How does debt affect FAFSA calculation? Plus 2025-2026 application timeline for high school junior

debt doesnt matter for fafsa. they only look at income and assets, not what u owe. kinda stupid IMO because net worth would be more fair. u could be drowning in debt with decent income and they still expect u to pay a ton for college

To answer your questions accurately: 1) Regarding debt: Consumer debt (credit cards, personal loans, second mortgages) is NOT factored into the FAFSA calculation. The FAFSA formula primarily looks at income and certain assets but does not subtract debts from those figures. However, the monthly payments you make on that debt can affect your actual ability to pay for college, which is why some families seek additional aid through the CSS Profile or by appealing their aid offer through the financial aid office's professional judgment process. 2) Timeline for 2025-2026: The FAFSA for the 2025-2026 academic year will likely open October 1, 2024. Your son should apply as soon as possible after that date. Many states and colleges have priority deadlines as early as December-February, and some financial aid is first-come, first-served. 3) Preparation: While waiting for the application to open, you can create FSA IDs for yourself and your son in advance (studentaid.gov), gather your 2023 tax information (which will be used for the 2025-2026 FAFSA), and research which schools your son is interested in to understand their specific financial aid deadlines.

If your financial situation changes substantially after filing FAFSA (or between 2023 tax year and now), you can submit a special circumstances appeal directly to each college's financial aid office. This is called Professional Judgment. Document everything - job loss, medical expenses, caring for elderly parents, etc. And yes, many private colleges require both FAFSA and CSS Profile. The CSS Profile DOES consider debt in some ways, so your situation might be better reflected there. Check each school's requirements carefully - some only need FAFSA, others need both.

Be careful about paying off assets before FAFSA! Some people try to game the system by spending down their savings or paying off debt right before filing, but the FAFSA has questions about recent financial changes. Also, they look at snapshots of your accounts, so sudden large withdrawals might raise flags. The 2024-2025 FAFSA was COMPLETELY REDESIGNED and had tons of technical problems this year. Hopefully they'll have fixed those issues by the time you apply for 2025-2026, but be prepared for possible system glitches!!! The new formula also changed how they calculate the Student Aid Index (SAI, formerly EFC). Multi-student households got hit HARD by the changes.

I spent WEEKS trying to get through to someone at Federal Student Aid this year when my daughter's FAFSA had verification issues. After getting disconnected 9 times and waiting on hold for hours, I found Claimyr (claimyr.com) and they got me connected to an actual FAFSA agent in about 10 minutes. Saved my sanity! They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ Definitely bookmark that for next year because if the rollout is anything like this year, you'll want a way to actually talk to someone when issues come up.

If your son is looking at any selective colleges make sure to check if they require the CSS profile!!! We made the mistake of only doing FAFSA and then my son almost missed out on aid from his top choice school bc we didnt know they needed CSS Profile too!! Some deadlines are SUPER early like November for some schools!!

To address your original question about normal spending: Regular expenses like a roof replacement shouldn't raise red flags. The concern is more about deliberate asset reduction strategies specifically timed around FAFSA filing. One more tip regarding your junior: Have him take advantage of this coming summer to work on his college essays and prepare his college list. When FAFSA opens October 1, you'll be in the middle of application season with many schools having November deadlines. Having the college list and applications ready will make the financial aid process much smoother. Also, consider running the Federal Student Aid Estimator tool now (it's on studentaid.gov) using your 2022 or 2023 tax information. It won't be exact but can give you a ballpark idea of your SAI score.

ONE IMPORTANT WARNING: The 2024-2025 FAFSA completely changed how they handle multiple students in college!!!! Under the old system, having more than one student in college was a HUGE advantage and significantly lowered each student's EFC. The new formula ELIMINATED this benefit entirely. If you have other kids who will overlap with your son in college, be prepared for this change. Also, contributions from non-parent/non-spouse people (like grandparents) are now treated differently. Might be worth looking into how this could affect your strategy if grandparents are planning to help.

One final piece of advice: Start having conversations with your son now about financial expectations for college. Many students don't understand the full cost implications when applying, and it's heartbreaking when they get into dream schools that are financially out of reach. Research shows that discussing college finances early leads to better outcomes. Be transparent about what your family can contribute, explore scholarship opportunities together, and create a balanced college list with financial safety schools that would be affordable even with minimal aid. For the 2025-2026 application cycle, you should also know that the verification process (where some FAFSA filers are selected to provide additional documentation) has been streamlined in the new system. However, if selected, respond promptly as verification must be completed before any aid is disbursed.

