As a newcomer to this community and the FAFSA process, I can't tell you how helpful this entire discussion has been! I'm facing a very similar situation with my 24-year-old son who graduated last year with his computer science degree and moved back home while he builds up savings for his own place. He's working full-time as a software developer, but we still cover his health insurance, car insurance, groceries, and obviously housing. What really opened my eyes was reading everyone's actual calculations of the 50% support rule. I initially thought that since he has a decent salary, we probably weren't providing majority support. But when I actually think about it - free rent in our area would be at least $2,200/month ($26,400 annually), plus utilities, insurance premiums, and most of his food costs - we're definitely well over that 50% threshold even with his tech salary. The consistent advice throughout this thread about calling the financial aid office for official confirmation rather than guessing has been mentioned so many times that I'm convinced that's the smart approach. I was planning to just estimate, but seeing how this decision affects my daughter's aid eligibility for her sophomore year, I definitely want to get it right. I also had no idea about the verification process or keeping documentation until reading everyone's experiences. The spreadsheet idea sounds brilliant - both for FAFSA purposes and our own budgeting. Thanks to everyone who shared their real experiences and made this complex process feel much more manageable for newcomers like me!

As someone completely new to the FAFSA process, this thread has been absolutely incredible! I'm in a similar situation with my 22-year-old daughter who graduated last year with her psychology degree and moved back home while she applies to graduate programs. She's working part-time at a local clinic to gain experience, but we're definitely covering most of her expenses. Reading through everyone's detailed breakdowns of the 50% support calculation has been so eye-opening. I never thought to put actual dollar amounts to the free housing we provide, but rent in our area is easily $1,600+ per month for a decent place. When you add utilities, health insurance, car insurance, groceries, and her phone plan that we cover, it's clear we're well above that 50% threshold despite her part-time income. The overwhelming consensus about calling the financial aid office directly instead of guessing has really convinced me that's the right approach. I was originally planning to just estimate and submit, but after seeing how much this decision can impact my son's aid eligibility for his freshman year, I want to make sure I get it right. I had no idea about verification or the importance of keeping detailed records until reading this discussion. The spreadsheet idea that so many people mentioned sounds like it would be helpful whether verification happens or not. Thanks to everyone who shared their real experiences - you've turned what felt like an overwhelming decision into something much more manageable for newcomers like me!

Update: I just checked the state higher education agency website for several states, and at least three states have announced small reductions to their grant programs due to higher-than-expected applicant numbers this year. This might explain what you're experiencing. If this is a state-wide reduction, you have an even stronger case when asking your colleges for additional institutional aid to offset the difference. Be sure to emphasize your negative SAI and that you made college choices based partly on the original financial aid packages.

I'm a first-gen student too and went through something similar last year! The sudden changes in state grants are unfortunately super common, especially around this time when states finalize their budgets. Here's what worked for me: When you call the state office, ask specifically for the "appeals" or "reconsideration" department - they usually know more about why changes happen than the general customer service folks. Also, get the name of whoever you talk to and ask for a reference number for your case. For the colleges, I'd email their financial aid offices first with screenshots of both your original and current grant amounts before calling. That way they have documentation right away. Most schools I dealt with were really understanding about state grant reductions, especially for students with negative SAIs like yours. Don't panic too much - with your -1500 SAI, you clearly qualify for maximum need-based aid, so the schools will likely work with you. Just be persistent and don't take "no" for an answer on the first try. You've got this!

This thread has been an absolute goldmine of solutions! I'm a newcomer here but have been lurking while trying to solve my own verification code issues for the past couple of days. What I find most impressive is how everyone jumped in with different troubleshooting approaches - from the simple browser switch (which seems to be the MVP solution!) to more technical fixes like VPN disconnection and credential clearing. It really shows how these authentication problems can have multiple underlying causes. I'm definitely bookmarking this discussion for future reference, and I love seeing financial aid professionals like @Malia Ponder engaging with the community insights. It gives me hope that these real-world solutions might eventually make their way into official troubleshooting guides. For anyone still dealing with verification issues: try the Microsoft Edge browser first (it's had the highest success rate in this thread), then work through the other suggestions if needed. And definitely document everything like several people mentioned - screenshots could be crucial for getting deadline extensions if the technical fixes don't work. Thanks to everyone who shared their experiences here. This is exactly the kind of community collaboration that makes navigating FAFSA challenges so much more manageable! 🙏

