I'm in a similar situation! What really helped me was creating a simple checklist of all the documents we'd need before even looking at the form - tax returns, bank statements, investment records, etc. Since you mentioned your son's father struggles with technology, having everything organized ahead of time makes the actual online completion much smoother. Also, if you're planning to help guide them through it, you might want to practice with the FAFSA demo tool first (it's on the FSA website) - it shows exactly how the online form flows without actually submitting anything. The demo helped me understand which sections would be confusing for my ex-husband so I could prepare explanations in advance.

One thing I learned the hard way is to make sure you're looking at the 2025-26 FAFSA specifically, not an older version. The FSA website sometimes shows multiple years and it's easy to accidentally download the wrong one. Also, since you mentioned helping your son's father who isn't comfortable with technology, you might want to consider doing a practice run together using the demo tool first, then having all the documents ready when you tackle the real form. The new FAFSA is supposed to be simpler, but the contributor sections can still be tricky for divorced parents. Good luck!

I'm so sorry you're dealing with this stress right now! As someone who just went through FAFSA hell myself, I totally feel your panic. The "account already exists" error is unfortunately super common with the new system. Here's what I'd recommend trying in order: 1. Have your dad try the "forgot password" option first - like others mentioned, sometimes accounts get auto-created when you add contributors 2. If that doesn't work, try different variations of his name (with/without middle initial, nicknames vs full name, etc.) 3. Make sure you're entering his SSN exactly as it appears on his Social Security card If none of that works, definitely call FSA at 1-800-433-3243 early morning for shorter wait times. But honestly, your best bet might be visiting your school's financial aid office in person with your dad - they often have direct lines to resolve these issues quickly. Most importantly - email your financial aid office TODAY explaining the technical difficulties. Schools are used to FAFSA glitches and can often grant extensions or note that you attempted to complete it on time. You've got this! This is totally solvable and you're not the first student to hit this roadblock. Don't let the broken system stress you out more than necessary.

This happened to my family too! My dad got the exact same error message even though he's never touched FAFSA before either. What we discovered is that sometimes when you enter someone as a contributor, the system automatically creates a "shadow account" with their info, and then when they try to actually sign up, it conflicts with that pre-existing record. Here's what finally worked for us after days of frustration: 1. Have your dad go to studentaid.gov and click "Log In" 2. Use his email and click "Forgot Password" 3. If a password reset email comes through, that means there IS an account - he can reset it and log in 4. If no email comes, then try calling FSA at 1-800-433-3243 (call right at 8 AM for shorter wait times) Also PLEASE contact your school's financial aid office immediately! They can put a note on your file that you're experiencing technical difficulties, which protects you if you miss the deadline due to system issues. Most schools are super understanding about FAFSA glitches this year. Don't stress too much - this is happening to tons of students and it's definitely fixable! The new system is just really buggy but there are ways around it.

I went through this exact same situation with my son last year! The key thing to remember is that even though the FAFSA shows as "submitted," it's not actually complete until all required contributors finish their portions. Your daughter can submit her part first, but the financial aid offices won't be able to calculate her aid package without your parent information. A few things to double-check: Make sure she didn't accidentally mark herself as independent (super common mistake when students are rushing), and have her verify she entered your correct email when adding you as a contributor. If you still don't receive the invitation after she re-sends it, definitely contact Federal Student Aid directly - sometimes there are technical glitches on their end that prevent the emails from going through. Don't stress too much about timing though - as long as you complete your portion before her school's financial aid deadlines, you should be fine!

As someone who just went through this process with my twin daughters, I can tell you this is super common! The FAFSA system can be really confusing for first-time families. Here's what likely happened: your daughter submitted her student portion, but the system is waiting for you to complete the parent contributor section before it's truly "complete." Make sure she logs into her studentaid.gov account and looks for an option to "add contributor" or "invite parent contributor." She'll need to enter your exact email address there. If you still don't get the invitation after 24-48 hours, try having her remove you as a contributor and then re-add you - sometimes that kicks the system into gear. Also, definitely verify she answered the dependency questions correctly. If she accidentally indicated she was independent (married, has kids, is a veteran, etc.), the system won't ask for parent info at all. That would be a bigger problem that needs to be corrected ASAP. Don't panic about deadlines yet - most schools understand these technical hiccups happen and will work with you if you're actively trying to resolve it!

I just completed verification two months ago and wanted to add my voice to help ease your concerns! Like most others here, I was in verification group V1 and only needed to submit my IRS tax transcript, W-2 forms, and a household verification worksheet. No bank statements required at all. I think what might be happening with your friend is that some schools have additional institutional verification requirements beyond the federal process, especially if they're awarding their own need-based aid. But the standard federal FAFSA verification really does focus on confirming your tax information and household details - not scrutinizing your spending habits or transaction history. The whole thing was honestly much less invasive than I expected. I got my documents together in about a week, submitted them online, and got confirmation that my verification was complete within two weeks. My aid stayed exactly the same since I had reported everything accurately on my original FAFSA. My advice: wait for your school's official verification letter so you know exactly which group you're in and what they need. Don't let anxiety about those transactions keep you up at night - the verification process isn't designed to judge your financial choices, just confirm the accuracy of what you already reported!

I went through FAFSA verification just this past January and can confirm what most people here are saying - they did NOT require bank statements! I was selected for V1 verification (which is the most common type) and only had to submit my IRS tax transcript, W-2 forms, and a verification worksheet confirming my household size and number of family members in college. The whole process took about 2 weeks from start to finish, and my aid package didn't change at all since I had reported everything accurately on my original FAFSA. Your friend might have been dealing with additional institutional requirements from their specific school, or possibly got confused about documentation needed for a different type of financial aid. My biggest advice: don't panic about those "weird transactions" because the verification process isn't about reviewing your spending habits or transaction history. They're literally just confirming that the income and asset information you reported on your FAFSA matches your official tax documents. As long as you reported your account balances accurately as of the day you filed your FAFSA, you should be completely fine. Wait for your official verification letter from your school's financial aid office - it will tell you exactly which verification group you're in and list the specific documents they need. In my experience, the reality was much less stressful than all the horror stories online made it seem!

So glad to see your update that you're getting positive responses from the schools! This gives me hope for my own situation. I just wanted to share what I learned from my experience - when I called using Claimyr, the FSA agent mentioned that they're also working on sending out official notifications to colleges about this issue, which should make the appeal process even smoother for families still dealing with this. For anyone still struggling, don't give up! The squeaky wheel gets the grease, and it sounds like most schools are being reasonable once they understand what happened. Keep pushing and document everything like everyone has said!

This thread has been so incredibly helpful! As someone who's been lurking here trying to figure out this exact same issue, I can't thank everyone enough for sharing their experiences and solutions. Our SAI jumped by $25k in March and I've been losing sleep over it. Reading through all the advice about getting a case number from FSA, documenting everything, and contacting schools directly has given me a clear action plan. I'm definitely going to try the Claimyr service since so many people have had success with it. It's frustrating that we have to become advocates and detectives just to get accurate financial aid information, but at least now I know it's possible to get this resolved. Will update once I make some progress!