As someone who just went through this process with my daughter last year, I want to emphasize how important it is to create backup plans! The new FAFSA system had so many technical issues that some families couldn't complete their applications until March or April, missing priority deadlines at many schools. A few practical tips for your timeline: 1) Start collecting documents now - tax returns, bank statements, investment records. The system may ask for verification later. 2) Create a spreadsheet tracking each school's specific deadlines for FAFSA, CSS Profile, and any institutional forms. 3) Consider applying to at least 2-3 schools with rolling admissions or later deadlines as safety nets. Also, since you mentioned scholarship opportunities - many external scholarships have deadlines between October-February, so having your FAFSA completed early gives you more time to focus on those applications. The debt situation is frustrating, but don't let it discourage you from applying for aid everywhere possible!

As a newcomer to this whole process, I'm feeling pretty overwhelmed reading through all these changes and complications! My daughter is a sophomore, so we have a bit more time, but it sounds like the FAFSA system overhaul really created chaos this year. One thing I'm curious about - for families like the original poster with significant debt, are there any legitimate strategies to improve your financial aid picture? I keep hearing conflicting advice about whether it's worth consulting with a financial planner who specializes in college planning, or if those services are just expensive ways to learn what you can find out for free. Also, seeing all the technical problems mentioned here, should we be preparing backup communication methods or alternative ways to submit information in case the system crashes again next year? This seems like such a critical process to have so many technical failures!

As a newcomer who's been lurking and learning from this thread, I wanted to share something that might help with the technical issues everyone's mentioned. My neighbor works in IT and told me that when government systems get overloaded (like FAFSA apparently does), trying to access them during off-peak hours can make a huge difference. She suggested trying very early morning (like 6 AM) or late evening rather than during typical business hours when everyone else is also trying to log in. Also, clearing your browser cache and cookies before starting the application can prevent some of the glitches people experienced this year. I'm bookmarking this entire thread - there's so much valuable information here! It's scary how complicated this process is, but at least knowing what to expect helps. The timeline advice about starting in October and having everything ready is definitely going in my calendar for next year when my son becomes a senior. One question though - if the FAFSA opens October 1st, when do most college applications open? I'm wondering how to juggle both processes at the same time.

As someone new to this community and just starting to navigate the college financial aid maze with my rising junior, I want to thank everyone for sharing such detailed experiences! Reading through all these responses has been incredibly eye-opening - and honestly a bit terrifying given all the technical issues this year. I'm particularly concerned about the timeline crunch mentioned here. It sounds like October-December is going to be absolutely insane with both college applications AND FAFSA filing happening simultaneously. For families like myself who are completely new to this process, would you recommend trying to get as much of the groundwork done over the summer as possible? Things like creating FSA IDs, organizing tax documents, researching each school's specific requirements? Also, I keep seeing mentions of the CSS Profile being more comprehensive than FAFSA and actually considering debt in some calculations. For those who've completed both - is it worth the extra time and complexity even for schools that don't require it, or should we focus our energy on perfecting the FAFSA application first? The debt situation really resonates with our family too. It's frustrating that monthly debt payments aren't factored into the federal calculation when they so clearly impact a family's actual ability to pay for college!

As a newcomer to this process, I'm incredibly grateful for all the detailed information shared here! My daughter is a sophomore, so I have some time to prepare, but reading about all the FAFSA system issues this year has me wanting to start planning now. One thing that really stands out to me is how many different deadlines and requirements each school seems to have. It sounds like creating that tracking spreadsheet early is absolutely essential. I'm also wondering - for families dealing with debt like the original poster, would it be worth consulting with a nonprofit credit counseling service before filing FAFSA? Not to game the system, but to legitimately improve our financial situation and maybe free up some cash flow for college expenses? The timing advice about logging in during off-peak hours is brilliant too. After hearing about all the technical problems, I'm definitely planning to submit everything as early as possible when the system opens rather than waiting until closer to deadlines. Thanks to everyone sharing their experiences - this community is such a valuable resource for navigating what feels like an incredibly complex process!

As a newcomer to this community, I'm finding this thread incredibly helpful! My son is also a junior (class of 2025), and I had no idea about so many of these details - especially the changes to the multiple student discount and how debt isn't factored into FAFSA at all. One thing I'm wondering about after reading all these responses: should we be looking into merit-based scholarships more aggressively since our family financial situation might not qualify us for much need-based aid? Our income is probably too high for significant federal aid, but like many families, we're still struggling with monthly expenses due to debt payments. Also, the technical issues everyone mentioned are really concerning. I'm definitely going to follow the advice about creating FSA IDs early and trying to submit during off-peak hours. Has anyone heard if the Department of Education has made any official statements about fixing the system problems for next year's application cycle? Thanks to everyone sharing their experiences - this is exactly the kind of real-world advice that you can't find in the official government resources!