FAFSA confusion: Non-custodial parent submitted first before head of household - what now?
I'm totally confused about what's happening with our FAFSA application. My mom (who isn't the head of household) went ahead and submitted her information first for my application without telling anyone. Now when my dad tries to log in to add his information (he's the actual head of household and makes more income), there's no option for him to contribute his info. The system is saying the application is already processing? This seems wrong since my dad's income definitely needs to be included for an accurate SAI calculation. Has anyone dealt with this before? Will I get less aid because only one parent's info is showing up? I'm freaking out because my college enrollment deposit is due next month and I need my financial aid package ASAP!
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CosmicCaptain
This happens more often than you'd think! When a non-custodial parent submits first, you need to call the Federal Student Aid Information Center to request a correction. You can't fix this online yourself. The FAFSA should include the head of household's information for accurate Student Aid Index calculation. Call 1-800-433-3243 and explain the situation - they'll need to reset certain portions of your application to allow your father's information to be added.
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Amara Oluwaseyi
•Thanks for responding. I've tried calling that number 3 times already and keep getting stuck in an automated system that eventually disconnects me! Is there another way to reach them? I'm worried my application is just sitting there incomplete.
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Giovanni Rossi
omg my parents did this EXACT thing last year lol. it was a whole mess. took us like 2 weeks to get it fixed.
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Amara Oluwaseyi
•2 WEEKS?? I don't have that kind of time! Did you end up with the right financial aid amount in the end?
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Giovanni Rossi
•yeah but it was stressful. they had to reprocess the whole thing after we finally got thru to someone. financial aid office at my school helped speed things up tho
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Fatima Al-Maktoum
Let me clarify some confusion here. For the 2025-2026 FAFSA, you need to understand who should be providing information: 1. If your parents are married, BOTH should contribute information 2. If divorced/separated, it's the parent you lived with most during the past 12 months 3. If you lived equally with both, it's the parent who provided more financial support The "head of household" tax filing status isn't actually what determines who should complete the FAFSA. It sounds like your mom may have completed it as if she were the only parent, rather than indicating there's another parent whose information should be included. You need to call and request a correction. The entire application doesn't need to be redone, but they'll need to unlock certain portions.
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Amara Oluwaseyi
•My parents aren't divorced - they're married and file taxes separately. My dad claims me as a dependent and files as head of household. Mom just jumped the gun and filled everything out herself. So now I'm stuck with incomplete information on my FAFSA.
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Fatima Al-Maktoum
•In that case, this is definitely an error that needs correction. If your parents are married, both incomes must be reported regardless of filing status. Since your mom submitted as if she were the only parent, you'll need FSA to unlock that section so your dad's information can be added. Keep calling until you get through to a human representative.
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Dylan Mitchell
I went through something similar when trying to reach someone at Federal Student Aid last month - impossible to get through! I finally used Claimyr (claimyr.com) and got connected to an actual person in about 15 minutes instead of waiting for hours or getting disconnected. They bypassed the whole automated system for me. They have a video showing how it works here: https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ Once I got through to an agent, they were able to unlock the parent information section so we could add my stepdad's information. It was honestly worth it because my SAI dropped significantly after we added his information correctly.
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Sofia Gutierrez
•Does this actually work? I'm always skeptical of these services but I'm desperate!! Been trying to reach someone at FSA for weeks about my verification issues.
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Dylan Mitchell
•Yeah, it worked for me! The thing is, they don't answer for you - they just get you past the hold time and connect you directly to an FSA agent. Then you explain your situation to the actual government person. My college's financial aid deadline was approaching and I couldn't afford to keep getting disconnected.
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Dmitry Petrov
Yall need to be careful with this stuff!!!! My cousin had something like this happen and ended up with ZERO financial aid because they thought he was trying to commit fraud by only reporting one parents income when both should have been included!!!! They flagged his whole application!!!!
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Amara Oluwaseyi
•OMG ARE YOU SERIOUS??? Now I'm even more worried. I'm not trying to commit fraud - my mom just didn't understand the process! 😰
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Fatima Al-Maktoum
•@OP Please don't panic. What the commenter described is extremely rare and would only happen if there was evidence of intentional misrepresentation. Simple mistakes like what happened in your case are common and correctable. Just be honest when explaining the situation to the FSA representative.
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StarSurfer
My daughter's FAFSA had a similar issue last year. We contacted her college financial aid office directly and they helped us through the correction process. Sometimes they have direct channels to resolve these issues faster than going through the general FSA helpline.
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Amara Oluwaseyi
•That's a good idea. I'll try contacting my college's financial aid office tomorrow. Did they have to completely redo the application or were they able to just add the missing parent info?
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StarSurfer
•They didn't have to redo everything. The financial aid officer helped us submit a correction form and they were able to unlock just the parent information portion. It took about a week to process after that.
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CosmicCaptain
One more important thing: once you get this fixed, your Student Aid Index (SAI) calculation will likely change significantly. Make sure to let your college financial aid office know that a correction is being processed so they don't finalize your aid package with incomplete information. Some schools have internal deadlines for packaging, so communication is key here.
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Amara Oluwaseyi
•That's a really good point. I'll email my financial aid office right now to let them know what's happening. Do you know if this will delay my entire financial aid package? I'm worried about meeting the May 1st enrollment deposit deadline without knowing what aid I'll receive.
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CosmicCaptain
•Most colleges understand these situations happen. If you're up against the May 1st deadline, contact your admissions counselor as well as financial aid. Many schools will grant extensions when there are legitimate FAFSA issues beyond your control. Just document everything and keep everyone informed of your progress in fixing it.
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Ava Martinez
when this happened to my roommate he just stared a new fafsa application using a different email address for his fsa id. got approved faster than dealing with customer service
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Fatima Al-Maktoum
•This is absolutely NOT recommended and could cause serious problems. Creating multiple FSA IDs or submitting multiple FAFSAs is flagged in the system and can trigger a fraud investigation. Always work through the official correction process.
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Amara Oluwaseyi
UPDATE: I finally got through to someone at Federal Student Aid! Had to call super early (6:30am) to avoid the wait times. They explained my mom accidentally submitted the FAFSA as if she were a single parent household, but they're unlocking the application so both parents' information can be included. Should be fixed within 3-5 business days. They said this happens ALL THE TIME with the new FAFSA format. Thank you everyone for your help and suggestions!
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CosmicCaptain
•Great news! Glad you got it resolved. When the correction processes, your school should receive the updated information automatically, but I'd still follow up with your financial aid office in about a week to make sure they have the correct SAI calculation.
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Amara Oluwaseyi
•Will do! They told me the corrected SAI should be available within 5 days after the processing completes. Fingers crossed this doesn't affect my aid package too much!
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