When should juniors start FAFSA prep? Parent accounts vs student accounts confusion

You're right to start thinking about this now, but you don't need to panic yet. For the 2025-2026 FAFSA (which is what your current junior would use for her freshman year of college), the application doesn't open until December 2024. Here's what you should know: 1. Both your daughter AND each parent needs their own FSA ID. Even though you're married and file jointly, each parent who contributes to the household income needs a separate FSA ID. 2. Your daughter must create her own FSA ID - you cannot do this for her. She'll need her social security number. 3. Start gathering: 2023 tax returns (for 2025-2026 FAFSA), social security numbers for everyone, records of untaxed income, current bank statements, and investment records. The best prep you can do now is to create FSA IDs for everyone (takes about 10 minutes each) and make sure you have 2023 tax info organized. The actual application is about a month's process including gathering documents, submitting, corrections, etc.

Both parents who are married and living together need to create separate FSA IDs and be on the FAFSA regardless of employment status. The only exceptions are if you're legally separated, divorced, or if one parent is deceased. The FAFSA uses the term "contributor" rather than "parent" now, and for students with married parents, both parents are considered contributors even if one doesn't earn income. They look at household assets and income, not just individual earnings. One tip - when creating FSA IDs, use different email addresses for each person (student and each parent). Makes the whole process much smoother.

lol my son is a senior and we still havent done this!! procrastination club here 🙈 following for tips

The FAFSA is a COMPLETE NIGHTMARE this year!!! They supposedly "simplified" it but it's actually MORE complicated and the website keeps glitching!! We spent WEEKS trying to get through it for my senior. The parent verification part is especially terrible - they kept saying my husband's information didn't match records when we entered EXACTLY what's on his social security card and tax returns! And don't even get me started on the new "direct data exchange" with the IRS that's supposed to make things easier but actually causes MORE problems! If your daughter's only a junior, you have time, but TRUST ME - start early next year because this system is BROKEN.

We finally got it fixed but it took CALLING the Federal Student Aid office EIGHT TIMES!!! Each time we waited 2+ hours only to get disconnected! Eventually we found this service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that holds your place in line and calls you when an agent is available. They have a video showing how it works here: https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ That finally got us through to a real person who fixed the verification issue. Turns out the system was misreading my husband's birthdate format. So stupid! But at least we got it fixed before priority deadlines.

Anyone else confused about the SAI vs EFC change? My older kid had an EFC but now it's called SAI for my younger one and I don't understand if they're calculated differently or just renamed?

just went thru this with my junior. create the dang FSA IDs now because they can take 3 days to verify and you dont want to be stressing about that when its time to actually file the form. we made one for our daughter and one for each of us parents. used different emails like someone said above. also start thinking about which assets count and which don't... like retirement accounts dont count but regular investment accounts do. wish id known that years ago lol

Regarding moving assets - be careful. The FAFSA now looks at your finances from what's called the "prior-prior year" - meaning for your daughter entering college in Fall 2025, they'll look at your 2023 tax information and assets. Moving assets now won't affect what's already reported in that tax year. Also, FAFSA has "lookback" provisions that can flag significant asset movements made for the purpose of qualifying for more aid. Legitimate financial planning is fine, but last-minute large transfers can raise flags. Better strategy: focus on understanding what assets are assessed at what rate. Parent assets are assessed at a maximum of 5.64%, while student assets are assessed at 20%. So if your child has significant savings, that will reduce aid eligibility much more than the same amount in parent accounts.

One thing I haven't seen mentioned - make sure your daughter completes the CSS Profile too if she's applying to private colleges. About 200 schools (mostly private) require both FAFSA and CSS Profile. The CSS Profile is more detailed and looks at more aspects of your financial situation including home equity, which FAFSA ignores. Unlike FAFSA which opens in December, the CSS Profile for 2025-2026 will be available in October 2024. It costs $25 for the first school and $16 for each additional school, though fee waivers are available for eligible families. Also, juniors should absolutely be researching schools now and developing a college list. Each school has different financial aid policies - some are "need-blind" (don't consider ability to pay) while others are "need-aware" (do consider finances in admissions). Some meet 100% of demonstrated need, others leave significant gaps. This research is just as important as the FAFSA process.

Here's the link to schools that require CSS Profile: https://profile.collegeboard.org/profile/ppi/participatingInstitutions.aspx The CSS Profile is more detailed than FAFSA and asks questions FAFSA doesn't (home equity, retirement accounts, non-custodial parent info if divorced, etc). It's administered by College Board (same folks who do SAT). The process is different - you'll need more detailed financial info. CSS Profile doesn't use the FSA ID system, but you'll create a College Board account if your daughter doesn't already have one for SAT/AP exams. Many private colleges use CSS Profile to award their institutional aid (which can be substantial) while FAFSA determines federal aid eligibility. This is why some students get wildly different aid packages from different schools - they're using different methodologies to calculate need.

As someone who just went through this process with my oldest (now a college freshman), I can add a few practical tips that really helped us: 1. **Document organization**: Create a dedicated folder (physical or digital) NOW for all FAFSA-related documents. Include tax returns, bank statements, investment records, and any business documentation if you're self-employed. Having everything in one place saves so much stress later. 2. **School-specific deadlines**: Don't just focus on the FAFSA opening date - each college has its own priority deadline for financial aid. Some are as early as February 1st! Make a spreadsheet with all your daughter's potential schools and their specific deadlines. 3. **State aid**: Research your state's financial aid programs too. Many states have their own grant programs with earlier deadlines than federal aid. We almost missed out on a $2,000 state grant because we didn't realize the deadline was March 1st. 4. **Backup plans**: Have a plan B for technical issues. Last year's FAFSA rollout was rocky, and this year might have hiccups too. Screenshot everything as you go, save frequently, and don't wait until the last minute. The junior year timing is actually perfect for getting organized and understanding the process without the pressure of immediate deadlines. You've got this!

California families are lucky - you have some great state aid programs! The Cal Grant program is substantial (up to $12,848 for private schools, $5,742 for UC/CSU). The key deadline to remember is March 2nd for Cal Grant - that's the postmark deadline for your FAFSA and GPA verification form. You'll also want to look into the Middle Class Scholarship if your family income is under $177,000. It can cover up to 40% of tuition at UC/CSU schools for middle-income families who don't qualify for other need-based aid. One California-specific tip: make sure your daughter's high school counselor submits her GPA verification form by the March 2nd deadline too. Students sometimes focus on getting their FAFSA done but forget this requirement, and without both pieces, you can't get Cal Grant funding. The California Student Aid Commission website (csac.ca.gov) has a great timeline and checklist specifically for California students. Since you're starting early, you have plenty of time to understand all the moving pieces!

One thing I'd add as a junior parent who went through this last year - don't forget about merit aid opportunities! While everyone focuses on need-based aid through FAFSA, many schools offer merit scholarships that aren't tied to financial need at all. Some merit scholarships have earlier deadlines than regular admissions (like November 1st for priority consideration), and many require separate applications or essays. Start researching merit opportunities at your daughter's target schools now, because junior year grades and test scores matter a lot for merit aid. Also, encourage your daughter to take the PSAT in October if she hasn't already - National Merit scholarships can be huge, and some states have lower cutoff scores than others. Even if she doesn't make National Merit, many schools offer automatic merit aid based on GPA/test score combinations. The beauty of merit aid is that it's renewable each year (usually with GPA requirements) and reduces your need for loans. Sometimes merit aid can actually make a more expensive private school cost less than a public school, so don't rule out schools based on sticker price alone!