As someone who just went through this exact situation with my landscaping business last year, I can relate to the confusion! The key thing that helped me was realizing FAFSA isn't trying to value your husband's expertise or client base - they just want to know about physical assets that could theoretically be converted to cash. For our business, I listed equipment (mowers, trailers, etc.) at current market value (not what we paid), added our business checking account balance, then subtracted the remaining balance on our equipment loan. Came out to about $23,000. One tip: if you use any equipment for both business and personal use (like that horse trailer), you'll want to estimate the percentage that's business vs personal. I used 80% business for our trailer since we occasionally use it for personal hauling. The good news is service businesses typically have much lower asset values than retail or manufacturing businesses, so it shouldn't impact your daughter's aid eligibility too much. Just be consistent with whatever you report on your taxes!

I'm dealing with a similar situation for my tutoring business! Reading through all these responses has been incredibly helpful. I was getting overwhelmed trying to figure out how to value something that's essentially just my teaching skills and reputation. From what everyone is saying, it sounds like the key is focusing only on tangible business assets minus debts. For my situation, that would be my computer equipment used exclusively for business, any educational materials/books I've purchased for tutoring, and my business checking account balance, minus the small business loan I took out last year. One question though - for those who went through verification, did the financial aid offices ask for any specific documentation beyond the tax returns and asset calculations? I want to make sure I'm keeping the right records in case we get selected. My daughter is applying to several schools that require FAFSA and I really don't want to mess this up! Thanks to everyone who shared their experiences - it's so much more helpful than trying to decipher the FAFSA instructions alone!

Don't forget to look into the California Middle Class Scholarship too! It's specifically for families making under $201k with assets under $201k, and can cover up to 40% of tuition and fees at UC/CSU schools AFTER other aid is applied. With your income around $65k and that SAI, your daughter would likely qualify. My son is at Cal State Fullerton and got $3,800 from this program alone, on top of his Cal Grant and federal aid. The best part is you don't need a separate application - eligibility is determined automatically through your FAFSA/California Dream Act Application.

Hey James! I'm a newcomer here but wanted to chime in since I just went through this exact same situation with my daughter last year. Her SAI was 6,850 (super close to yours!) and I was panicking thinking we'd get zero aid. Turns out I was completely wrong - she ended up with a fantastic aid package that made her state school very affordable. The key thing that helped me was understanding that SAI is just the starting point for calculations, not what you actually pay. With your $65k income, you're definitely in the sweet spot for need-based aid. My daughter qualified for about $4,200 in Pell Grant money, plus our state had additional grants, and her university threw in institutional aid too. One tip that really helped us - when you do get that financial aid package, don't be afraid to ask questions if something doesn't make sense. The financial aid officers are actually pretty helpful once you get past the phone tree nightmare. Your daughter is going to be just fine financially for college!

I'm new to this community but unfortunately not new to FAFSA frustrations! Reading through all these responses, it sounds like you have several good options to try before starting completely over. I'd recommend trying the Claimyr service that Fiona mentioned first - if an agent can manually locate and push through your existing application, that would save you from missing the priority deadline. If that doesn't work, definitely call RISD's financial aid office directly before resubmitting. Many schools are being flexible with deadlines this year given all the system issues, and they might be able to work with you on the timing. Document everything - dates you called, who you spoke with, reference numbers if they give you any. The fact that Pratt received your 2023-24 FAFSA is actually useful information - it proves you did submit something successfully, just the wrong year somehow got processed. That might help when explaining the situation to financial aid offices. Good luck! This whole FAFSA rollout has been such a mess, but it sounds like you're being persistent and that's what it takes this year.

