my son is at college now and honestly the fafsa was way easier than i thought it would be!! took like 30 mins. they fixed a bunch of the problems from last year i think. don't stress too much!!

Rather than paying for a consultant, I'd suggest attending a financial aid night at your daughter's high school or a local college. They're usually free and cover both FAFSA and CSS Profile. For your specific self-employment questions, you could also schedule a one-time meeting with a fee-only financial advisor who specializes in college planning (not the commissioned kind who will try to sell you financial products). They can review your specific situation and advise on both FAFSA reporting and potential tax planning strategies that might improve your aid eligibility for sophomore year onward. Also, don't forget to check if each college has differential additional scholarships your daughter might qualify for beyond standard financial aid.

@OP - Great feedback on the beta experience. To address the sibling in college question: The 2025-26 FAFSA does have improved functionality for reporting multiple students in college, but it's important to understand that the FAFSA Simplification Act has permanently changed how this affects your SAI calculation. Under the new formula, having multiple students in college has a much smaller impact on your aid eligibility than under the old system. This isn't a technical issue - it's an intentional policy change. As for the dependency override question you mentioned was still confusing, students should work directly with their financial aid office for these special circumstances rather than trying to address it entirely through the FAFSA form.

I'm glad to hear the process is improving! For those who weren't selected for the beta but want to prepare, I recommend using the FAFSA preview worksheet available on studentaid.gov. While it might not show the exact new interface, it will help you gather all the necessary information before October 1st. The Federal Student Aid office has indicated they're making significant improvements to both the user interface and backend processing systems for the 2025-26 application cycle.

my SAI is -3400 and im getting the maximum pell grant so ur advisor is absolutely full of 💩 lol. doesnt matter if ur online or not. but yeah verification is normal, they made me do it too. super annoying but i just sent all my tax docs and they approved it pretty quick. the waiting is the worst part!!!

One thing to remember: ensure you're enrolled full-time (typically 12+ credit hours per term) to receive the maximum Pell Grant. If you're enrolled part-time, you'll receive a prorated amount: - Full-time (12+ credits): 100% of eligible Pell - Three-quarter time (9-11 credits): 75% of eligible Pell - Half-time (6-8 credits): 50% of eligible Pell - Less than half-time (1-5 credits): 25% of eligible Pell (in most cases) Since you mentioned being an online student, double-check that you're registered for enough credits to qualify for the full amount. Even with a negative SAI, your award will be reduced if you're taking fewer than 12 credits per term.

i had sai of 18000 last yr and got basically nothing except loans so dont get ur hopes up

Update: I called the Federal Student Aid office using that Claimyr service (which worked great btw) and was able to update my FAFSA to include the work study request. The agent also confirmed that I should definitely submit Special Circumstances forms to each school. I'm feeling a lot better about my options now. Thanks everyone for the guidance! Going to work on gathering all my documentation this week.

This happened to me too!!! I was sooooo upset because I definitely clicked through everything and got the confirmation number! I ended up waiting about 2 days and then when I logged back in there was a big obvious button to complete my signature. After I did that part I got ANOTHER email saying it was now complete and submitted properly. The whole process took like 4 days total.

To clarify for everyone having this issue: The 2025-2026 FAFSA now has a two-stage submission process: 1. Information submission (generates confirmation number) 2. Processing period (1-3 days typically) 3. Electronic signature (becomes available after processing) 4. Final processing (generates SAI and sends to selected schools) The confusion happens because people think the first confirmation means everything is complete, but it's not. Watch for the signature button after processing and make sure to complete that step within 14 days of your initial submission.