Glad you're feeling better about this! One final suggestion - after making your corrections, consider using the Federal Student Aid Estimator tool on studentaid.gov to get a rough idea of what your new SAI might be. It won't be exact, but it can help you prepare for what to expect and give you some peace of mind in the meantime.

Don't beat yourself up about this - FAFSA asset reporting is genuinely confusing and you're definitely not alone in making these mistakes! I work at a high school and see students mix up retirement accounts vs investments all the time. The good news is that correcting it is pretty straightforward, and since you caught it before your aid packages are finalized, you should be in good shape. Just make sure when you're making the corrections that you have all your documentation handy (tax returns, investment statements, etc.) so you can input the accurate numbers. Your future self will thank you for taking the time to fix this now rather than dealing with aid adjustments later!

Update: I finally got both twins to add me as a contributor, and I can now see both applications on my dashboard! You were all right - each student has to initiate their own FAFSA and add me, rather than me adding them. The process is working much more smoothly now. Thanks everyone for your help!

I'm going through the exact same process with my daughter and son (they're a year apart but both applying for 2025-2026). One thing I learned the hard way - make sure both twins complete their student portions of the FAFSA BEFORE the priority deadlines for their schools! Even though you'll fill out your contributor section for both, each student needs to submit their individual application by their school's deadline. Some schools have early priority dates in February/March, so don't wait too long for the second twin to get their application started. Also, double-check that both applications show "Submitted" status - I almost missed that my son's was still sitting in "In Progress" even after I completed my contributor portion.

As a newcomer to this community, I'm so grateful to have found this thread! I'm dealing with a very similar trust situation for my daughter's FAFSA and was completely lost until reading everyone's experiences here. What strikes me most is how consistent the advice has been from those who've actually gone through this process. The key seems to be distinguishing between legal ownership and beneficiary status - if the student has zero control and the trustee must approve ALL distributions (even educational ones), there's a strong case for not reporting it as a student asset. I'm definitely taking the advice to get that attorney letter proactively. After seeing @Jason Brewer's verification experience and @Jamal Brown's success story, the $400 investment seems like a no-brainer compared to risking thousands in aid eligibility or scrambling during verification. This community has provided clearer guidance in one thread than I found anywhere in the official FAFSA materials. Thank you to everyone who shared their real experiences - it's given me confidence that this complicated situation can be handled properly with the right preparation and documentation!

As a newcomer to this community, I'm so thankful I found this thread! I'm dealing with almost the exact same situation - irrevocable trust set up by my son's grandparents for education, he's the beneficiary but can't access anything without trustee approval. Reading through everyone's experiences has been incredibly eye-opening. The pattern that keeps emerging is that legal ownership and control matter way more than just being a beneficiary. It sounds like if the student has zero legal control and the trustee must approve ALL distributions (including educational ones), there's a solid case for not reporting it as a student asset. I'm definitely going to follow the advice here and get that attorney letter upfront rather than risk verification issues later. Seeing @Jason Brewer's detailed documentation list and @Jamal Brown's successful outcome gives me so much confidence that this can be handled correctly with proper preparation. The $400 attorney fee that multiple people mentioned seems like such a smart investment compared to potentially losing thousands in aid eligibility. This community has provided more practical guidance in one thread than I found in weeks of searching official FAFSA resources. Thank you all for sharing your real experiences - it's made this overwhelming situation feel so much more manageable!

I'm new to this community but unfortunately dealing with the exact same email verification nightmare that everyone else is describing! My daughter and I have been stuck at this step for 6 days now, and I was starting to panic that we were missing some obvious solution. Reading through all these experiences has been both eye-opening and incredibly helpful - it's clear this is a widespread system failure, not user error. Based on all the successful approaches shared here, I'm planning to try the comprehensive method: wait 24 hours, create a dedicated Gmail account just for FAFSA, clear all browser data, use incognito mode, and attempt verification at 5 AM when traffic is lower. @Andre Dubois, your professional insights throughout this thread have been invaluable - I'll definitely verify that all her information matches her Social Security card exactly. It's absolutely ridiculous that creating an account has become this complicated, but I'm so grateful for this community sharing real solutions. The deadline stress is overwhelming when you can't even get past step one! I'll update everyone on whether the early morning approach works for us.

I'm also new to this community and unfortunately dealing with the exact same FAFSA email verification nightmare! My son and I have been stuck at this step for over a week now, and I was beginning to think there was something fundamentally wrong with our approach. Finding this thread has been such a relief - it's clear this is a massive system-wide issue affecting so many families, not user error on our part. Based on all the incredibly helpful experiences shared here, I'm going to try the comprehensive approach that seems to work best: wait 24 hours, create a fresh Gmail account specifically for FAFSA, completely clear browser cache and cookies, use incognito/private browsing mode, and attempt the verification at 5 AM when system traffic is at its lowest. @Andre Dubois, thank you so much for sharing your professional insights throughout this thread - I'll definitely double-check that my son's name, date of birth, and SSN are entered exactly as they appear on his Social Security card. It's absolutely frustrating that something as basic as account creation has become this complicated with the "simplified" FAFSA, but I'm grateful for this community providing real solutions when the official system is failing so many of us. The pressure of approaching deadlines makes this even more stressful when you can't even complete step one! I'll definitely report back on whether the early morning magic works for our situation too.

Just wanted to add my experience as another data point - I had an SAI of around 9,200 last year (so similar to yours) and while I didn't get any Pell Grant money, I was still able to get some decent aid packages. My state school offered me about $3,000 in need-based grants plus subsidized loans, and the private college I applied to gave me over $15,000 in institutional aid (though their tuition was way higher too). So don't get too discouraged by missing the Pell cutoff! Your SAI is still in a range where many schools will consider you for aid. I'd definitely recommend applying to a good mix of schools like you mentioned, because the aid offers can vary wildly even with the same SAI. Also, make sure you're looking at the total cost of attendance vs. just tuition when comparing offers - sometimes the "more expensive" school ends up being cheaper after aid. Good luck with your applications! The waiting for aid packages is definitely stressful but hopefully you'll get some pleasant surprises.

One thing I haven't seen mentioned yet is that some schools have their own internal appeals process if your family's financial situation has changed since the tax year used for FAFSA (2022 for 2024-25). This is called "Professional Judgment" and can sometimes result in a recalculated SAI that's more favorable. Also, with an SAI of 8,742, you'll definitely qualify for federal subsidized loans where the government pays the interest while you're in school - that's still a significant benefit even without grant money. The loan limits are $5,500 for freshman year (with up to $3,500 being subsidized based on need). Don't forget about your state's 529 education savings plans either - if your family has one, those withdrawals for qualified education expenses won't count as income on next year's FAFSA, which could help lower your SAI for sophomore year onwards.