Navigating FAFSA for both HS senior and college student simultaneously - need timeline advice

You'll need to submit just one FAFSA application listing both students. The 2025-2026 FAFSA opened on December 1, 2024, and you should submit it as soon as possible - definitely don't wait until college decision time. Many schools have priority deadlines for financial aid in January/February. For your college sophomore, the same FAFSA will apply for next year's aid. When you create your FSA ID (if you don't already have one), you'll be able to list multiple dependents on the same application. Make sure you have your federal tax information from 2023 ready, as that's what's required for the 2025-2026 FAFSA.

I went thru this last yr. Had a freshman & senior applying at same time. It's actually easier than u think! Just make sure both kids have FSA IDs and you'll add them both to the same form. Good luck!!!

The biggest mistake I made when I had two in college was missing school-specific deadlines! The FAFSA deadline and YOUR COLLEGE'S financial aid deadlines are NOT THE SAME THING! Some private schools require the CSS Profile too, which has different deadlines. And being a divorced parent makes it 10x more complicated because they'll want information from both parents for some schools. Check each college's financial aid website for their specific requirements ASAP.

To specifically address your timeline question: for the 2025-2026 academic year, the optimal submission window is December-January. This gives you the best chance at receiving state and institutional aid, which is often first-come, first-served. Remember that your SAI (Student Aid Index, formerly EFC) will be calculated based on 2023 tax information, regardless of when you submit. For your current college student, the FAFSA will determine aid for their junior year. For your high school senior, it will determine first-year college aid. The benefit of having multiple students in college simultaneously is that your SAI is divided by the number of college students in your household, potentially increasing aid eligibility for both children.

dont stress too much teh new FAFSA is supposedly easier than last year's nightmare lol. they fixed alot of the glitches from 2024-2025 application. just make sure u have 2023 tax info ready and both kids birthday/ssn etc

Dealing with FAFSA for multiple students can be overwhelming, especially with the complications of divorce. I was in a similar situation last year and was getting disconnected every time I tried calling FSA for help. I finally used this service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that got me connected to an actual human at the Federal Student Aid office in under 10 minutes. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ The agent I spoke with walked me through exactly how to handle the multiple student situation and gave me specific advice about my divorce situation. Saved me so much headache compared to trying to figure it out from the website alone.

I'm going through THE EXACT SAME THING right now! It's totally overwhelming. One thing that tripped me up was that both my kids AND myself needed separate FSA IDs. And each person has to have their own unique email address attached to their FSA ID. My high schooler didn't have an email so I had to create one just for this. Also, major warning about the divorce situation - if you have a contentious relationship, start working on the financial information gathering NOW. My ex waited until the last minute to provide his info and we missed priority deadlines at two schools which cost my oldest thousands in institutional scholarships. Don't let that happen to you!!!

After reviewing the other comments, I want to clarify a few things about your divorce situation: 1. For FAFSA purposes, only the custodial parent (where the student lived most during the past 12 months) needs to provide information 2. If you've remarried, your current spouse's information must be included even if they have no legal responsibility for your children 3. The CSS Profile (required by many private colleges) DOES often require non-custodial parent information 4. For dependent students, parental information is required regardless of whether the parent will be contributing financially Each college handles divorce situations differently, so contact the financial aid office at each school your senior is applying to. They can advise on how to handle an uncooperative ex-spouse, possibly with a Non-Custodial Parent Waiver.

one more thing!! make sure ur tax info on the FAFSA EXACTLY matches whats on ur tax return. my husband put $45,367 when his W2 said $45,367.24 and we got flagged for verification which delayed everything for WEEKS

This whole situation sounds so familiar! I went through this exact scenario two years ago with my twins who were both applying to college at the same time. A few things that really helped me: 1. Create a spreadsheet with all the deadlines - FAFSA, CSS Profile, and each individual school's financial aid deadlines. Some schools had deadlines as early as February 1st! 2. For the FSA IDs, yes each person needs their own with unique email addresses. Your senior will need to create hers herself since she has to digitally sign the FAFSA. 3. The FAFSA will automatically calculate that you have two students in college simultaneously, which should help your aid eligibility significantly. Just make sure when you list household size that you count yourself, your kids, and anyone else you support. 4. Since you're divorced and have primary custody, you're correct that you likely won't need your ex's info for FAFSA. But definitely check with each school about CSS Profile requirements - some will waive the non-custodial parent requirement if you can document that he's uncooperative. The good news is having two in college at once actually works in your favor financially! Don't let the complexity overwhelm you - you've got this!