As a parent who's new to this whole process, I want to echo everyone's thanks for this incredibly helpful thread! My daughter and I have been stressing about the FAFSA for weeks, but reading through all these real experiences has been a game-changer. The consistent message about letting the student go first and waiting for the invitation email is so clear now - I was definitely about to create my FSA ID prematurely thinking I was being organized! One question I have after reading all this great advice: when my daughter gets to the school list section, should she add schools even if she hasn't heard back on admissions yet? She applied to about 8 schools but has only heard back from 3 so far. I'm wondering if it's better to wait until she knows where she's been accepted, or just list all the schools she applied to regardless of admission status? Also, I'm gathering our 2023 tax documents this weekend - is there anything specific beyond W-2s and our tax return that I should make sure to have on hand? We have some investment accounts and my husband is self-employed, so I want to make sure I'm not missing any important paperwork that could slow us down once we start the process.

As a parent who just successfully completed the FAFSA process with my daughter a few weeks ago, I can confirm everything everyone has said about the student going first! The process really is much smoother when you follow the correct order. One additional tip I wanted to share - when your daughter is creating her FSA ID, make sure she uses an email address she checks regularly and a phone number where she can receive text messages. The system sends verification codes and important updates to both, and we had a moment of panic when my daughter realized she had used an old email address that she rarely checks. Also, when you do receive your invitation email as a parent, don't wait too long to respond - I think there might be some kind of time limit, though I'm not 100% sure about that. We completed our parent portion within a few days of receiving the invitation and everything went smoothly. The whole process took us about 2 hours total spread across a couple of sessions, which was much less time than I had anticipated! Good luck with your application!

As someone who's just beginning to research the CSS Profile process for my daughter who's a junior this year, this entire thread has been absolutely invaluable! I started reading with anxiety about potentially making similar mistakes, but by the end I felt so much more prepared and confident about what's ahead. @Alicia Stern, what a rollercoaster that must have been - from panic to relief in one thread! Your experience perfectly illustrates why the CSS Profile interface needs better guidance around the prior-prior year rule. It's such a common source of confusion, and honestly, they could solve most of these issues with just a simple clarification note right in the form. I'm incredibly grateful for @Sarah Jones' comprehensive correction breakdown - that's going straight into my college prep resources folder. Even though it wasn't needed here, knowing there are established processes for fixing actual errors is so reassuring. And @Drake's point about documenting everything when dealing with financial aid offices is excellent advice that I'll definitely remember. This community's willingness to share knowledge and support each other through these complex processes is amazing. Reading everyone's experiences has given me such a better understanding of what to expect and how to avoid common pitfalls. Thanks to all of you for making the college application journey feel a little less overwhelming for newcomers like me!

This thread has been such an incredible resource! As someone who's completely new to the CSS Profile process (my eldest is just starting high school but I'm trying to get ahead of the learning curve), reading through everyone's experiences has been both educational and reassuring. @Alicia Stern, what a journey from panic to relief! Your experience really highlights how confusing the prior-prior year rule can be when you're encountering it for the first time. It's honestly a perfect example of why the CSS Profile interface needs better user experience design - a simple clarification note about tax years right in the income section would prevent so much confusion. I'm absolutely saving @Sarah Jones' comprehensive correction breakdown and @Drake's advice about documentation. Even though I won't need this information for a few years, having these procedures laid out clearly gives me so much confidence about eventually tackling this process myself. What really stands out to me is how quickly this community rallied to help, even when the "crisis" turned out to be a non-issue. That kind of support makes the whole college application journey feel much less intimidating for those of us just starting to learn about these requirements. Thank you to everyone who shared their knowledge and experiences - this discussion is going to help so many families navigate CSS Profile challenges more confidently!

As a newcomer to this community, I just wanted to say how incredibly valuable this entire discussion has been! I'm currently a high school senior getting ready to start college in the fall, and reading through all these experiences has opened my eyes to aspects of financial aid that I had absolutely no idea about. The fact that having siblings graduate can so dramatically affect your financial aid eligibility is something that should definitely be explained more clearly during the college planning process. My older brother will be a junior when I start as a freshman, so he'll graduate when I'm a sophomore - now I know to prepare for potential changes to my aid package. A few questions for this knowledgeable community: 1. Is there a "best practice" for timing scholarship applications if you know your aid might change? Should I be applying for sophomore/junior year scholarships even as a freshman? 2. For those who successfully appealed or found alternative funding sources, how far in advance did you start that process? 3. Are there any resources or tools you'd recommend for families to better understand these SAI calculations before they become a problem? Thank you all for sharing your experiences so openly - this is exactly the kind of peer-to-peer education that makes such a difference in navigating these complex systems!

