2024-25 FAFSA showing on son's account but not mine - college can't see it either
I'm completely baffled by what's happening with our FAFSA forms. My daughter completed her 2024-25 FAFSA back in February (her high school made it mandatory), and everything seemed to process correctly. We got the confirmation email and SAI score. Then her university contacted us last week asking us to complete the 2023-24 FAFSA as well for some scholarship consideration. So I completed that one too, and got confirmation it processed. Here's where things get weird - we had a meeting with the financial aid office yesterday, and they told us they can ONLY see the 2023-24 application. The 2024-25 form we submitted months ago is completely invisible to them! When I log into MY studentaid.gov account, I can only see the 2023-24 form. But when my DAUGHTER logs into HER account, she can only see the 2024-25 form! It's like they're in completely different systems. The university needs her 2024-25 information ASAP for fall semester aid packaging, but they can't access it, and I can't even see it on my account to confirm what we submitted. I tried calling Federal Student Aid and was on hold for literally 4 hours before getting disconnected. I'm at my wit's end trying to figure out how to fix this account mess before her aid package gets delayed. Has anyone experienced this weird split-account problem before?
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Nia Harris
This is actually a somewhat common issue with the new FAFSA system this year, though not usually this extreme. The problem appears to be that you created separate FSA IDs for you and your daughter, which is correct, but something went wrong with how your accounts are linked. For the 2024-25 FAFSA, the student is considered the "owner" of the application, while parents are "contributors." For the 2023-24 FAFSA, which used the old system, you as the parent were likely the primary account holder. Here's what you need to do: 1. Have your daughter log in to her studentaid.gov account and go to the 2024-25 FAFSA 2. She needs to check if your email is correctly listed as a contributor 3. If it's not, she should update it and have the system send you a new invitation 4. Have her print the PDF or take screenshots of the 2024-25 form 5. Contact the university's financial aid office directly and let them know about this technical issue. They can manually input the information from the PDF/screenshots while you resolve the account linking problem This is unfortunately one of many technical issues with the rollout of the new FAFSA system.
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Luca Russo
•Thank you so much for this detailed explanation! It actually makes sense now. We did create separate FSA IDs for both of us, and I bet that's where something went wrong with the linking. I'll have her log in tonight and check the contributor information and we'll try the PDF route with the university. I'm still confused though - shouldn't both forms be visible to both of us if we're properly linked? And why can't the university see the form even though it's been processed?
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GalaxyGazer
The entire FAFSA system is a DISASTER this year!!!!! I've had similar problems with my twins' applications. Their high school also made them fill out the 2024-25 form early, but then one college could see it and another couldn't. I spent WEEKS trying to figure it out. The problem is that the Department of Education completely rebuilt the system for 2024-25 and it's FULL of bugs. Different schools have different levels of access to the system and some are completely locked out! My son's application kept showing as "submitted but not processed" for 2 months even though we got a confirmation email. His twin sister's went through fine but then disappeared from MY account. The system is honestly rigged against families trying to get financial aid. It's disgusting how they can't even build a functioning website when families' college funding depends on it!!!
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Luca Russo
•Oh no, I'm sorry you went through that with both your twins! That sounds like an absolute nightmare. Were you eventually able to resolve it? Did both colleges finally get access to their applications?
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GalaxyGazer
•We EVENTUALLY got it fixed but only after I drove to the financial aid office IN PERSON with printed copies of EVERYTHING and sat there for 3 hours while they manually entered the information into their system. The financial aid officer told me they've had to do this for almost 40% of incoming freshmen because of the system problems! The most RIDICULOUS part is that even after they fixed it in their system, the FAFSA website STILL shows different information depending on which of us logs in. The whole system is broken beyond belief.
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Mateo Sanchez
same thing happened to me but with my account and my daughters. called and they said it was a known issue with no fix date. apparently theres different databases for 23-24 and 24-25 forms and they dont talk to each other. stupid i know
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Aisha Mahmood
•Did they at least tell you what to do about it? I'm hearing horror stories about people losing their aid packages because of these technical problems.
