Can't add new school to FAFSA after submission - need urgent workaround

You need to use the "Update School" option instead of looking for "Add School." Log into studentaid.gov, go to your FAFSA form, click on "Make FAFSA Corrections" and then navigate to the school selection page. From there, you can add up to 10 schools total. If you already have 10 schools listed, you'll need to remove one before adding the new one.

had same issue last yr. the make corrections button doesnt show up til after they process the app completely. took like 6 weeks for my son's!

You can call the Federal Student Aid Information Center at 1-800-433-3243 to have them add a school code to your daughter's FAFSA application. They can do this over the phone, but be prepared for very long wait times. They're extremely backed up this year with the new FAFSA Simplification Act implementation. Another option is to contact the financial aid office at the new school directly. They sometimes have ways to retrieve your FAFSA information even if they're not on your school list yet, or they might provide alternatives while you wait for the official update.

Federal Student Aid's phone system is absolutely broken this year. My son's SAI calculation was wrong and I spent 5 days trying to reach someone. Pure frustration.

When I had this exact problem last month, I used Claimyr (claimyr.com) to get through to a FSA agent right away. Basically, they wait on hold for you and call you when an actual human picks up. Saved me hours of frustration. They have a video demo if you want to see how it works: https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ The FSA agent was able to add my son's new school choice in about 5 minutes once I finally got through to a person.

The Federal Student Aid system is a MESS this year with the new FAFSA rollout! Absolutely ridiculous that basic functionality is broken. My nephew had the same issue - couldn't add schools because the "corrections" option was unavailable. His only solution was persistently calling until he got through to a human. I'd also recommend having your daughter email the financial aid office at the new school immediately. Explain the situation and ask if they can either pull her FAFSA info without being on her school list (some can) or if they can extend their financial aid deadline for her specific situation. Many schools are being more flexible this year because of all the FAFSA problems. DON'T wait for the online system to resolve itself. Be proactive about contacting the school directly!

just a quick question - are u sure the school isnt already on there? my daughter thought she needed to add a school but when we checked the SAI report they were already listed on page 6 even tho she didnt remember adding them. worth double checking!

One important detail - if your daughter's FAFSA shows "processing" after all this time, something might be wrong. October submission should be fully processed by now. There might be a verification issue or information missing that's holding things up. I'd suggest two things: 1. Have your daughter log in and check if there are any alerts or action items in her account. Sometimes there are requests for additional information that aren't obvious. 2. When you do reach FSA (whether through persistent calling or using a service), ask them to check if there's a reason the application is stuck in processing. Fixing that might automatically enable the correction option. This new FAFSA system has been problematic, but most October applications should be processed by now unless there's a specific issue holding it up.

UPDATE: I wanted to thank everyone for their help! We called the school's financial aid office directly, and they were super understanding. They gave us a two-week extension on their aid deadline and said many students are having FAFSA issues this year. We also discovered we needed to complete the verification process first (thanks @profile2!). Once we submitted the verification documents, the "Make FAFSA Corrections" option appeared within 4 days. We were able to add the school successfully! For anyone else with this problem - definitely contact the school directly AND check if your FAFSA has any pending verification requests or action items.

So glad you got this resolved! This is a perfect example of why it's always worth reaching out to the school's financial aid office directly when you hit roadblocks with the FAFSA system. They deal with these issues constantly and are usually much more helpful than trying to navigate the broken federal system alone. For future reference for anyone reading this thread - always check for those little notification icons or alerts in your FAFSA account. The verification requirements can be easy to miss but they'll completely block your ability to make any changes until resolved. Thanks for posting the update - it'll definitely help other families facing the same situation!

As a newcomer to this whole FAFSA process, this thread has been incredibly eye-opening! I'm currently helping my younger sibling prepare their FAFSA for next year, and honestly, I had no idea there were so many potential pitfalls. The fact that verification requirements can completely block your ability to make corrections is something I never would have thought to check for. @Ella Lewis - I'm so glad you got everything sorted out! Your experience is a perfect reminder that sometimes the human touch (calling the school directly) works way better than fighting with automated systems. It's also really encouraging to hear how understanding the financial aid office was about extending deadlines given all the FAFSA chaos this year. I'm definitely going to bookmark this thread and make sure we stay on top of any verification requests when we submit. Thanks to everyone who contributed solutions - this community is amazing for sharing real-world problem-solving advice!