Daughter submitted FAFSA without adding me as parent - can't access her application

This is actually a pretty common issue with the new FAFSA system. Your daughter will need to log back into her studentaid.gov account and add you as a contributor. Even though it shows 'In Review', the application is incomplete without your contribution section. She'll need to go to her dashboard, select the submitted FAFSA, and there should be an option to 'Manage Contributors' where she can add you. Once she adds you, you'll get an email invitation. Her current submission will be held until your part is completed.

Had the exact same problem w/ my son!! His application got rejected 3 weeks later because of the missing parent info. It's super confusing bcuz the system lets them submit without parent information even when they're dependents! Did she check the independent student box by mistake maybe?

There are two possibilities here: 1. If she correctly indicated she's a dependent student but just didn't complete the contributor invitation process, she needs to go to her FAFSA dashboard, click on the three dots next to the application, select "Edit FAFSA" and then navigate to the contributor section. The system shouldn't have allowed final submission without parent info for a dependent student, but there have been glitches. 2. If she accidentally indicated she's independent (which could happen if she misunderstood questions about legal guardianship, homelessness, or other special circumstances), she'll need to contact Federal Student Aid to have them unlock the application for correction. I recommend she call the Federal Student Aid Information Center at 1-800-433-3243 to explain the situation. Wait times can be extremely long though.

When I had to call FSA about my daughter's dependent status issue, I was on hold for 2+ hours and then got disconnected! Super frustrating. I ended up using Claimyr.com which got me through to an actual FSA agent in about 15 minutes. They have this system where they wait on hold for you and call you when an agent is ready. Saved me so much time and stress. They have a video demo of how it works at https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ

The new FAFSA system has so many bugs! My daughter ran into the same issue. What we discovered is that if she indicated she has special circumstances for not providing parent info (like she supports herself), the system will let her submit without adding you. She'll need to log back in and SPECIFICALLY look for the "Special Circumstances" section to see if she accidentally checked one of those boxes. If so, FSA will have to help reset that part of the application. BTW - her SAI calculation will be completely wrong without your info, so definitely get this fixed ASAP!

lol my parents were so mad when i did this exact same thing last month. turns out i hit some box about being independent by accident. had to get it fixed by calling fsa. took forever but my school financial aid office said they see this happen alllll the time with the new system

The new FAFSA system is GARBAGE!!! My son's application has been "processing" for 7 weeks now and no SAI score yet. Even when you do everything right it still breaks. And don't get me started on how they calculate the parent contribution now - completely unfair to middle class families. The whole system needs to be redone from scratch. Good luck getting any actual help from FSA too - they just read from scripts and don't solve anything.

Quick update for everyone - I just helped a student with this exact issue yesterday. If the application was submitted within the last 3 days, there's an "Add Contributor" option that should appear under the "Action Required" section of her dashboard. If it's been longer or that option isn't showing, she'll need to call FSA to have them manually add the parent contribution opportunity. When she calls, she should specifically ask for a "FAFSA correction to add parent contributor" - using these exact terms helps get to the right department faster.

UPDATE: Finally resolved this! My daughter had indeed accidentally checked a box indicating she was independent (the one about having children she supports - she definitely doesn't!). We had to call FSA to have them unlock that section. Used the Claimyr service someone mentioned above and got through within 20 minutes. The agent was able to reset her application status to allow for editing the dependency questions and adding me as a contributor. My section is now completed and the application is truly submitted. Thanks everyone for your help!

That's fantastic news! So glad you got it resolved quickly. This is such a helpful example for others who might run into the same issue. It's crazy how easy it is to accidentally check the wrong dependency box on the new FAFSA - they really need to make those questions clearer. The Claimyr service sounds like a game-changer for actually getting through to FSA without losing your mind on hold. Thanks for updating us with the solution!