Yes, being an independent student helps in your situation! For independent students, the SAI calculation treats spousal income differently than it would for dependent students with parental income. You can use the Federal Student Aid Estimator (https://studentaid.gov/aid-estimator/) to run scenarios. Enter his information as an independent married student with both incomes to see the potential impact. Also, many aid programs like Pell Grants have their own thresholds. If his EFC/SAI is still within certain ranges, the change in aid might be less dramatic than you fear. Institutional aid (aid from the college itself) varies widely in how it's awarded - some schools have more flexibility than others.

Just wanted to add that timing matters for the professional judgment review too. Don't wait until the last minute - submit your FAFSA as soon as it opens in October, then immediately contact the financial aid office about a professional judgment review. Some schools have limited funds for adjustments and it's first-come, first-served. Also, keep copies of everything you submit and follow up if you don't hear back within a reasonable time. The squeaky wheel gets the grease with financial aid offices sometimes. Good luck with your wedding and hope everything works out with the aid situation!

For anyone still having issues, here's what you need to know: 1. Nelnet's system maintenance is related to implementing changes for the 2025-2026 FAFSA simplification. 2. You have three options to get your loan information: - Keep trying the website (it's coming back online gradually) - Call directly (1-888-486-4722) with your FSA ID ready - Use the workaround of checking recent loan statements 3. If you're on a deadline, document your attempts and contact your school's financial aid office immediately to explain the situation. Most schools have procedures for handling FAFSA delays due to servicer issues. 4. Remember that for the new FAFSA, you'll need your current loan status and disbursement amounts, but NOT the detailed payment history that was required in previous years. Hope this helps reduce some stress during an already complicated process!

Just wanted to add my experience for anyone still dealing with this - I was stuck in the same situation yesterday and tried calling Nelnet multiple times but kept getting disconnected. What finally worked for me was calling early in the morning (around 7 AM EST) when their lines first opened. Got through in about 30 minutes instead of the 2+ hour waits people are reporting later in the day. The rep was super helpful and emailed me a detailed loan summary within 10 minutes of our call ending. If you're still struggling to get through, try calling right when they open at 7 AM - seems like that's when you have the best chance of actually reaching someone!

Glad you got it sorted out! Just wanted to add for anyone else reading this thread - it's really important to double-check your FAFSA before submitting, but don't panic if you make an honest mistake like this. The correction process exists exactly for these situations. One tip: if you have multiple kids going through this process in future years, consider making a simple checklist of all your assets (checking, savings, 529s, investment accounts, etc.) before you start filling out the form. We started doing this after missing our younger son's UTMA account one year and it's been a lifesaver! Also, your husband will probably appreciate knowing that being thorough and accurate from the start actually protects your family from potential issues down the road. Better safe than sorry with federal forms!

As someone who's helped dozens of families through FAFSA corrections over the years, I want to emphasize what a smart decision you made to fix this promptly! The stress and arguments these forms cause between spouses is so common - you're definitely not alone there. One additional tip for the future: when the new FAFSA comes out each year (usually October 1st), I always recommend families gather ALL their financial documents first before even logging in. This includes bank statements, investment account statements, 529 statements, tax returns, etc. Having everything in one place prevents exactly this type of oversight. Also, for anyone reading this thread who might be in a similar situation - don't let the technical glitches with studentaid.gov discourage you from making necessary corrections. The system has been notoriously buggy, but persistence usually pays off. If you're having trouble with the online portal, calling during off-peak hours (early morning or late evening) can sometimes get you through faster. Great job advocating for doing the right thing, and kudos to your husband for being willing to listen and learn. That's exactly the kind of teamwork that will serve your family well throughout this college journey!

Just to add some official information here: The Federal Student Aid office has acknowledged several technical issues with the FAFSA correction functionality. If your SAI has already been calculated and your form shows as processed, but the correction button is still inactive, you should: 1. First contact your school's financial aid office - many can make certain corrections on their end 2. If they direct you back to FAFSA, then contact Federal Student Aid directly 3. For housing changes specifically, most schools have their own internal processes Also worth noting that once schools have downloaded your FAFSA data, some corrections must be made through them rather than directly on StudentAid.gov. This is part of the new system architecture and not necessarily a glitch.

Great to see this got resolved! For anyone else running into this issue, I'd recommend starting with your school's financial aid office like Liam did. I've noticed that many FAFSA correction issues this year are actually due to schools having already downloaded the data, which triggers different correction procedures. The new system definitely needs better error messaging - a simple "Contact your school's financial aid office" would be so much more helpful than just a greyed-out button!

Make sure u get the FSA IDs set up early!!!! It can take up to 3 days for them to verify everything and u cant do ANYTHING without them. My son waited till last minute and missed his schools deadline cause of this

Just wanted to add one more helpful tip for first-time FAFSA families - make sure to check if your state has additional aid programs that use the FAFSA data. Some states have their own grant programs with even earlier deadlines than colleges! Also, don't forget about the IRS Data Retrieval Tool (DRT) when you're filling out the FAFSA. If you've already filed your 2023 taxes, this tool can automatically pull your tax information directly from the IRS, which reduces errors and speeds up processing. It's usually available 2-3 weeks after e-filing your taxes. You're doing great by starting now - having that buffer time really makes a difference when technical issues pop up or if you need to gather additional documents. Your daughter is lucky to have such a proactive parent helping navigate this process!