I'm also new to this community and facing this exact situation with my daughter's Social Security survivor benefits! This entire discussion has been such a lifeline - I was completely lost on how to handle our Representative Payee account when filling out the FAFSA. The clarification about the two separate reporting requirements has been incredibly helpful. I had no idea I needed to report the saved balance as a parent asset in one section AND the monthly benefits as untaxed income in another section. I was honestly paralyzed with fear that I'd make a mistake and ruin her chances at financial aid. What really resonates with me is the strategic advice about spending on legitimate educational expenses before filing. We've been so scared to touch any of the saved funds, thinking every dollar needed to go directly to college costs. But now I understand that using some of these Representative Payee funds for her laptop, AP exam fees, and college application costs could actually improve our aid eligibility while still serving the exact educational purpose these benefits are meant for. My daughter doesn't turn 18 until her junior year of college, so it sounds like we'll benefit from that lower parent asset assessment rate (5.64%) throughout most of her undergraduate years instead of the much higher student rate (20%). That timing could really add up to significant savings over multiple years of FAFSA applications. Thank you all for sharing your real experiences and expertise! Finding this community has been such a relief after feeling so alone and confused about these complicated rules. It's amazing how much clearer everything becomes when you can learn from others who've actually been through this process.

I'm new to this community and currently dealing with this exact situation with my son's Social Security survivor benefits! This thread has been absolutely incredible - I was completely overwhelmed trying to figure out how to handle our Representative Payee account on the FAFSA. The explanation about reporting the saved balance as a parent asset (at 5.64%) versus the monthly benefits as untaxed income has cleared up so much confusion for me. I had been worried I might be reporting things twice or missing something important that could hurt his aid eligibility. What I find most helpful is the strategic advice about using Representative Payee funds for legitimate educational expenses before filing FAFSA. We've been hoarding every dollar thinking that was best for college, but now I realize purchasing his needed laptop, paying for ACT prep, and covering college visit costs could actually help our aid calculation while still serving the educational purpose these benefits are intended for. My son turns 18 in his sophomore year of college, so it sounds like we'll benefit from the lower parent asset treatment for his freshman year FAFSA, then need to plan accordingly for when it becomes a student asset. The timing considerations everyone has discussed are really valuable for strategic planning. Thank you all for sharing your experiences and expertise! This community has made what felt like navigating a maze so much more manageable. It's such a relief to learn from others who truly understand these complex situations.

No separate applications needed for federal aid! The FAFSA is your one-stop application for Pell Grants, federal loans, and work-study. However, there are a few exceptions: - State grants sometimes require additional forms (check your state's higher education website) - Some schools require the CSS Profile for institutional aid (mainly private colleges) - Scholarships usually have separate applications But for the basic federal aid package including Pell Grants, the FAFSA is all you need. Just make sure she responds quickly if they request verification documents.

Your cousin is in a really good position! An SAI of 1285 with multiple siblings in college puts her in excellent territory for financial aid. At State University with $22k annual costs, she'll likely see her out-of-pocket expenses drop significantly. Here's what to expect: - Strong Pell Grant eligibility (probably $5,000-6,000 range) - Subsidized federal loans with better terms - Potential state grants depending on your state - Work-study opportunities The key thing is that having multiple siblings in college simultaneously really helps lower the family contribution expectations. Make sure she's listed all her schools on the FAFSA and watches for any verification requests in her email. The financial aid packages should start arriving with acceptance letters in the coming months. She's definitely not screwed - quite the opposite!

As someone who's been lurking here for a while but finally created an account because this thread is SO helpful - thank you everyone for breaking down these confusing rules! I'm in a similar situation with divorced parents but mine never remarried, which I thought would make things simpler... turns out it doesn't! My dad claims me on taxes but my mom pays for most of my day-to-day expenses. From reading all your responses, it sounds like I need to focus on who claimed me for 2023 taxes specifically. One thing I'm still confused about - if the supporting parent determination is based on who provides more than 50% of support, but the tax dependency might not match that, which one takes priority for Excelsior? @Kolton mentioned submitting an affidavit when these don't align, but I'm wondering how often HESC actually accepts those explanations vs just going with the tax return info? Also, has anyone successfully appealed an Excelsior denial? I'm worried I might be borderline on the income limit and want to know if there's a realistic path forward if the initial application gets rejected. Thanks again to everyone who's shared their experiences - this community is literally saving my sanity during application season! 💙