As someone who just went through a similar nightmare with my twin daughters' FAFSAs, I wanted to share what finally worked for us. We had the exact same issue - submitted in December, got confirmation emails, then complete radio silence from the system showing no record. After weeks of frustration, I discovered that creating a paper trail is crucial. I sent a certified letter to Federal Student Aid (830 First Street NE, Washington, DC 20002) documenting our submission date, confirmation numbers, and the technical issues we encountered. Include screenshots of any confirmations you received and print out that glimpse of the SAR you mentioned seeing. Within 10 business days of sending that letter, we received a callback from FSA with our daughters' applications magically "found" and processed. Apparently there's a whole department that handles these technical glitches, but you have to formally document the issue to get escalated to them. Also, definitely reach out to your state's Department of Education - many states have FAFSA hotlines that can advocate on your behalf with federal aid offices. Rhode Island's higher ed department might be able to help push things through faster than going through federal channels alone. The paper trail approach might take a bit longer than resubmitting, but it preserves your original December submission date which could be important for priority deadlines. Worth trying before starting completely over!

I'm experiencing this exact same issue and it's driving me absolutely insane! My family's AGI is around $54k and we qualify for reduced lunch, so we should definitely be eligible for the simplified needs test. But just like everyone else here, I'm stuck in this nightmare loop where I get asset error messages even though the system never asked me about assets initially. I've tried the correction process five times now and it's the same story every time - identical screens, no asset questions appear, I submit, and then boom - same error messages about missing asset information. It's like the system is actively working against families who need financial aid the most. Thank you so much @Diego Vargas for that crucial update about the Department of Education acknowledging this as a known issue and schools being able to override these errors. That gives me some hope! I'm definitely calling the financial aid offices at my son's target schools first thing tomorrow morning. This whole FAFSA rollout has been such a disaster. I can't believe they launched a system this broken when so many families are depending on it for their children's education. The stress and anxiety this is causing during an already overwhelming college application process is just unacceptable.

I'm dealing with this exact same frustrating issue! My family's AGI is around $49k and we qualify for free lunch, so we should definitely be covered under the simplified needs test. But I'm experiencing the identical problem everyone else is describing - getting asset error messages even though the system never showed me any asset questions to begin with. I've been stuck in this correction loop for about two weeks now. Every time I try to fix the "errors," it takes me through the same exact screens, never shows any new asset questions, and then gives me the same error messages when I submit. It's absolutely maddening! After reading through all these responses, I feel so much better knowing this is a widespread system bug and not something I'm doing wrong. @Diego Vargas, thank you for that incredibly helpful update about the Department of Education acknowledging this issue and schools being able to override these errors. That's the first bit of hope I've had in this whole ordeal. I'm definitely going to call the financial aid offices at my daughter's schools tomorrow morning. It's frustrating that we have to work around the system like this, but I'm just grateful there seems to be a path forward. This whole FAFSA rollout has been such a nightmare for families who are already stressed about college costs. Hopefully they get this fixed soon so other families don't have to go through this!

I'm another parent just starting this journey and this entire discussion has been a lifesaver! My daughter is also a senior and I was completely lost about the FSA ID requirements. Reading through everyone's experiences has made me realize I'm not the only one who found the official government explanations confusing. The consensus seems clear - we both need separate FSA IDs, start the process 2-3 weeks early, have daughter create hers first, then I create mine with different contact info, and make sure all tax documents are finalized before starting. I particularly appreciate the warnings about scam websites and the tip about testing login credentials beforehand. It's so reassuring to have this roadmap from parents who've actually been through it! Thank you all for sharing your real-world experiences and making this feel much less intimidating.

I'm also a first-time FAFSA parent and this thread has been absolutely incredible! My son will be starting college in the fall and I was so confused about whether we needed one FSA ID or two. Reading through all these responses has completely cleared that up - we definitely both need separate accounts with different email addresses. What I found most reassuring is hearing from so many parents who went through the exact same confusion I'm experiencing. The step-by-step breakdown everyone has provided is so much clearer than anything I found on the official websites. I'm planning to follow the timeline advice - have my son create his FSA ID first, then I'll create mine a few days later, and we'll start the actual FAFSA process at least 2-3 weeks before any deadlines. The tip about having finalized tax documents ready before starting is huge too. Thank you all for making this feel so much less overwhelming!