Great choice! Just went through this exact situation last year with my 22-year-old daughter who was working but living at home. I calculated that providing her housing alone was worth about $1,200/month in our area, plus utilities added another $200/month. Even though she was earning $35k/year, we were still providing over half her total support. The key is documenting everything now - I wish I had done a spreadsheet from the beginning like others mentioned. Good luck with your daughter's aid package!

As someone who just went through this process, I'd definitely recommend including your son in the household size of 4. The housing you provide is likely the biggest factor - in most areas, free rent and utilities easily represents $15k-20k+ per year in support. Even if he's earning good money and paying for his own food/car insurance, you're still covering his biggest expense. I made the mistake of overthinking this initially and excluded my adult daughter who was in a similar situation. Had to go back and correct it after talking to a financial aid counselor who explained that housing support alone usually puts you over the 50% threshold. Keep those records handy though - if you get selected for verification, having a clear breakdown of housing costs vs. his personal expenses will make the process much smoother.

I'm dealing with similar FAFSA delays - 28 days and counting here! What's really frustrating is that my school's priority deadline for aid is coming up fast and they haven't extended it yet. I've been following this thread and wanted to share that I just tried calling the HESC Excelsior line that @Sofia Morales mentioned (888-697-4372) and actually got through after only 15 minutes on hold! The rep told me they're seeing a lot of delays this year but said once my SAI comes through, I should email them directly with my FAFSA confirmation number to expedite the Excelsior review. They also mentioned that many schools are being flexible with deadlines due to the widespread FAFSA issues, so it might be worth reaching out to your financial aid office proactively. Hang in there - sounds like we're all in the same boat this year!

Wow, reading through all these experiences makes me feel less alone in this mess! I'm at 24 days waiting for my SAI and getting increasingly anxious about missing deadlines. @Taylor Chen, thank you for sharing that HESC contact info - I'm definitely calling them tomorrow. For everyone dealing with these delays, I found that creating a detailed timeline of when you submitted everything and tracking all your contact attempts has been helpful when speaking with representatives. They seem to take you more seriously when you have specific dates and reference numbers ready. Also, I've been checking my FAFSA status obsessively (like multiple times a day) and noticed that sometimes the "processing" message changes slightly - has anyone else noticed this or am I just going crazy from the stress? Really hoping we all get our SAIs soon so we can move forward with our financial aid applications!

Quick follow-up advice: if you need to make decisions soon, you can request a professional judgment review from the financial aid office at your daughter's chosen school. Explain that you need to make enrollment decisions but FAFSA delays are preventing this. In many cases, they can provide a preliminary package based on last year's data while waiting for the official FAFSA to process. Make sure to document all communications with financial aid offices in case you need to appeal later.

I'm going through the exact same situation! My FAFSA was processed in mid-February and I've only heard from 2 out of 7 schools. The waiting is so stressful, especially with deposit deadlines looming. I called one school last week and they said they're backed up due to the FAFSA issues this year and to expect another 2-3 weeks. It's crazy that we're expected to make such huge financial decisions without knowing what aid we'll actually receive. Definitely going to try calling the school I'm most interested in and ask about a preliminary estimate like others have suggested here.

Yes, document any non-taxable income like disability benefits. For FAFSA purposes, this still counts as income even though it's not taxed. However, the good news is that with only disability income, your student will likely still qualify for significant need-based aid. When completing the FAFSA, the application will ask if the parent receives certain federal benefits like SNAP, Medicaid, or SSI - answering yes to any of these can qualify the student for an automatic zero EFC (now called 0 SAI - Student Aid Index), which maximizes their aid eligibility.

As someone who's helped multiple students through unusual FAFSA situations, I want to emphasize a few key points: 1) You're absolutely right that only the biological father should be listed as the parent, regardless of who claims her on taxes. 2) His SSDI income actually needs to be reported on the FAFSA, but since he likely qualifies for means-tested benefits, she should get automatic maximum aid eligibility. 3) Start the application early because verification is almost guaranteed with a single-parent household with only disability income. 4) Have documentation ready: custody papers, proof of benefits, and a signed statement explaining the mother's absence. The silver lining is that her aid package will likely be very generous! Make sure the father completes and signs the FAFSA himself using his own FSA ID.

Correct - if you need exactly $15,000 to cover costs, you would need to borrow approximately $15,660 to account for the 4.228% origination fee ($15,000 ÷ 0.95772). Regarding minimums, there is no federal minimum for Parent PLUS loans, but some schools have their own minimum amounts they'll process (often $500 or $1,000). This would be another good question for your daughter's financial aid office. And one last tip - consider what your repayment approach will be. Although payments can be deferred while your daughter is in school, interest will continue accruing. Some parents choose to make interest-only payments during this time to prevent the loan from growing significantly before regular repayment begins.

As someone who just went through this process with my son who also transferred as a junior, I wanted to add a few practical tips that helped us navigate the timing crunch: 1. Don't wait for the school's financial aid office to contact you - they often assume parents know about PPL options. Be proactive and reach out to them first. 2. If you're cutting it close to the tuition deadline, most schools will work with you if you can show them your approved PPL application, even if funds haven't been disbursed yet. They may offer a temporary payment plan or hold. 3. Keep copies of EVERYTHING - your credit check results, MPN, approval notice, etc. We had to resubmit documents twice because of "system glitches." 4. Once approved, the actual disbursement usually takes 1-3 business days to reach the school, so factor that in when planning around due dates. The whole process is definitely stressful the first time, but you've got this! Your daughter is lucky to have a parent willing to navigate this maze for her education.