THIS THIS THIS!!!! The sticker price means NOTHING. My daughter got a $58k/yr private college for less than our $22k/yr state school after scholarships. The whole system is backwards. Apply EVERYWHERE and ignore the published prices until you see the actual aid package.

Your daughter's accomplishment of earning an associates degree through dual enrollment is incredible and will be a huge financial advantage! With an SAI of 11577, you're right that it won't qualify for maximum federal aid, but don't despair yet. Each college will create their own aid package, and many have generous institutional scholarships for transfer students with associate degrees. A few practical next steps: First, use each college's net price calculator on their website - input your actual financial info and it'll give you a much better estimate than the SAI alone. Second, when the aid packages arrive, don't be afraid to negotiate. Financial aid offices often have additional funds for students they want to enroll. Third, look beyond just federal aid - many states have grant programs, and your daughter may qualify for merit scholarships based on her academic achievement. The dual enrollment savings alone probably puts you ahead of most families, even with a higher SAI. You've got this!

Just wanted to update - I successfully added my daughter's new school through the correction process! It was actually easier than I expected. Her SAI stayed the same (as you all mentioned), and I called the financial aid office to confirm they received everything. They're now working on her aid package. Thank you all for your help!

So glad to hear everything worked out for you! This thread is really helpful - I'm bookmarking it because I have a feeling we might run into similar issues next year when my youngest applies. The step-by-step instructions from Connor were particularly useful. It's reassuring to know that adding schools after processing isn't as complicated as it seemed initially. Thanks to everyone who shared their experiences and cleared up the misinformation!

When my niece went through this, we found out there's a difference between "unwilling" parents and "unsafe" parents in FAFSA terms. Your situation sounds like the latter, which actually makes the process somewhat easier. The unsafe parent documentation lets them potentially exclude his information entirely, while just unwilling means they might still try to estimate his contribution somehow.

I'm so sorry you're dealing with this difficult situation. I went through something similar with my stepson a few years ago. One thing I'd add to the excellent advice already given - start this process as early as possible with each school. Some financial aid offices get backed up with these requests, especially during peak season. Also, keep copies of EVERYTHING you submit. I learned this the hard way when one school "lost" our documentation and we had to resubmit everything. Create a master file with all your documents scanned, then you can easily send to multiple schools. The good news is that once you get through this process with one school, you'll have all the documentation ready for the others. It's emotionally exhausting but so worth it for your daughter's future. Hang in there!

UPDATE: I just checked the 2024-2025 FAFSA guidelines and it specifically states: "Investments do not include the home in which you live; cash, savings, and checking accounts; the value of life insurance and retirement plans (401[k] plans, pension funds, annuities, non-education IRAs, Keogh plans, etc.)." So you're definitely doing the right thing by correcting this!

As someone who just went through this process with my daughter's FAFSA, I can confirm this is one of the most common mistakes parents make! The terminology is really misleading - when they say "investments" most people naturally think retirement accounts are investments. But the federal government treats them completely differently for financial aid purposes. One tip that helped us: when in doubt, always exclude rather than include. The FAFSA is looking for assets that are easily accessible, not funds that are locked away until retirement with penalties for early withdrawal. Your correction should definitely improve your financial aid eligibility significantly!

Great to see you got all the answers you needed! Just want to add one quick tip from my recent experience - when you're entering your tax information, have your actual 2023 tax return handy rather than relying on memory. The FAFSA asks for very specific line items from your 1040, and getting even one number wrong can trigger verification requests later. Also, if you haven't already, make sure your son has his Social Security card accessible too - the system is pretty picky about exact name matches. Good luck with the application!

Just wanted to chime in as someone who completed this process last month! One thing that really helped us was setting up a shared document with all the information we'd need before starting - things like our FSA ID credentials, 2023 AGI, bank account balances, and my daughter's Social Security number. Having everything in one place made the process much smoother and we didn't have to stop mid-application to hunt down documents. Also, don't panic if you see different SAI numbers when you're comparing with other families - every situation is unique and the formula considers things like family size and number of kids in college simultaneously. The whole process took us about 45 minutes once we had everything organized. You've got this!