I just spoke with an FSA rep today (finally!) about our correction delay. They told me they're prioritizing corrections for seniors with approaching financial aid deadlines. Make sure when you call that you specifically mention your daughter is a high school senior with a March 30 financial aid deadline. That should help get it expedited.

Just want to add that after my FAFSA was corrected, my daughter's school asked for income verification documents anyway! So frustrating. Make sure you have all your tax documents, W-2s, and 1099s easily accessible because they might request those even after your correction goes through.

Just to add some clarity about what's happening with the parent contribution situation: The 2025-2026 FAFSA uses the new Student Aid Index (SAI) instead of the old Expected Family Contribution (EFC). With this change, they've simplified the parent contribution process. If you're married and file taxes jointly, the system only needs one parent to complete the contributor section since they can access all the necessary financial data through that parent's consent for IRS data transfer. This is actually working as designed, even though it's confusing if you're used to the old system where both parents needed to provide information separately. So if your application shows complete after just your contribution, you're good to go!

Update: We submitted the FAFSA last night! My son's dashboard showed 100% complete even with just my contribution (we file jointly). Thank you everyone for your help and explaining how the new system works. Such a relief to have this done before his priority deadline. Now we just have to wait for his SAI score to appear.

does your son have any idea which parent makes more money? cuz my friend's parents fought over who would file the FAFSA because the mom made way less and they'd get more aid with her filing it lololol

UPDATE: I submitted my own FAFSA and called the first school on our list. The financial aid officer said this happens frequently with divorced parents and not to worry. She made a note on my son's file that my application is the correct one since I have legal custody. She recommended I contact all other schools too, which I'm doing now. Thanks everyone for your help! Still waiting to hear if my ex will withdraw his application or if we need to handle that through FSA directly.

Just following up - were you able to get through to an agent using any of the suggestions provided? If you're still having issues, another approach is to contact the Federal Student Aid Ombudsman Group. While they typically handle disputes, they can sometimes assist with persistent technical issues when normal support channels aren't working.

cool that it worked out 4 u! for anyone reading this later, another trick is to select the Spanish language option even if u dont speak Spanish... the wait times r way shorter and all the agents speak English too lol. worked for me when I was dealing with my verification problems

Glad to help! One last tip: create your FSA ID for yourself and one for your daughter NOW, before the application opens. Sometimes the verification process for new FSA IDs can take a few days, and you don't want that delaying you when the application opens in December.

That's great advice! Going to do that this weekend. Thanks again!