This thread has been incredibly informative! As someone just starting to think about college financing for my daughter who's currently a sophomore in high school, I had no idea about the prior-prior year reporting timeline or how home equity is treated differently than other assets. One thing I'm curious about - for families who are considering this strategy, is there a "sweet spot" in terms of how much mortgage debt to pay off? I've seen several people mention partial payoffs, but I'm wondering if there's a general rule of thumb about what percentage to target. Our mortgage balance is around $180k and we have about $220k in various savings accounts, so we could pay it off entirely but I'm wondering if paying off say $150k might give us most of the FAFSA benefit while keeping more liquidity. Also, I noticed someone mentioned that this strategy works well for "middle-income families" - what income range typically qualifies as middle-income for FAFSA purposes? I want to make sure we'd actually see meaningful benefits before making such a significant financial move.

This is such a well-timed question! I'm in a very similar situation - we have about $150k in savings and are considering paying off our $130k mortgage before our daughter starts college in 2026. Reading through all these responses has been incredibly helpful, especially the clarification about the prior-prior year reporting timeline. One thing that really stands out to me from this discussion is how the strategy seems to work best for families in that middle-income range where you're right on the edge of aid eligibility. The peace of mind factor that several people mentioned is huge too - the idea of not having a mortgage payment during the college years is really appealing from a cash flow perspective. I think I'm leaning toward the partial payoff approach that's been mentioned several times. Maybe paying off $100k of our mortgage to get most of the FAFSA benefit while keeping $50k liquid for emergencies and unexpected college costs. Has anyone who went the partial route found a good percentage to target, or is it really just a matter of running different scenarios through the aid estimators to see what works best for your specific situation?

@profile3 - A $15k increase in 401k contributions to get below the auto-zero threshold could potentially be very beneficial. Quick math: If your daughter earns $15k and the protection allowance is $9.4k, then $5.6k would be assessed at 50%, meaning about $2.8k added to your SAI. Over four years of college, that's potentially $11.2k in additional aid eligibility just from that component. Combine that with the tax advantages of the additional 401k contributions and the fact that assets aren't counted under auto-zero, and it could definitely be worth considering - especially if you're planning for retirement anyway. Just make sure you keep enough cash flow for current expenses!

Just wanted to add one more consideration for your planning - make sure you're also thinking about state financial aid programs if your state offers them. Some states have their own income thresholds and formulas that might be different from the federal FAFSA calculations. In my state, they actually use a slightly different methodology for determining aid eligibility, so even if you optimize for the federal auto-zero SAI threshold, it might not have the same impact on state grants. Worth checking with your state's higher education agency or your daughter's target schools to see if they have additional aid programs with different income requirements. Good luck with your planning - sounds like you're being really strategic about this!

As someone who just went through this process with my twin daughters last month, I can confirm what others have said - there's no central tracking system to see which schools have downloaded your FAFSA data. What I found most helpful was creating a spreadsheet with all the schools, their financial aid office contact info, and tracking when I contacted each one. I sent brief emails to all 8 schools (we cast a wide net!) asking for confirmation of FAFSA receipt, and most responded within 2-3 days. The ones that didn't respond to email, I called. It's extra work but gave me peace of mind, especially since we're dealing with such important deadlines and scholarship opportunities.

I'm going through this exact same situation right now with my son's FAFSA! Reading through all these responses has been so helpful. I think I'm going to combine a few of the strategies mentioned here - I'll check his Student Aid Index to confirm processing is complete, then send emails to all the schools on his list asking for confirmation of receipt. The spreadsheet idea from Dylan is perfect for keeping track of everything. It's honestly ridiculous that there isn't a built-in tracking system for something this critical, but at least now I have a game plan. Thanks everyone for sharing your experiences and tips!

As a newcomer to this community and someone just starting the FAFSA journey with my son, this entire thread has been absolutely incredible! I was literally about to make the same mistake - I saw the EIC question and immediately thought it was asking about his Pell Grant eligibility or some other connection to the financial aid he received this year. Thanks to everyone's clear explanations, I now understand that EIC (Earned Income Credit) is strictly a tax credit that shows up on line 27a of Form 1040, completely separate from Department of Education student aid programs. My son had a summer job but didn't earn enough to qualify for EIC, so we'll be marking "no" confidently. What strikes me most is how many families seem to hit this same confusion point. It really highlights how the FAFSA could benefit from clearer language - maybe something like "Did you claim the Earned Income Tax Credit (line 27a on Form 1040)?" instead of just asking about "EIC benefits" which sounds like it could refer to any kind of financial assistance. The tip about getting free IRS tax transcripts online is gold - I'm definitely doing that before we submit to make sure we have everything accurate. With housing deposits and aid deadlines coming up, the last thing we need is a verification delay! This community is amazing for helping newcomers navigate these confusing processes. Thanks to everyone who took time to share their experiences and expertise!

As someone who just discovered this community while frantically searching for FAFSA help, this thread has been a absolute godsend! I'm a single parent navigating this process for the first time with my daughter, and I was making the exact same mistake everyone else described. I kept staring at the EIC question thinking "wait, didn't she get financial aid this year through FAFSA? Is that what they mean by earned income credit?" Reading through all these explanations has made it crystal clear that these are completely different programs - Department of Education student aid vs IRS tax credits. My daughter worked at a local restaurant over the summer but definitely didn't earn enough to qualify for the actual Earned Income Credit on her tax return (line 27a on Form 1040). So that's a definitive "no" for her section. However, I DID claim EIC on my own tax return as a single parent with lower income, so I'll need to mark "yes" for the parent section. The advice about getting IRS tax transcripts online before submitting is brilliant - I'm definitely doing that to double-check everything. With all these housing deadlines and aid packages to sort out, accuracy is absolutely crucial. Thank you to everyone who took the time to share their experiences and expertise! This community is amazing for helping confused parents like me navigate these unnecessarily complex forms. You've literally saved me from making a mistake that could have delayed my daughter's aid for weeks.

my daughters school is doing a FAFSA workshop for parents in October might want to see if your sons school does something similar? it was really helpful for us last time with all the confusing stuff about reporting assets and income

Just wanted to add one more thing that helped us - create a checklist or spreadsheet now to track all the different schools your son is considering and their specific financial aid requirements and deadlines. Some schools require additional forms like CSS Profile, institutional aid applications, or scholarship applications with earlier deadlines than the FAFSA. Having everything organized in one place made the whole process much less stressful when crunch time came. Also, don't forget to check if any schools he's interested in participate in state grant programs - those often have their own deadlines and requirements too!