doing it during off-peak hours. I'll also make sure we have all their financial documents converted to USD beforehand. Additionally, I'm going to contact my sister's university's financial aid office to explain our situation and ask them to flag her account while we work through these technical issues. Based on what others have shared, it sounds like most schools are understanding about FAFSA delays caused by international address complications. Thank you all for sharing your hard-earned knowledge and creating such a supportive resource for families struggling with these bureaucratic obstacles. I'll definitely update this thread with our experience once we successfully navigate the process - every success story helps build the collective wisdom for other families facing similar FAFSA international challenges!

As someone who just went through this process last year with my daughter, I wanted to share a few additional tips that really helped us avoid verification delays: 1. **Bank statement highlighting** - I went through my bank statements and used a highlighter to mark every expense related to my daughter, then scanned those highlighted statements. Made it super easy for reviewers to see the pattern of support at a glance. 2. **Create a "support comparison chart"** - I made a simple two-column chart showing "Mom's expenses" vs "Dad's expenses" by category (housing, food, transportation, medical, etc.). Having that visual comparison really drove home the 65/35 split in support. 3. **Don't forget about health insurance!** - If you carry your daughter on your health insurance plan, that's often a significant monthly expense that counts toward support. I was paying $180/month to add her to my plan, which added up to over $2,000 annually. The documentation process seems overwhelming at first, but once you get into a rhythm of tracking everything, it becomes second nature. And honestly, having all this organized has helped me budget better overall - I had no idea I was spending so much on various support items until I started tracking them systematically. You're being proactive by starting this documentation now, which puts you in a much better position than most parents who wait until they're selected for verification. Good luck with the process!

Coming into this conversation as someone who's been helping families navigate FAFSA verification for several years, I want to emphasize how refreshing it is to see such thorough preparation! You're absolutely doing the right things by starting your documentation now. One additional tip I'd add: consider creating a simple timeline document showing major life events that support your case. For example: "August 2024 - daughter moved in with me for school year, staying weekdays," "September 2024 - added daughter to my car insurance," "October 2024 - enrolled daughter in my health insurance plan," etc. This timeline approach helps verification reviewers quickly understand the context of your support arrangement, especially in complex custody situations. It also serves as a nice supplement to your expense tracking spreadsheet. Also, since you mentioned your daughter is at community college - don't forget to document any educational expenses you're covering beyond tuition (textbooks, supplies, technology, transportation to/from school). These often get overlooked but can add up to substantial amounts over a year. The collaborative approach you and your ex are taking is really going to pay off if verification happens. Having both parents on the same page about the facts makes the whole process much smoother for everyone involved, including your daughter who won't have to stress about her aid being delayed due to documentation disputes.