One final piece of advice: after you submit the FAFSA, check the Student Aid Report (SAR) that comes to your email about 3-5 days later. Review it carefully for any errors that could affect your daughter's aid eligibility. If you find mistakes, you can make corrections online. Also, don't be surprised if you're selected for verification - it's random and happens to about 30% of applicants. Just respond promptly with the requested documents if this occurs. Best of luck with the process! Remember that you're not alone in finding it overwhelming - almost every first-time parent feels this way.

As someone who just went through this process with my oldest last year, I want to echo what others have said about not panicking! The new FAFSA really is more streamlined. One thing I haven't seen mentioned yet - make sure you have your Social Security numbers handy for both you and your daughter, and if you're married, your spouse's SSN too. Also, if you have any untaxed income like child support received or tax-exempt interest, gather those numbers as well. The form will ask for current bank account balances, so I'd recommend doing the FAFSA on a day when your accounts reflect your typical balance (not right after a big deposit or payment). You've got this!

One last piece of advice - if your enrollment deposit deadline is coming up and this isn't resolved, contact the admissions office (not just financial aid) and explain the situation. Many schools will grant you an extension on the deposit deadline if there's a pending financial aid issue. Make sure to request this in writing as well.

As someone who just went through this exact situation last month, I wanted to share what worked for me. My son's SAI was corrected due to a medical expense adjustment, but his school took almost 2 weeks to update it even after multiple calls. What finally worked was emailing the financial aid office instead of just calling. I sent an email with the subject line "URGENT: Request to Download Corrected ISIR - Enrollment Deadline Approaching" and included: - My son's student ID number - The FAFSA correction confirmation number - Screenshots showing the corrected SAI on studentaid.gov - Our enrollment deposit deadline date I got a response within 4 hours saying they would expedite the ISIR download, and the corrected aid package was available the next day. Sometimes having everything in writing gets faster results than phone calls. Good luck!

Just to follow up - I want to address the timing question. Since we're still early in the FAFSA cycle for 2025-2026 aid, making this correction now shouldn't negatively impact your aid timeline as long as you do it promptly. Schools typically don't finalize aid packages until late spring/early summer, so you have some time. But don't delay - the sooner you correct it, the sooner your accurate SAI will be calculated.

This is such a helpful thread! I'm a parent who just went through the FAFSA process for the first time and I can't believe how confusing some of these sections are. The family size question seems straightforward but there are so many edge cases - like do you count yourself if you're married filing separately, or what about dependents who are over 18 but still in high school? I ended up calling the helpline twice just to make sure I had it right. For anyone else who might be unsure, the FAFSA website has a pretty good worksheet that walks you through who to include in your household size. Better to double-check than end up in Oliver's situation!

As a follow-up to my earlier comment, one other important timing consideration: if you're reducing the unsubsidized loan amount, make sure you do this BEFORE the first disbursement date (usually right before classes start). Some schools have internal deadlines even earlier than this. After disbursement occurs, the process becomes more complicated - you'd need to request a "return of loan funds" which can sometimes affect your daughter's account balance immediately even if you're planning to pay that amount through other means.

Just wanted to add one more thing about the TEACH Grant - make sure your daughter understands that if she ever changes her major away from Special Education, the grant will immediately convert to an unsubsidized loan with interest calculated from the original disbursement date. I've seen this happen to students who switched majors in their junior year and were shocked by the sudden loan conversion. Also, regarding the partial loan acceptance, most schools allow you to reduce loan amounts up until about 2 weeks before the semester starts, but you typically can't increase them later without going through a lengthy appeal process. So if you're on the fence about how much you'll need, it might be safer to accept a bit more initially and then return any unused funds after the semester begins.

Based on all the discussion here, your next steps should be: 1. Contact your daughter's financial aid office to explain the full situation 2. Ask specifically about the Dependency Override process (this allows exceptions to normal dependency rules) 3. Gather documentation of your support (tax returns showing you claimed her, proof of residence, etc.) 4. Be honest about the misunderstanding regarding independent status While the -$1500 SAI is favorable, maintaining eligibility requires resolving the dependency status question correctly. Most schools have a process for unusual family circumstances like yours, and being proactive will prevent bigger problems down the road.

Just wanted to add - when you do contact the financial aid office, ask them specifically about their "unusual circumstances" or "special conditions" process. Many schools have streamlined procedures for situations like yours where there's been informal guardianship without legal adoption. They deal with this more often than you might think! Also, keep in mind that even if she does need to file as dependent with your income, a -$1500 SAI suggests your household income is quite low, so she'd likely still qualify for significant need-based aid. The key is getting everything documented properly so there are no surprises later in the process.