Don't forget to grab his tax info if he's paid any child support tho!!! The FAFSA counts that as income for you!

I went through this exact same situation with my daughter two years ago! The good news is that everyone here is correct - you absolutely do NOT need to include your ex-husband's information on the FAFSA. Only you (the custodial parent) and your current spouse need to be included. One tip that helped me: when you get to the parent information section, make sure you select "married" as your status and then it will automatically prompt you for your current husband's info instead of asking about the biological father. The FAFSA is actually pretty good about walking you through this once you understand that it's only looking for the household where your daughter actually lives. Also, definitely double-check if any of her schools require the CSS Profile - that's where things get trickier with non-custodial parent info. But for the federal FAFSA, you're all set with just you and your husband!

UPDATE: My niece tried several of your suggestions and FINALLY got through the loop! What worked was a combination of: using Microsoft Edge, filling ALL fields with exact dollar amounts (no cents or commas), and doing it at 1am when traffic was low. She's submitted her FAFSA and got confirmation! Now we're working with her school's financial aid office about extending that emergency loan deadline. Thank you all SO MUCH for your help - this community is amazing!

So relieved to see this success story! As someone new to navigating FAFSA issues, this thread has been incredibly educational. The combination of technical workarounds (specific browsers, timing, exact formatting) plus the institutional support options (financial aid office extensions, bursar hardship policies) really shows how complex these problems can be. It's reassuring to know there are so many different approaches when the system fails students. Bookmarking this thread for future reference - hoping it helps other families facing similar nightmares with the FAFSA system!

One strategy that helped me: I only borrowed what I needed for tuition and the absolute minimum for living expenses. I worked part-time throughout my program (mostly evenings/weekends) and lived with roommates to keep costs down. I still graduated with $78k in loans instead of the $130k the financial aid office projected. Another tip: check if your program requires full-time enrollment for all semesters. Some allow part-time options in later years. This lets you work more while taking fewer credits, reducing what you need to borrow on your FAFSA. Regardless of your decision, complete your 2025-2026 FAFSA now to see exactly what aid package you qualify for. Don't rely on estimates.

I'm a career counselor who works specifically with graduate students facing these decisions. Your situation is complex, but here are some concrete steps: 1) Contact the school's financial aid office immediately to discuss scholarship opportunities and payment plans - many have emergency funds for students in unstable housing situations. 2) Look into graduate assistantships that could reduce tuition costs while providing stipends. 3) Consider deferring admission for a year to stabilize your housing/financial situation - most programs allow this. 4) Research the specific job market in your area for MFTs with arts therapy specialization - salaries vary dramatically by region. The debt is concerning given your age and current instability, but don't let fear alone drive the decision. Get concrete numbers on local salary ranges and create a realistic repayment plan before deciding. Also check if your state has loan forgiveness programs for mental health professionals in underserved areas.

Thank you everyone for the helpful answers! I finally got confirmation that my family size should be 3 - just me and my two daughters. I'm putting that on my application and moving forward. This community is so helpful for navigating these confusing questions!

So glad this thread exists! I'm in a similar situation but with a twist - I'm divorced and have primary custody of my 3 kids, but my ex-wife claims one of them on her taxes while I claim the other two. For FAFSA purposes, do I count all 3 kids in my household size since they live with me most of the time, or only the 2 I claim as dependents? The custody/tax situation is making this even more confusing than it already was!

Just went through this exact same issue two weeks ago! You only need to make the correction on your daughter's FAFSA - don't touch the FSA ID. Log into her studentaid.gov account, go to "Make FAFSA Corrections," update your husband's DOB in the parent section, and submit. It took exactly 3 days to reprocess for us and the corrected SAI was automatically sent to all the schools on her list. The key is doing it quickly though - I've heard some schools will put applications on hold if they detect data mismatches during their review process.

I just went through this exact same thing last week! You definitely only need to correct it on your daughter's FAFSA - don't worry about the FSA ID at all. I made the mistake of initially trying to update both places and it just created confusion. Here's what worked: log into your daughter's studentaid.gov account, click "Make FAFSA Corrections," go to the parent information section, fix your husband's birthdate, and submit. It took 5 days to reprocess and all her schools automatically received the updated SAI. The important thing is to do it ASAP because I've heard some schools will flag applications with data mismatches for manual review, which can add weeks to the process. Don't stress too much though - this is apparently a pretty common issue and the correction process is straightforward!