Just wanted to jump in as someone who's been following this thread and finally tried the solutions myself! I was having the exact same verification code issues for three days straight and was getting really frustrated. I started with the Microsoft Edge browser suggestion since it seemed to work for so many people here - and sure enough, codes started coming through immediately! It's honestly mind-blowing that something as simple as switching browsers could fix what felt like such a major technical problem. For anyone who might be hesitant about downloading Edge just for this - it's totally worth it and you can delete it afterwards if you want. The whole process took me less than 5 minutes from download to successfully logging into my FAFSA account. This community is absolutely incredible. I've never seen such a thorough collection of practical solutions in one place. Between the browser switching, VPN troubleshooting, credential clearing, and all the other tips shared here, there's basically a solution for every possible cause of this issue. Thanks especially to @Liam McGuire for starting this discussion and everyone who contributed their experiences. You've probably saved hundreds of students from missing their deadlines! 🎉

As someone who works as a financial aid counselor, I want to clarify a few things I'm seeing in this thread that might be causing confusion: The 2024-25 FAFSA does have that specific question about marital status changes after December 31, 2023, which is exactly what you need. When you answer "yes" to that question, the system will only ask for YOUR tax information, not your spouse's. However, I want to address some concerns about verification - about 30% of FAFSAs are selected for verification regardless of circumstances, so don't panic if you're selected. The marriage certificate request is standard procedure when there's a discrepancy between marital status and tax filing status. One important thing to note: if your new spouse has significant assets or income, some schools may use "professional judgment" to adjust your daughter's aid package even though it's not required on the federal form. This isn't common, but it's worth being prepared for. My advice: complete the FAFSA as described (married status, only your 2023 income), keep that marriage certificate handy, and don't stress too much about the process. The Department of Education has really improved how they handle these situations compared to previous years!

I am seeing information on this thread that conflicts with FSA. According to FSA, if your parents are married, they must both contribute on the FAFSA. There is no caveat as to when your parents were married. This is straight from the FSA handbook: "If the student’s parent is married and filed their 2023 taxes jointly with their current spouse, only one parent contributor is required. If the student’s parent is either (1) married or remarried, or (2) unmarried and living together, and did not file their 2023 taxes jointly with their current spouse or partner, the parent’s spouse or partner will be a required contributor on the student’s FAFSA form." As such, if a parent is married and only their tax information is included on the FAFSA, there's a good chance they'll be selected for verification to correct this.

Just wanted to add another perspective - I work as a financial aid counselor and see this exact situation frequently. The good news is that changing the parent contributor won't affect your daughter's priority for aid or reset her application date. The key thing to remember is that for California state aid eligibility, the contributing parent must be the one who provides the most financial support AND meets the residency requirements. Since your daughter lives primarily with her dad in California, having him as the contributor makes perfect sense for Cal Grant eligibility. The process is straightforward through studentaid.gov, and most corrections process within a week. Just make sure to keep documentation of the change and follow up with each school's financial aid office once it's complete!

As someone who went through this exact situation last year, I can confirm that changing the parent contributor is absolutely doable and won't hurt your daughter's chances! My family was in a similar boat - I initially had my mom (out-of-state) as the contributor but needed to switch to my dad (California resident) for state aid eligibility. The process was pretty straightforward through studentaid.gov, though I did have to wait on hold for a while to speak with someone at Federal Student Aid to confirm I was doing it correctly. The correction took about a week to process, and I didn't lose my place in line for aid consideration at any of my schools. One tip: once you make the change, download and save a copy of the updated FAFSA for your records. Also, some schools have earlier deadlines for state aid consideration, so definitely check each of your daughter's schools' specific Cal Grant deadlines. Don't panic though - you caught this in time and it's a very fixable situation!