Confused about FAFSA parent invitation process - who starts first?

Your daughter (the student) needs to start the FAFSA application first. Once she begins her application, she'll reach a section where she identifies you as a parent/contributor. At that point, she'll enter your information including the email address associated with your FSA ID account. You'll then receive an email invitation to complete your portion of the FAFSA. The process is designed this way because the student is the primary applicant, and parent information is supplemental. Just make sure both of you have separate FSA IDs linked to different email addresses before starting.

when me and my son did it last month he had to start it first then like halfway thru it asked for parent info and he put my email. i got an email about 10 minutes later that let me login with my id and do my part. make sure u have diff emails for ur accounts tho!!

The student absolutely initiates the FAFSA. It's their application for financial aid, which is why they start the process. They'll enter basic information, then the application will ask for parent/contributor information. At that point, your daughter enters your name and email address, and the system generates an invitation for you to complete your section. Remember that even after you both complete your sections, the student must still submit the final application! I've seen many families where the parent completes their section but the student never finalizes submission.

I had this EXACT same confusion last week!!! The whole process is so unnecessarily complicated. My son started his application and then it took like 3 days for me to get the email invitation? And then when I clicked it it said there was an error and I had to call them but couldnt get through for 2 hours. The whole system is BROKEN.

Actually the process changed slightly this year with the new FAFSA Simplification Act. The student still initiates the application, but now parent contributors complete a separate "contributor profile" rather than directly entering information into the student's form. The student adds you as a contributor during their application process, then you'll receive an invitation to create and link your contributor profile. It's designed to make it easier to share your information with multiple students if you have more than one in college at the same time.

The student always initiates the FAFSA process. Think of it as THEIR application for THEIR financial aid. As a parent, you're just providing supporting information. After your daughter starts the application and adds you as a contributor, you'll get an email invitation to complete your portion. Just make sure your FSA ID is properly set up first. One thing to remember: there's a specific section where she needs to add you as a contributor - it's not automatic. If she gets stuck, she might need to save her progress and come back to it. The new SAI system is confusing for everyone at first!

yep Student goes first. My daughter just started hers yesterday and i got the email invitation about an hour after she put my info in. Make sure your FSA ID is working bcuz i had to reset mine and verify my email again even tho i thought it was all set up already. Good luck!

One additional thing to be aware of - after your daughter adds you as a contributor and you complete your section, she will still need to review the entire application and submit it. The FAFSA isn't considered complete until the student submits the final application, even after all contributors have finished their sections. This is a common point of confusion that causes some families to miss deadlines.

Just wanted to add a quick tip from my experience - make sure you and your daughter are both available to work on this at the same time, or at least coordinate closely. When she gets to the contributor section and adds your information, try to complete your portion within a day or two. I've heard that if there's too much delay between when the student starts and when the parent completes their section, it can sometimes cause technical issues or timeouts. Also, keep all your tax documents handy before she even starts - the new system pulls a lot of information directly from the IRS, but you might still need backup documentation. Good luck with the process!

As someone who just went through this process with my oldest child last month, I can confirm what others have said - your daughter definitely needs to start the FAFSA first. What I found helpful was having a quick planning session before we began. We set aside a Saturday morning, gathered all our tax documents, and made sure both our FSA IDs were working properly. My daughter started the application, and when she got to the parent contributor section (which happened about 40% through her application), she added my information and I received the email invitation within about 15 minutes. The whole process took us about 2 hours total once we were both working on our respective sections. One thing I wish someone had told me - after you complete your parent portion, the application goes back to your daughter's account and she has to review everything and hit the final submit button. We almost missed that step! Also, save your work frequently - the system can be glitchy and you don't want to lose progress.

Welcome to the FAFSA process! I just went through this with my daughter a few weeks ago and had the exact same confusion. Everyone here has given you great advice - your daughter absolutely needs to start the application first. One thing I'd add is to make sure you both have your 2023 tax information ready before starting, as the new system tries to pull data directly from the IRS but sometimes fails and you'll need to enter it manually. Also, don't panic if the invitation email takes a little while to arrive - mine took about 45 minutes, but I've heard it can take up to a few hours. The new SAI system is definitely confusing compared to the old EFC, but once you get through it, you'll have a better understanding. Just take it step by step and don't rush. Good luck with getting it done before your priority deadlines!

I just completed this process with my twin daughters a couple of weeks ago, so I can definitely relate to your confusion! Everyone here has given you solid advice - your daughter needs to start first. One tip that really helped us: before your daughter even begins, sit down together and create a "FAFSA checklist" with all the documents you'll both need. This includes your 2023 tax returns, W-2s, bank statements, investment records, and any untaxed income information. Having everything organized in one place made the process so much smoother. Also, I'd recommend doing this when you both have a good 2-3 hour block of uninterrupted time. The new system has improved a lot, but it can still be slow and glitchy at times. Better to power through it all at once rather than trying to do it in pieces over several days. The SAI calculation is definitely different from the old EFC, but don't stress too much about understanding all the details - the important thing is getting the application submitted accurately and on time. You've got this!

Just want to echo what everyone else has said - your daughter definitely starts the FAFSA first! I went through this exact same confusion with my son last year. The process has actually gotten a bit more streamlined, but it's still confusing the first time through. One thing that really helped us was doing a "practice run" where we logged into both our FSA ID accounts the day before we planned to start the actual application, just to make sure everything was working properly. We discovered my account had some verification issues that would have caused delays if we'd found out during the actual process. Also, don't worry too much about the new SAI vs. EFC differences - the colleges will handle most of that conversion for you. Focus on getting accurate information entered and submitted on time. The most important thing is meeting those priority deadlines you mentioned! Good luck with the process - it sounds like you're being really thoughtful about getting it done right!

I just went through this exact same process with my daughter two months ago and can definitely confirm what everyone has said - your daughter needs to start the FAFSA first! The whole process was much less intimidating once we actually got started. Here's what worked for us: We planned it for a Sunday afternoon when we both had plenty of time. My daughter started the application, and about halfway through (maybe 45 minutes in), she reached the section where she needed to add me as a contributor. She entered my name and email, and I got the invitation email within about 20 minutes. One thing that really helped was having our 2023 tax documents pulled up on a separate device while we worked, since the IRS data retrieval didn't work perfectly for us and we needed to manually enter some information. Also, make sure you're both logged in with your respective FSA IDs before starting - we had a minor hiccup when mine needed to be re-verified. The new SAI system is definitely confusing compared to the old EFC, but honestly, as long as you enter your information accurately, the system handles the calculations. Don't stress too much about understanding every detail of the changes. You're being smart to get this done before the priority deadlines. Good luck - you've got this!

I went through this exact same confusion with my son just a few weeks ago! Your daughter absolutely needs to start the FAFSA application first. The process is designed so the student (who is the actual applicant) initiates everything, then invites parents/contributors to complete their portions. Here's what worked for us: My son logged into his FSA ID account and started the application. About 30-40% of the way through, he reached a section asking for parent contributor information. He entered my name and the email address associated with my FSA ID, then continued with his portions. I received an email invitation about 10-15 minutes later that allowed me to log in with my FSA ID and complete my section of the application. One really important thing to remember - after you finish your parent section, the application goes back to your daughter and she still needs to review everything and submit the final application! Don't assume it's complete just because you've both finished your individual sections. The new SAI system is definitely confusing compared to the old EFC calculations, but focus on getting accurate information entered rather than trying to understand all the changes. The colleges will handle most of the conversion work on their end. Make sure you both test your FSA ID accounts a day or two before starting to catch any verification issues early. Good luck getting it submitted before your priority deadlines!