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Mateo Sanchez
•nope just said to keep checking and be patient. we printed everything and took it to financial aid office and they manually put it in their system. worked for us but was a pain
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Ethan Moore
After dealing with a similar FAFSA nightmare (couldn't see my son's application that he could see, college couldn't access it either), I finally found a solution that worked. I used Claimyr (claimyr.com) to get through to a Federal Student Aid agent in about 20 minutes instead of waiting on hold for hours. The agent was able to manually fix the account linking issue on their end and within 48 hours both applications showed up correctly in both our accounts AND the college could access them. The agent explained that there's a known database synchronization issue between the old and new FAFSA systems. They have a video showing how it works here: https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ With fall semester coming up so soon, I couldn't afford to wait weeks for them to maybe fix it. This saved us from having to drive to the financial aid office with printouts like others mentioned.
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Luca Russo
•Thank you for this recommendation! After spending another hour on hold today and getting disconnected again, I'm ready to try anything. It's so frustrating that we have to jump through all these hoops because of their technical problems, but getting a real agent on the phone to fix it directly sounds like exactly what we need right now.
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Yuki Kobayashi
•is it legit tho? never heard of it before
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Carmen Vega
I work in a college financial aid office, and I can tell you this is happening with about 1 in 5 families this year. The 2024-25 FAFSA implementation has been extremely problematic. Here's the technical explanation: 1. The 2023-24 FAFSA uses the legacy system where parent accounts are primary. 2. The 2024-25 FAFSA uses the new system where student accounts are primary. 3. The database systems aren't properly synchronizing account relationships. The fastest solution is to have your student generate a PDF of their completed 2024-25 FAFSA (there's a "Print/Save PDF" option when they log in) and email it directly to the college's financial aid office. We can process aid packages with the PDF while the system issues get resolved. Also, know that the school can manually input the information from the PDF - they don't technically need the electronic version to create a financial aid package for Fall 2024. Most schools are working around these issues behind the scenes. FSA is working on these issues, but there's no timeline for a complete fix.
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Luca Russo
•Thank you for this inside perspective! It's reassuring to know colleges are finding workarounds. I'll have my daughter generate the PDF tonight and email it to the financial aid office tomorrow morning. Is there anything specific we should note in the email so they understand the situation? And should we expect any delays in her aid package because of this issue?
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Carmen Vega
•In your email, explain exactly what happened - that you completed the 2024-25 FAFSA in January/February, that it's visible in your daughter's account but not yours, and that you were told by FSA that it's a known synchronization issue. Mention that you're providing the PDF so they can process her aid package without waiting for the system to be fixed. As for delays - it depends on the school. Some financial aid offices are completely overwhelmed with these workarounds, while others have developed efficient processes to handle them. I would follow up with a phone call to the financial aid office about 3-5 days after sending the PDF to check on the status. Also, double-check that you've completed any school-specific financial aid forms. Many schools have their own supplementary forms beyond the FAFSA.
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Aisha Mahmood
Wait I'm confused. Why do you need the 2023-24 FAFSA for fall 2024? Shouldn't you only need the 2024-25 one? Are both forms actually necessary?
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Nia Harris
•Good question! The 2023-24 FAFSA technically covers Fall 2023 through Summer 2024 (so through approximately July/August 2024 depending on the school's academic calendar). The 2024-25 FAFSA covers Fall 2024 through Summer 2025. For students starting college in Fall 2024, they primarily need the 2024-25 FAFSA. However, some colleges request the 2023-24 FAFSA for summer programs, early enrollment activities, or for certain scholarship considerations that might use the prior year's application cycle. In this case, the college specifically requested both forms, which isn't uncommon, but the 2024-25 form is definitely the critical one for fall semester financial aid.
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Carmen Vega
Quick update since this is a common issue: FSA just announced yesterday they're rolling out a fix for this specific problem over the next 10 days. The fix will synchronize account visibility between parent and student FSA IDs for both application years. However, I still recommend having your daughter generate the PDF and sending it to the financial aid office now rather than waiting for the fix. The college needs to finalize aid packages soon, and having the information manually is better than waiting for the system to be fixed.
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Luca Russo
•Thank you for this update! We did email the PDF to the financial aid office yesterday, and they confirmed receipt and said they'll manually process it. It's good to know a fix is coming though - I'll keep an eye on our accounts to see when it's resolved.
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Yuki Kobayashi
y does fafsa gotta be so complicated every year its somethin else lol. last yr they wanted my moms tax returns from like 3 diff years
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GalaxyGazer
•SERIOUSLY!!! It's like they DELIBERATELY make it confusing to discourage people from applying. And this year is BY FAR the worst with all the "improvements" they supposedly made to the system. Complete disaster.
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