As someone new to this community, I'm really grateful for all the detailed advice shared here! My partner and I are going through a separation right now and our daughter will be applying for FAFSA for the first time next year. This thread has been eye-opening - I had no idea there were such specific rules about which parent should file, or that switching could cause verification delays. The recommendation to contact the financial aid office first seems crucial. I'm bookmarking this discussion to reference when we get to that stage. It's also reassuring to see that others have navigated similar situations successfully, even if it required some extra steps. Thanks to everyone who shared their experiences, especially the cautionary tales - those are often the most valuable lessons!

As a newcomer to this community, I just want to thank everyone for sharing such detailed and helpful information! I'm currently dealing with a similar situation - my ex-husband and I have been separated for about 18 months, and our son will be a college sophomore this fall. I was completely overwhelmed trying to figure out which one of us should handle the FAFSA renewal, but reading through all these responses has given me a much clearer understanding of the rules and potential pitfalls. The emphasis on consistency really resonates with me - I was initially tempted to switch to my information since I make less, but now I understand that could create more problems than it solves. The advice about documenting living situations and contacting the financial aid office first is invaluable. It's so reassuring to find a community where people share both their successes and mistakes - those real-world experiences are worth their weight in gold when navigating this complex process!

As a newcomer to this process, I just wanted to say how incredibly helpful this entire thread has been! I'm currently waiting for my daughter's SAI to appear after seeing 'processed' status last week, and reading everyone's experiences has really helped calm my nerves. The suggestion about creating a tracking spreadsheet with all deadlines and requirements is something I'm definitely implementing this weekend. I had no idea about things like CSS Profile requirements or the possibility of verification selection - it's clear there's so much more to this process than just submitting the initial FAFSA. Thank you to everyone who took the time to share their knowledge and experiences. It's reassuring to know that other parents have successfully navigated these same concerns and that being proactive about asking questions is actually the right approach!

As another newcomer who just went through this exact same worry last month, I can definitely confirm that 'processed' status is great news! My son's FAFSA showed processed for about 10 days before we got the SAI email, so try not to panic about the timing. One thing I wish I had done earlier was to screenshot everything - not just the processed status, but also our submission confirmation and any important pages. I learned this tip from reading other posts here and it saved me when I needed to prove our submission date to one of the schools. Also, since you mentioned complicated tax situations, I'd recommend gathering all your supporting documents now (tax returns, W2s, 1099s, bank statements, etc.) and keeping them in one folder. Even if you don't get selected for verification, having everything organized ahead of time will give you peace of mind. The anxiety is totally normal - this whole process feels overwhelming when you're doing it for the first time! But you're clearly being thorough and asking the right questions, which means you're on the right track. Hang in there!

They said they're trying to get all aid packages out by April 10th, which is cutting it close for the May 1 decision deadline. But they also mentioned they're being flexible with deposits this year because of all the FAFSA delays. Might be worth asking your schools about deadline extensions!

As someone who just went through this exact same confusion last month, I can confirm what others are saying - those tax request emails are incredibly misleading! My daughter's FAFSA showed processed on March 5th, but we didn't get the tax confirmation email until March 22nd. I panicked thinking something was wrong, but it turns out it's just their system sending delayed notifications. The key thing to remember is that if your status shows "processed" on studentaid.gov, your information has already been sent to the colleges. I'd recommend calling your daughter's top choice schools directly to confirm they received her FAFSA - that's the only way to get real peace of mind with how unreliable the FSA communication has been this year!

Thank you everyone for all the helpful information! I've learned so much about how graduate financial aid works. We're going to have her contact her department about assistantships right away, and we'll plan to max out the federal unsubsidized loans before considering PLUS loans. I feel much more confident about the process now. This community is amazing!

Welcome to the grad school financial aid world! Your daughter is in a great position having finished her undergrad early. Just wanted to add one more thing that might help - since she'll be independent for FAFSA purposes, her Expected Family Contribution (now called SAI - Student Aid Index) will likely be much lower than what you experienced during undergrad, especially if she has little to no income. This could potentially make her eligible for some need-based institutional aid that graduate programs sometimes offer. Also, many Speech-Language Pathology programs have clinical partnerships with hospitals or schools that offer paid practicum opportunities during the program - definitely worth asking about! The field has good job prospects and loan forgiveness options through Public Service Loan Forgiveness if she ends up working for qualifying employers like public schools or non-profit healthcare facilities.

Just wanted to share my experience from a few years back - I was in almost the exact same situation! Filed taxes late and panicked about the FAFSA timing. I ended up submitting manually and it all worked out fine. One thing that really helped was creating a spreadsheet with all our tax numbers before entering them into the FAFSA - made it easier to spot any mistakes and also gave me a reference when I had to do the correction later with the DRT. Also, don't stress too much about verification if it happens. The schools are used to dealing with it and the financial aid officers are generally pretty helpful. You're being proactive by asking these questions, so you're already ahead of the game!

I went through this exact situation two years ago! Filed our taxes super late and was panicking about the FAFSA deadline. Here's what I learned: definitely submit now with manual entry rather than risk missing priority deadlines. The key is being absolutely meticulous with your numbers - I actually had my spouse double-check every single figure I entered. When our taxes were finally processed by the IRS (took about 7 weeks), I went back and used the correction feature to pull in the official data via DRT. Yes, we got selected for verification, but it was honestly not as scary as I thought it would be. Just had to send copies of our tax return and W-2s to the school's financial aid office. The whole process added maybe 2-3 weeks to our timeline, but my daughter still got her aid package in time for fall enrollment. The financial aid officer even told me that manually entering tax info is super common and they're used to handling it. Don't let the late tax filing derail your daughter's financial aid - you've got this!