I'm dealing with this exact same issue right now! It's so frustrating because I need to verify some information before my school's financial aid deadline next week. I tried the correction portal method that @Diego Vargas suggested and it actually worked perfectly - I could see all my submitted information without having to make any changes. Just make sure you don't accidentally hit submit at the end! The new FAFSA system really is a mess compared to previous years. Thanks everyone for the helpful workarounds!

I'm having the exact same problem! Submitted my FAFSA three weeks ago and can only see the correction link when I log in. It's really stressful not being able to double-check what I submitted, especially since this is my first time doing FAFSA and I'm worried I might have made errors. I tried the correction portal method that several people mentioned here and it worked great - I could see all my information without making any changes. Just be super careful not to click submit unless you actually want to make corrections! Really hoping they fix this summary view issue soon because this workaround shouldn't be necessary.

I just went through this exact same situation last year with my son! You're absolutely right to fill out the FAFSA as the custodial parent since your daughter lives with you 98% of the time. Don't stress about your ex's higher income - it literally doesn't matter for federal aid eligibility. One tip that saved me a lot of headache: make sure you have all your child support documentation organized before you start the FAFSA. You'll need to report the total amount you received in the tax year, not just the weekly/biweekly amounts. I calculated it wrong the first time and had to make corrections later. Also, if your daughter is considering any private colleges, definitely start that conversation with your ex about the CSS Profile NOW. Even though you don't get along great, frame it as "this could help our daughter get more money for college" - that usually gets their attention! Good luck, you've got this!

You're getting excellent advice here! I went through this same situation two years ago with my daughter. Since you have primary custody (98% is way more than the 50%+ threshold needed), you're definitely the right parent to complete the FAFSA. Your ex's income and his new wife's income are completely irrelevant for federal aid calculations. A few practical tips from my experience: 1. Keep good records of the child support you receive - you'll need the annual total as untaxed income 2. The health insurance he provides doesn't get reported anywhere on the FAFSA 3. You won't need any documentation FROM him to complete your FAFSA - just your own tax returns and records The scary stories you've heard about listing the wrong parent are real, but you're clearly the custodial parent here so no worries! Focus on getting YOUR financial documents together and don't let the stress overwhelm you. The fact that you're starting early and asking questions shows you're on the right track. Your daughter is lucky to have such a proactive parent advocating for her!

To answer your follow-up question about getting more subsidized loans: Unfortunately, your subsidized loan eligibility is determined by your financial need (Cost of Attendance minus SAI). There's no way to negotiate for more subsidized loans specifically. However, you can appeal your SAI if you've had changes in financial circumstances not reflected on your FAFSA. This could potentially increase your overall aid eligibility, including subsidized loans.

Just wanted to add another perspective as someone who graduated a few years ago - if you're really struggling with money during school, prioritize paying at least SOMETHING toward your unsubsidized loan interest, even if it's just $10-15 a month. I used to skip coffee a few times a week and put that money toward interest payments. Also, check if your school offers any emergency grants or work-study positions specifically for students with high financial need. Some schools have hardship funds that can help reduce your loan dependency. The key is being proactive about understanding your debt load early rather than dealing with the shock at graduation!

This thread has been so incredibly helpful! I'm a financial aid counselor and I see this credit freeze issue at least once a week during application season. Katherine, you're definitely on the right track - the freeze is absolutely what's causing your denial, not the tax situation. One thing I always tell parents: when you call to lift the freeze, ask each bureau to confirm that it's been completely removed from their end before hanging up. Sometimes there can be a delay between when they say it's lifted and when it actually shows up in their system. Also, if you're comfortable with it, I'd recommend lifting the freeze permanently rather than temporarily. You can always refreeze later, but with multiple kids or potential future education expenses, you might find yourself in this same situation again. The schools are usually very accommodating with payment deadline extensions for Parent Plus processing - we literally have a standard form letter for this situation! Don't hesitate to reach out to financial aid if the bursar's office can't help immediately.

I'm so sorry you're dealing with this stress right now! I went through the exact same thing with my daughter two years ago - Parent Plus denial due to a credit freeze I had completely forgotten about after a data breach. The good news is this is totally fixable! Here's what I learned: You can lift the freeze online at all three bureaus (Experian, Equifax, TransUnion) - it's free now and usually processes within a few hours. I'd recommend doing it permanently since you might need credit access for other education expenses. After lifting, wait 24-48 hours then reapply on studentaid.gov. Most importantly, call your daughter's financial aid office TODAY and explain the situation. They deal with Parent Plus delays constantly and will likely extend your payment deadline without any issues. My daughter's school gave us an extra 3 weeks and waived all late fees once I showed them the denial letter and reapplication confirmation. The whole process took about 8 days for me from lifting the freeze to funds hitting the school account. Your unfiled taxes aren't the issue - Parent Plus only looks at credit history. You've got this! Let us know how it goes!

UPDATE: We finally got this resolved! After trying everything suggested here, we couldn't find any way to add contributors through my son's account. We ended up calling Federal Student Aid this morning (waited about 45 minutes) and the agent confirmed it's a known glitch. The agent was able to manually send me a contributor invitation from their system. I received the email within minutes and was able to complete my section of the FAFSA. My son then signed and submitted it. For anyone else experiencing this: call early in the morning (they open at 8am Eastern) and be prepared to explain that the contributor section was completely skipped. Thanks everyone for your help!

So glad to see this update! I was getting worried reading through all the horror stories about weeks-long waits and multiple restarts. 45 minutes actually sounds reasonable given how overwhelmed their system seems to be right now. For anyone else dealing with this - calling early morning seems to be the key. I've noticed with most government agencies that the wait times are much shorter first thing when they open versus later in the day when everyone's frustrated and calling. Thanks for sharing the resolution, Sofia! It gives the rest of us hope that this glitch can actually be fixed without starting completely over.