I'm new to this community but this thread has been incredibly eye-opening! I'm currently dealing with a similar situation - my son is a junior and we just found out he lost his Pell Grant eligibility this year. Like many others here, we got the runaround between the school and FAFSA with nobody giving us clear answers. After reading through all these detailed explanations, I finally understand it's because his older sister graduated last year, which doubled his SAI even though our income stayed almost exactly the same. It's honestly shocking that something so predictable isn't clearly communicated to families when they first apply for aid. What I find most frustrating is that this information is apparently well-known to financial aid professionals (as the administrator who posted earlier confirmed), but families are left to figure it out on their own through trial and error or forums like this. For anyone else going through this - the Federal Student Aid Estimator tool that several people mentioned has been really helpful for understanding exactly how the SAI calculation works. I wish I'd known about it earlier so we could have prepared for this change instead of scrambling now with tuition due soon. Thank you to everyone who shared their experiences and advice - this community has been more helpful than hours of official phone calls!

This thread has been absolutely incredible to read through as a complete newcomer to both this community and the FAFSA process! Connor, I can't thank you enough for asking this question and sharing your journey - the stress you described about potentially making a costly mistake really resonates with me as I'm preparing to tackle my own FAFSA application soon. What's been most eye-opening is seeing how even school financial aid advisors can sometimes provide unclear guidance on something as important as retirement account reporting. The detailed explanations from the financial aid professionals here about the crucial differences between traditional and Roth IRA contributions have been invaluable - I had absolutely no idea these distinctions existed before reading this discussion. The fact that you had to call Federal Student Aid directly to get a definitive answer really highlights how confusing the official guidance can be, but I'm so glad you persisted and then shared what you learned with the community. This entire thread is going straight into my FAFSA prep folder as an essential reference. It's incredibly reassuring to see such a supportive and knowledgeable community here willing to help families navigate these complex financial aid rules. Thank you to everyone who contributed their expertise - this discussion is going to help so many students and parents avoid the same confusion and stress!

This thread has been absolutely amazing to read as someone brand new to this community and the FAFSA world! Connor, thank you so much for sharing your experience - the relief in your final update after getting confirmation from Federal Student Aid really shows how stressful this process can be when you're worried about making mistakes that could impact your financial aid. What really stands out to me is how this one question about Roth IRAs revealed so many layers of complexity that aren't obvious from the official FAFSA instructions. The distinction between traditional and Roth IRA contributions that the financial aid professionals explained here is crucial knowledge that I never would have discovered on my own. It's both reassuring and concerning to see how even school financial aid advisors can sometimes give vague answers about these technical details. This really emphasizes why getting multiple perspectives and ultimately confirming directly with FSA is so important. I'm incredibly grateful to all the experienced members who shared their expertise here, especially those who provided official sources and technical breakdowns. As someone just starting to prepare for my own FAFSA journey, having access to this kind of detailed, accurate information makes the whole process feel much less intimidating. This entire discussion is definitely going into my reference materials for when I tackle my application next year!

I'm new to this community but wanted to share my experience from when I helped my nephew with a similar situation last year. He had a negative SAI of -1800, but his initial aid package from his state school was missing the Pell Grant entirely. After reading through all the excellent advice in this thread, I'm really impressed by how comprehensive everyone's suggestions are! When I called my nephew's financial aid office, it turned out to be a simple but frustrating issue - they had processed his FAFSA but were waiting for his signature on a "Master Promissory Note" for federal aid that he was supposed to complete online at studentaid.gov. This requirement wasn't clearly communicated in any of their correspondence. Once he completed the online MPN (which took about 10 minutes), his full Pell Grant appeared in his aid package within 3 business days. The lesson I learned is that sometimes there are multiple online steps required beyond just submitting the FAFSA itself. When you call Virginia State on Monday, I'd suggest asking specifically if there are any outstanding online requirements or signatures needed at studentaid.gov in addition to all the other great questions everyone has shared here. Also, have your nephew log into his studentaid.gov account to check if there are any action items or alerts waiting for him there. You're doing such an incredible thing supporting your nephew through this process while he's grieving the loss of his mother. With that -1500 SAI, he should absolutely receive the maximum Pell Grant. Keep advocating for him - this community is rooting for you both! Please update us after your call on Monday.

I'm new to this community but wanted to share my experience since it sounds very similar to what you're going through with your nephew. My daughter had a negative SAI of -1900 last year and initially received an aid package with no Pell Grant listed. After calling the financial aid office multiple times, we discovered that her application was stuck in "incomplete" status because of a simple checkbox issue - apparently there was a question about dependency status that got flagged for review even though we had answered it correctly. The school never clearly communicated this was holding up her federal aid processing. Once they cleared that dependency status flag (which took one phone call once we reached the right person), her full Pell Grant was processed and added to her package within 48 hours. When you call Virginia State on Monday, I'd suggest asking them to check if there are any dependency status flags or questions that might be holding up the processing, especially since your nephew's family situation has changed with the loss of his mother. Sometimes these flags can occur even when everything was filled out correctly. You're doing such an amazing job advocating for him during this incredibly difficult time. With that -1500 SAI, he absolutely should be receiving the maximum Pell Grant. All the advice in this thread is spot-on - be persistent and don't let them give you vague answers. You've got this, and we're all rooting for you both!