I'm new to this community but wanted to share my experience since I went through something very similar last year with my twin daughters' FAFSAs. My divorce was finalized in late January, but we had also filed taxes jointly for the previous year. I was terrified about making the wrong choice and messing up their aid eligibility! After consulting with multiple financial aid offices and doing tons of research, I learned that the FAFSA really does go by your marital status on the submission date - not your tax filing status. Since your divorce was final on January 10th, you're absolutely correct to report as divorced and include only your income. One thing that really helped me was calling the Federal Student Aid Information Center directly (1-800-433-3243) to confirm my understanding before submitting. They walked me through the exact scenario and confirmed that separated income from a joint return is completely acceptable as long as you can document how you calculated it. I also created a simple one-page summary showing my W-2 income plus my portion of any joint accounts/investments, which made verification much smoother when we were selected. Both my daughters ended up with significantly better aid packages than they would have gotten with both parents' income included. Don't let the stress overwhelm you - you're handling this exactly right, and financial aid offices deal with post-divorce timing issues constantly. Your son is lucky to have such a dedicated parent advocating for his education!

Welcome to the community! I'm in a very similar boat - my divorce was finalized in December but we also filed jointly for 2024. Reading through all these responses has been incredibly helpful, especially hearing from the financial aid counselor and parents who've been through this exact situation. One thing I wanted to add that might help - I just discovered that some schools have specific worksheets for divorced parents who filed jointly. When I called my daughter's top choice school directly, they actually emailed me a simple form that walks you through separating your income from the joint return. It might be worth reaching out to your son's schools directly to see if they have similar resources. Also, I've been keeping a detailed folder with our divorce decree, both W-2s, and a breakdown of how we're splitting any joint income. Even though it feels like overkill, reading everyone's verification experiences makes me think being over-prepared is definitely the way to go! It sounds like you're absolutely doing the right thing reporting as divorced with just your income. The timing is tough, but at least your son should benefit from a much better aid calculation. Good luck with the submission tonight!

I've been following this thread and wanted to share another potential solution that worked for my family last week. After trying all the usual troubleshooting steps (different browsers, clearing cache, etc.) with no luck, I discovered that the issue might be related to how the FSA system handles multiple FSA IDs associated with the same Social Security number. If you've ever created a duplicate FSA ID in the past (even years ago), it can cause conflicts in their verification system. Here's what finally worked for me: 1. Contact the FSA Information Center at 1-800-433-3243 and specifically ask them to check if you have multiple FSA IDs tied to your SSN 2. If you do have duplicates, request that they merge or deactivate the old ones 3. Wait 24-48 hours for their system to update 4. Then try the signature process again using the early morning timing that others have mentioned This resolved my "cannot process request" error after 8 days of frustration. The representative told me this is becoming a more common issue as parents who created FSA IDs years ago for older children are now trying to use the system again for younger kids, and the old inactive IDs are causing database conflicts. Hope this helps someone else who's tried everything else without success!

I've been struggling with this exact same error for almost two weeks now! My son sent me the contributor invitation and every time I try to complete the parent signature, I get that "cannot process request" message. It's been incredibly stressful watching the deadline approach while feeling completely stuck. Reading through all these solutions has been so helpful though - I had no idea this was such a widespread issue. I'm going to try the combination approach that worked for Ava: reset my FSA ID password, wait a few hours, then attempt the signature around 5-6 AM using Edge browser while manually typing everything instead of using autofill. The duplicate FSA ID issue that Malik mentioned is also really interesting - I think I might have created multiple accounts over the years when helping different kids with their applications, so I'll definitely call to check on that too. Has anyone had success getting through to the FSA helpline recently? The wait times seem absolutely brutal right now. I'm also planning to contact my son's financial aid office tomorrow to document these technical issues just in case we need deadline flexibility. Thanks to everyone for sharing your experiences and solutions - it's such a relief to know I'm not alone in this nightmare!

I'm new to this whole FAFSA process and seeing all these responses gives me hope! My husband is also a disabled veteran (80% rating) and we're just starting to look at colleges for our daughter. Our household income is similar to yours around $135k, so I'm expecting our SAI to be high too. Reading about all these veteran-specific benefits like Chapter 35 and state programs makes me realize there's a lot more to research beyond just the FAFSA. Thank you everyone for sharing your experiences - it's really helpful to see what options are actually available for military families!

As someone who went through this exact situation two years ago, I want to reassure you that an SAI of 58,017 doesn't mean your son won't get any financial assistance! My family had a similar income level and SAI, and while we didn't qualify for federal Pell Grants, we were still able to make college affordable through a combination of strategies. Here's what worked for us: 1) Applied for every veteran-dependent scholarship we could find (there are hundreds!), 2) Contacted each college's financial aid office directly to explain our veteran status - many schools have separate funds for military families that aren't tied to your FAFSA SAI, 3) Used the Chapter 35 DEA benefits which provided about $1,400/month, and 4) Found that several schools offered merit-based aid that had nothing to do with our financial situation. Don't give up hope - there are definitely paths forward for veteran families like ours, even with higher SAI scores. The key is being proactive and not just relying on the FAFSA results.

One thing nobody mentioned: check if your state has any grants or scholarships that might be available regardless of your FAFSA SAI. Our state has a program for students with over 3.5 GPA that offers partial tuition coverage at in-state public universities, and it doesn't use the federal methodology at all.

Don't give up hope! I was in a very similar situation last year - SAI of 36,500 with a household income around $120k. While we didn't qualify for Pell Grants, my son still received a decent aid package from his school. Here's what helped us: 1) Applied to schools known for generous merit aid, 2) Had him apply for every local scholarship we could find (even small $500 ones add up!), 3) Contacted financial aid offices directly to explain our situation. The key is casting a wide net - some schools surprised us with institutional grants we weren't expecting. Also, don't forget about work-study opportunities and look into your state's aid programs. The sticker price isn't always what you'll end up paying!

Update: I just got off the phone with my school's financial aid office. They were actually really understanding and said they've been seeing this problem a lot. They're setting up a special appeal process for students affected by the multiple-in-college change. I have to submit last year's award letter, this year's SAI calculation, and a statement about how this affects our ability to pay. They said they can't promise anything, but they're trying to find institutional funds to help bridge some of the gap. Fingers crossed! Thanks everyone for your help.

I'm so sorry you're going through this - the new FAFSA changes have really blindsided a lot of families. It sounds like you're doing all the right things by reaching out to your school's financial aid office. Just wanted to add a few more suggestions that might help: 1. Ask your financial aid counselor about work-study opportunities if you haven't already - sometimes there are positions that weren't advertised widely 2. Check if your state has any emergency financial aid programs for students affected by the FAFSA changes - several states have created these specifically for situations like yours 3. Look into whether your school has any department-specific scholarships in your major that you might not have applied for yet Also, don't feel bad about considering community college for some courses if needed - I know it's not what you planned, but taking a few summer courses at CC to lighten your course load (and costs) during the regular semester can be a good strategy. You're being smart by exploring all your options instead of just taking on massive debt. Keep us posted on how your appeal goes!