my brother had a similr SAI last year and ended up going to community college for 2 years to save money. now transferring to state university with way less debt. might be worth considering tbh

Don't get too discouraged! An SAI of 13061 actually puts you in a decent position for several aid programs. While you won't qualify for the maximum Pell Grant, you should still be eligible for subsidized student loans (which don't accrue interest while in school) and potentially some state aid in both California and Oregon. One thing I learned when my daughter went through this process is that the cost of attendance varies widely between schools, so your actual "need" will be calculated differently at each one. A UC school with a $35K cost of attendance will show much more need than a CSU at $25K, which could result in more institutional aid at the pricier school. Also, don't forget to apply for outside scholarships! Your SAI doesn't affect private scholarship eligibility, and even small ones ($500-1000) can add up. Fastweb and Scholarships.com are good starting points. The key is applying to many rather than just focusing on the big ones everyone knows about.

Update: After trying everyone's suggestions, I found that using the page-flipping trick AND clearing my browser cache seemed to help. When I went through the dependent section again and then checked the review page, it finally showed the correct information! I also took screenshots of everything just to be safe. Thanks for all the help - this forum saved me from having a complete meltdown over FAFSA errors!

I'm so glad I found this thread! I've been dealing with the exact same dependent section glitch for my 2025-2026 FAFSA. It's incredibly frustrating to see "No" dependents on the review page when I know I entered my twin boys' information correctly. Reading through all these responses has been a huge relief - especially knowing that the data is actually being saved even though the display is buggy. I'm going to try the page-flipping trick and clearing my browser cache like Sofia mentioned. It's reassuring to hear from someone in financial aid administration that this won't affect the actual SAI calculation. Thank you all for sharing your experiences and solutions!

ALSO!!! Make sure your name matches EXACTLY what's on your social security card when creating the FSA ID! My husband used "Bob" instead of "Robert" and it created a verification nightmare. Same with hyphens, suffixes, etc.

As someone who just went through this process with my oldest child last month, I can confirm that student first is definitely the way to go! We had her create her FSA ID on a Tuesday, waited until Thursday to create mine, and everything went smoothly. The key things that helped us were: 1) Different email addresses (she used her personal gmail, I used mine), 2) Making sure our names matched our Social Security cards exactly, and 3) Having all our tax documents ready before starting the actual FAFSA. The whole process took about 45 minutes once we both had our FSA IDs set up and verified. Good luck with your daughter's applications!

Just wanted to add that timing matters too! If you're applying for fall semester, try to get your Parent PLUS application submitted by late spring/early summer. The earlier you apply, the sooner your daughter's financial aid office can finalize her complete aid package. Also, if you're denied for the PLUS loan (which can happen even with decent credit due to their specific criteria), your daughter becomes eligible for additional unsubsidized federal loans - up to $4,000 more for freshmen/sophomores and $5,000 more for juniors/seniors. So it's not the end of the world if you don't get approved! Best of luck with the process - it's confusing at first but once you get through it the first time, it becomes much easier for subsequent years.

Marina, I went through this exact same confusion last year with my son! Here's what I learned: you definitely need to apply through studentaid.gov (not FAFSA directly), and you'll need your own FSA ID as others mentioned. But here's something that might help - before you apply for the Parent PLUS loan, call your daughter's financial aid office and ask about their "Cost of Attendance" breakdown. They can tell you exactly how much gap you have between her current aid and total costs, so you know exactly how much to borrow. Also, some schools have Parent PLUS loan information sessions in April/May - worth asking if they offer one. It really helped me understand the whole process better than trying to figure it out alone online!

Just to follow up on what others have said - this happens more often than you'd think. The FAFSA system recently underwent significant changes with the FAFSA Simplification Act, and many parents accidentally create applications for themselves while trying to navigate the new contributor process. Don't worry about it affecting your son's SAI (Student Aid Index, formerly EFC) calculation or his overall financial aid package. The system treats each FSA ID as a completely separate entity. As for deleting, if you absolutely can't find the option through the steps I provided earlier, you can also send an email to FederalStudentAidCustomerService@ed.gov requesting deletion of your application. Include your name and FSA ID username (not password), and they can handle it that way too.

I work at a financial aid office and see this ALL the time! Don't stress about it - you're definitely not the first parent to accidentally create their own FAFSA while helping their kid. The good news is that incomplete applications automatically expire after the deadline passes, so even if you do nothing, the emails will eventually stop. But if you want to delete it now (which I'd recommend), follow the steps others have mentioned about going to the bottom of your application summary page. And yes, your son's processed FAFSA is completely safe - there's zero connection between your accidental application and his completed one.