As someone who just went through the medical school application process with my daughter, I can confirm that filing separately was beneficial for us since I was the custodial parent with lower income. However, I'd strongly recommend getting professional tax advice first - we almost lost out on some education tax credits that would have saved us more than the potential FAFSA benefit. Also, make sure to check each school's net price calculator if they have one. Some schools like Harvard, NYU, and a few others have implemented free tuition programs for families under certain income thresholds, which could make your filing status decision less critical for those particular schools. One thing I wish we'd known earlier: start having conversations with the financial aid offices at your top choice schools now, before applications are due. They can often give you school-specific guidance about their policies regarding divorced parents.

As a newcomer to this community, I'm finding this discussion incredibly helpful as I'm facing a similar situation with my daughter who's applying to medical school next year. One thing I'm curious about that I haven't seen mentioned yet - does the timing of when the divorce was finalized matter for FAFSA purposes? My divorce won't be finalized until later this year, but we've been separated since early 2024. I'm wondering if the legal finalization date affects which parent is considered custodial, or if it's purely based on where the student lived during the 12-month period prior to filing. Also, has anyone dealt with schools that have different policies for in-state vs out-of-state students regarding parent financial information requirements? Thanks for all the insights everyone has shared - this is exactly the kind of real-world guidance that's hard to find elsewhere!

I'm dealing with this same anxiety! My daughter's SAI came through around the same time as your son's. What's been helpful for me is creating a spreadsheet to track everything - her current SAI, all the aid offers from different schools, and any communications we receive. I'm also screenshotting everything in case we need documentation later. One thing that gave me some peace of mind: I called a few of the colleges she applied to directly, and their financial aid offices were already aware of this issue and said they're prepared to work with families if corrections need to be made. They seemed much more responsive than trying to get through to FSA directly! Also keeping in mind that even if her SAI does get corrected upward, it sounds like most schools are going to honor their original offers for this year given the circumstances. Hang in there - we're all navigating this mess together!

I'm in the exact same situation! My daughter's SAI came through on 3/21 and I've been losing sleep over this news. What's really frustrating is that we can't even tell if we're affected until they decide to notify us. I've been checking studentaid.gov obsessively but there's no self-service way to verify if your SAI is part of the error batch. One thing I did was reach out directly to the financial aid offices at her top choice schools to let them know we're concerned about potential SAI corrections. Most were really understanding and said they're tracking this issue closely. A couple even said they'd give us a heads up if they receive any correction notices from FSA before we do. I'm trying to stay optimistic that the majority of SAIs are probably correct, but man, the timing with decision deadlines is just awful. Hoping we all hear something definitive soon!

UPDATE: You guys were totally right! I went through the correction process and found TWO major mistakes I made. I had included my retirement account as an asset AND counted my contributions as untaxed income, plus I had accidentally included the value of my car (which isn't supposed to be reported). After fixing those and a couple other small things, my SAI dropped from $42,800 to $18,200! That's still higher than I expected but WAY more reasonable. Thanks everyone for your help!

Amazing update! So glad you got it sorted out. Those are exactly the kinds of mistakes that trip up so many people - the retirement account double-counting is probably the most common error I see. Your new SAI of $18,200 should definitely open up more aid opportunities, especially for federal grants and subsidized loans. Make sure to keep checking your student aid report over the next few days to confirm everything processed correctly. You should be in much better shape for your financial aid package now!

One more important thing to know: the FAFSA typically gives priority to students whose applications are submitted earlier. Even though they have official deadlines, aid can be first-come, first-served at many schools. Since you'll have two students applying for 2025-2026, I'd recommend completing both FAFSAs as soon as the application opens in December 2024. Also, check if either of your children's schools require the CSS Profile in addition to the FAFSA. That's a separate financial aid application required by some private colleges, and it has a different set of rules and deadlines.

Just wanted to add that when you're filling out both FAFSAs, make sure you're consistent with the financial information you enter for each child. Since you'll be using the same parent tax/income data for both applications, any discrepancies could cause processing delays or verification requests from the schools. Also, keep copies of everything! With two students, you'll have twice the documentation to track. I learned this the hard way when my daughter's school requested additional paperwork and I had mixed up which documents went with which kid's application. Having everything organized by student from the start will save you headaches later.

That's such a relief to hear! I'm in a similar situation - submitted my FAFSA in early March and still waiting for my disclosure statement. The waiting is so stressful when you see all these college deadlines approaching. It's good to know that most schools are being understanding about the delays this year. I think I'll follow your lead and call my school's financial aid office tomorrow just to give them a heads up about the delay and see if they have any updates on their end. Thanks for sharing your update - it definitely helps ease some of the anxiety!

I'm in the exact same situation! Submitted my FAFSA about 2.5 weeks ago and still showing "processing" with no disclosure statement yet. This is my first time too and I was getting really worried seeing all these deadlines coming up. Reading through everyone's experiences here is actually really reassuring - sounds like the delays are pretty normal this year with the new system. I'm definitely going to call my school's financial aid office this week to let them know about the delay and make sure I'm not missing anything on my end. Thanks to everyone who shared their timelines and tips, especially about checking email preferences and the possibility of hidden verification issues!