Since you asked about timelines in a previous comment - schools typically receive your FAFSA information within 3-5 business days after it's processed. Most schools will start sending financial aid award letters in March/April for the fall semester, though some may send them earlier, especially if you've been accepted through early decision or early action. Regarding your concern about your SAI being higher than expected - that's not uncommon with the new FAFSA system. The 2024-2025 FAFSA uses a different formula than previous years. If you're concerned, you can always schedule an appointment with a financial aid counselor at your top choice schools to discuss your specific situation once you receive your aid packages. They can often explain why your SAI is what it is and suggest potential options.

btw check if any of ur schools have priority deadlines for institutional scholarships!!! some colleges have separate applications for their own scholarships with deadlines BEFORE you even get ur financial aid package. i missed out on applying for some because i didn't know about them until it was too late

Random question but did your son list both you and your husband on the FAFSA? Maybe only one of you got properly attached to the application and now they're trying to add the other? Just thinking out loud here...

After you complete your contributor portion, make sure to take screenshots of the confirmation page. With all the FAFSA issues this year, documentation is your friend. Also have your son log back into his studentaid.gov account about a week after you complete your portion to check that the status has updated appropriately.

I sent both - email first, then followed up with a physical letter mailed to the director specifically (found his name on the school website). I included a brief paragraph about my daughter's academics and extracurriculars, but mainly focused on the FAFSA timeline with documentation. I also mentioned that we had received aid offers from their competitor schools, which might have helped!

TBH maybe take this as a sign... my kid went to USC and they were HORRIBLE with financial aid all 4 years. constantly losing documents, changing aid amounts last minute, making us jump through hoops for everything. if they're already doing this before u even start maybe consider somewhere else

I think people are overthinking this. My daughter applied for fafsa last yr and we're a military family too. She just listed me (mom) as parent even though my husband is the service member. We got all the military benefits and she got a great financial aid package. As long as you check the military box and list his service correctly you should be fine.

UPDATE: I spoke with my daughter's college financial aid office, and they confirmed that either parent can be the contributor! I'm going ahead with completing the application as-is. Thanks everyone for your help and advice - especially about marking my husband's military status correctly. So relieved we don't have to start over from scratch!

One thing nobody mentioned yet - after your SAI appears, the next step is for your FAFSA information to be sent to the schools you listed on your application. This usually happens automatically, but sometimes there can be delays in this step too. Once the schools receive your information, they'll use your SAI to determine your financial aid package. If it's been more than 2 weeks since you submitted your FAFSA and you still don't see an SAI, I would definitely contact Federal Student Aid to check if there's an issue they need to resolve. Better to address any problems early in the process!

Thank you everyone for all the helpful information! I'll wait one more week before I start to worry. It sounds like 5-7 business days is normal for the SAI to appear. I'll update once mine shows up!