Hey everyone! I just went through this exact same process last year and wanted to share what finally worked for me after months of confusion. The biggest breakthrough was when I realized that for Excelsior, you need to look at THREE things in this order: 1. Who claimed you as a dependent on 2023 taxes (this is usually the default) 2. Who actually provided more than 50% of your financial support during 2023 3. If these don't match, you can submit documentation to prove the actual support situation In my case, my parents alternated tax years but my mom consistently paid for housing, food, and health insurance (the big expenses), so she was clearly my supporting parent even when my dad claimed me on taxes. For the income calculation, make sure you're looking at Line 11 on Form 1040 (Adjusted Gross Income), NOT the total income. This made a huge difference for my family since my stepdad has significant retirement contributions that lowered our AGI below the $135k threshold. Also, don't stress too much about the NY residency requirement - I talked to my school's career services and they said there are tons of good opportunities throughout the state, plus there are provisions for deferrals if you can't find work immediately. The documentation process is tedious but totally manageable if you stay organized. Start gathering everything now and apply even if you're not 100% sure about eligibility. The worst they can say is no, but you might be surprised! Good luck @Sasha and everyone else applying! This community has been so helpful for navigating these confusing rules. 🍀

my brother jus went thru this whole mess. its so annoying they changed everything!! he had to wait 3 1/2 weeks to get his loans. the new fafsa is such a disaster this year smh

I'm going through the exact same thing right now! Just submitted my FAFSA last week and was so confused when I only saw my SAI and Pell Grant info. I kept refreshing the page thinking it was a glitch. This thread is super helpful - at least now I know it's normal and not something wrong with my application. Going to call my school's financial aid office tomorrow to ask about their timeline. Thanks everyone for sharing your experiences!

I'm new to this community but going through the same nightmare right now! Our FAFSA estimator showed an SAI of around 1,100, but after reading through all these experiences I'm genuinely scared about what the actual number will be. We just submitted our FAFSA last week and I'm already losing sleep over this. What really gets me is how the Department of Education can have such a broken estimator tool. If they know it's not accurate, why not fix it or at least put a big disclaimer warning people that the actual results could be THOUSANDS of dollars different? We've been making college planning decisions based on that estimate for months. I'm definitely taking everyone's advice here about screenshots and documentation. Already went back and captured everything from our estimator session. Also bookmarked that Claimyr service mentioned by @Katherine Shultz just in case we need to actually get through to FSA later. Has anyone tried reaching out to their congressional representative's office for help with FAFSA issues? I've heard they sometimes have staff who can help navigate federal agency problems, but not sure if that applies to situations like this. At this point I'm willing to try anything if our actual SAI comes back way higher than expected. Thank you all for sharing your experiences - this thread should be required reading for anyone using the FAFSA estimator!

This entire thread has been incredibly eye-opening and honestly both helpful and terrifying at the same time! I'm a parent of a high school senior and we're right in the middle of this process. Our FAFSA estimator showed an SAI of around 1,650, which we were cautiously optimistic about, but after reading everyone's experiences here I'm realizing we need to prepare for the possibility that it could be significantly higher. A few things I'm taking away from this discussion: 1) Screenshot everything from the estimator (doing this right now!), 2) Be extra careful about how student assets are reported since they're weighted so much higher, 3) Keep detailed documentation ready in case we need to appeal or request professional judgment, and 4) Have that Claimyr service bookmarked just in case we need to actually reach a human at FSA. The business asset complications that several people mentioned are particularly concerning since we have a small consulting business. It sounds like this could be a major factor in discrepancies that I hadn't even considered. One question for the group - for those who did find significant errors or got discrepancies resolved, how long did the correction process typically take? We're trying to finalize college decisions and financial aid packages, so timing could be really important if we need to go through an appeal process. Thanks to everyone for sharing their real experiences - this is exactly the kind of practical information that's impossible to find in official guides!