FAFSA account already exists for my son - can't access after high school career day setup

This happens more often than you'd think with high schools creating FSA IDs during college prep events. Don't panic - you have a few options: 1. First, try the "Forgot Username" and "Forgot Password" options on the studentaid.gov login page. Your son will need access to the email he originally used. 2. If he doesn't remember the email, try the most common ones he uses. The system will tell you if an account exists with that email. 3. If all else fails, call FSA directly at 1-800-433-3243. They can verify his identity and help reset the account access. They might ask for his Social Security number, date of birth, and other identifying information. This won't hurt his financial aid chances as long as you get it sorted before the priority deadlines.

OMG this EXACT thing happened to my daughter last year!!! The school had them make accounts but didn't tell any parents and she couldn't remember ANYTHING about it. So frustrating!! We ended up having to call FSA like 5 TIMES because they kept disconnecting us. When we finally got through they asked a bunch of security questions and eventually reset everything for her. Good luck!!

I worked at a college financial aid office and saw this constantly. The frustrating part is you CANNOT make a new FSA ID - the system blocks duplicate SSNs. Your only option is recovering the existing account. Pro tip: if your son used his cell phone number, try the "text message recovery" option instead of email recovery. Many students forget which email they used but their phone number hasn't changed.

I've been in this exact situation with my son. After struggling with the FSA phone line for days (always disconnected), I discovered a service called Claimyr that got me through to a live FSA agent in under 20 minutes. They have a video demo at https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ that shows how it works. The agent was able to verify my son's identity and reset everything so we could access the account. Saved us weeks of frustration during peak FAFSA season.

have ur son login to every email account he has and search for "fsa id" or "studentaid.gov" - might find the original confirmation email they sent when he created it. also check spam folders. my daughter found hers buried in her school email from months b4

Something else to consider: the 2025-2026 FAFSA has a new parent contribution feature where you can create your own FSA ID and add yourself as a contributor to your son's FAFSA. This might be another approach if you recover his account - you can use your own account to help complete his application without needing his login credentials every time.

the fsa website is TERRIBLE and the whole system needs to be completely redone. my nephew had the same issue and ended up missing priority deadlines because of this exact problem. they should make schools verify email addresses and send confirmation to parents before letting minors create accounts!!!!

One more suggestion - if you've tried all recovery methods and still can't access the account, as a last resort, contact your son's high school counselor. Some counselors who run these FAFSA sessions keep records of which emails students used. It's not guaranteed, but worth asking if you're still stuck.

after u get this fixed make sure to save all the info somewhere safe! write down the email used, save password in a password manager, and keep the FSA ID number written down somewhere. we had to do this recovery dance once and now i have everything backed up in 3 places lol

I'm dealing with this exact nightmare right now! My daughter's high school did the same thing during some "college readiness" workshop and didn't tell any parents. She used her school email that she never checks and can't remember the password for that either. I've been trying to get through to FSA for three days - the wait times are insane. Has anyone had luck getting their school IT department to help recover the school email password? That might be easier than waiting for FSA to pick up the phone. This whole system is so poorly designed for situations like this!

I work as a high school counselor and I'm sorry this happened to your son - it's unfortunately becoming more common as schools try to help with college prep but don't always coordinate well with parents. A few practical tips from what I've seen work: 1. Contact your son's school counselor ASAP - many of us do keep spreadsheets or notes from these sessions with student emails/usernames because we know this exact situation happens frequently. 2. If he used his school email, definitely go through the school IT department first as others suggested - they can reset school passwords much faster than FSA can help with account recovery. 3. Ask the school counselor if they can contact other students from that same career day session - sometimes hearing what emails their classmates used jogs their memory ("oh yeah, I used my gmail not my yahoo"). 4. Don't panic about missing deadlines - most colleges understand these technical issues happen and financial aid offices can work with you if you're actively trying to resolve it. The good news is once this gets sorted, you'll have access and can complete everything. This won't hurt his aid chances as long as you get it resolved reasonably quickly. Keep pushing - you'll get there!

I'm a newcomer here but going through the exact same situation! My daughter's school did a "FAFSA prep day" without telling parents and now we're locked out of her account too. Reading through all these responses is giving me so much hope - I had no idea this was such a common problem. I'm going to try the school IT department route first since several people mentioned that worked faster than calling FSA directly. It's really frustrating that schools create these accounts without proper coordination with parents, but at least now I know we're not the only family dealing with this mess. Thanks to everyone who shared their experiences - this thread is incredibly helpful for parents like us who are completely lost in this process!

As someone new to this community, I just want to say how incredibly helpful this thread has been! My family is facing a similar situation - my son's high school had students create FSA IDs during a college fair last fall and we had no idea until we tried to start his FAFSA application. Reading through everyone's experiences and solutions has been a lifesaver. I'm going to start with the school IT department approach that several people mentioned worked well, then try having him search through all his email accounts systematically. It's reassuring to know this is such a widespread issue and that there are multiple paths to resolution. Thank you to everyone who shared their stories and advice - this community is amazing for helping stressed parents navigate these frustrating situations!