Update: I got my SAI calculation today and it looks like everything processed correctly! The number is actually better (lower) than I expected. I guess this new system really is working better than I thought it would. Thanks everyone for the help and reassurance!

That's great news, Annabel! It's always such a relief when things work out better than expected. For anyone else still waiting - processing times have been pretty variable this year with all the FAFSA changes. Some people get their SAI in a few days, others are waiting weeks. If it's been more than 3-4 weeks though, it might be worth checking your FAFSA status or contacting your school's financial aid office to make sure there aren't any issues holding things up.

As someone who just went through this exact situation with my own kid's FAFSA, I can't stress enough how important it is to double-check the asset reporting section. The way the questions are worded makes it really easy to accidentally include things you shouldn't. Beyond the home value issue (which sounds like your main problem), also make sure you didn't report your retirement accounts incorrectly. Only certain types of retirement funds are supposed to be included, and even then there are specific calculation rules. One thing that helped me was printing out the FAFSA completion guide from studentaid.gov and going through it line by line with my original application. It's tedious but I found two mistakes I had made that were inflating our SAI. Also, don't wait to contact the schools even while you're working on the correction. Most financial aid offices are swamped right now but they'd rather know about potential issues early than have to rush to recalculate aid packages at the last minute. A quick email explaining the situation and that you're submitting a correction can go a long way. Hang in there - this is totally fixable!

This thread has been incredibly helpful! I'm in a similar boat with my son's SAI coming back way higher than expected. Reading through everyone's experiences, I'm pretty sure I made the home value mistake too. Quick question for those who have already submitted corrections - about how long did it take for the updated SAI to show up in your account after you submitted the correction? And did the schools receive the updated information automatically or did you have to do anything else to make sure they got it? I'm submitting my correction tonight but trying to figure out the timeline since some of his school deadlines are coming up soon. Don't want to miss anything while waiting for the corrected numbers to come through! Thanks again to everyone sharing their experiences - it's such a relief to know this is fixable and we're not alone in dealing with these calculation issues.

OK so just to wrap this up for anyone else with this question - here's what I learned: 1. 401k to IRA rollovers only matter for FAFSA if they happened in the tax year being reported (for 2025-26 FAFSA, that's 2023) 2. If your rollover was in a different year (like mine in 2024), you don't report it at all 3. Retirement accounts are protected assets and not reported on FAFSA 4. Be careful not to report rollover amounts as income or it can mess up your SAI calculation Thank you everyone for the help! One less FAFSA stress point.

Great summary from everyone! As someone who just went through this process with my daughter, I want to add one more tip: if you're unsure about ANY retirement-related questions on the FAFSA, it's worth consulting with your tax preparer or a financial aid advisor before submitting. The retirement account rules are one of the most commonly misunderstood areas, and getting it wrong can really impact your aid eligibility. Better to take an extra day to get it right than spend months trying to fix it later!

just remember u gotta do this EVERY year!! my mom and i both got less money sophomore year cuz we forgot to update the multiple student thing!!

Welcome to the community! As someone who works in financial aid, I can confirm what others have said - having multiple family members in college is generally beneficial for aid eligibility. One tip I'd add is to keep detailed records of all communications with financial aid offices and save copies of every form you submit. Also, if either of you are planning to take classes part-time (less than 6 credit hours), make sure to clarify how that affects the "number in college" calculation, as some schools have specific policies about enrollment status. Best of luck to both of you on this educational journey!

Glad to hear you're making progress! One other thing to check - make sure both applications have the same Asset Protection Allowance. With the new FAFSA formula, this is calculated based on the age of the oldest contributor, and sometimes the system pulls different ages for the same person across applications. A small difference there can dramatically change the SAI calculation.

I'm dealing with something similar right now! My daughter's FAFSA was submitted in February and has been stuck in "processing" for weeks with no SAI calculated, while her friend who applied later already got her aid package. I keep checking studentaid.gov but there's no update or explanation for the delay. It's so frustrating when you submit everything correctly and the system just... doesn't work. Has anyone found a way to get processing unstuck without waiting months? Really hoping your twins' situation gets resolved quickly - it's scary how much these system glitches can impact our kids' college plans.