FAFSA confusion - both parents created contributor accounts, did we mess up our submission?

dw about it both my parents made accounts too and our FAFSA was processed fine. system can handle it. u'll get ur SAI within 3-5 days prob

You haven't messed anything up! The new FAFSA actually allows for multiple contributors, although only one is required for most situations. Each contributor account is linked to the student's application through their specific invitation process. The system will recognize both of your accounts as valid contributors to your daughter's application. You should receive the Student Aid Index (SAI) calculation within 3-7 business days if everything else was completed correctly. If there are any issues with the multiple accounts, you would receive an email notification requesting corrections.

The studentaid.gov site is TERRIBLE at explaining anything clearly. When I went through this with my kid last month, we had a similar situation with multiple contributor accounts. I spent 5 HOURS trying to call FSA to confirm if it would cause problems. Kept getting disconnected or stuck on hold. Finally, I found Claimyr (claimyr.com) which got me through to an actual FSA agent in about 20 minutes. They confirmed that multiple contributor accounts are fine as long as the student correctly linked them in their application. The agent verified everything was good on our end. There's a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ Saved me days of stress wondering if we'd messed everything up!

Financial aid counselor here. Here's what happens with multiple contributor accounts: 1. The system links both contributors to the student's application 2. Both sets of information are considered when calculating the Student Aid Index (SAI) 3. If there are no discrepancies between the information provided, there's no issue 4. If there are significant differences in reported information, it may trigger verification The only time multiple accounts create problems is when contributors don't properly complete their sections or when income information doesn't match tax records. As long as both you and your wife accurately reported your information and your daughter properly linked your accounts, you should be fine.

I went thru this EXACT thing last year!!1! The whole process is soooo confusing. We had both parents make accounts AND my stepdad made one too which was completely unnecessary lol. Ended up with THREE contributor accounts on my application. We got selected for verification and it took FOREVER to sort out. Just be prepared for them to ask for more documentation... they made us upload tax docs twice because they "lost" the first submission somehow. The most annoying part was that nowhere on the site did it clearly say who needed contributor accounts!!!!

One more thing to keep in mind: while having multiple contributor accounts is fine, make sure your daughter has properly linked BOTH accounts to her application. She should be able to see both contributors listed in her FAFSA dashboard. If one parent is missing, she may need to send another invitation through her account.

when i did my fasfa for this year my parents both had accounts but only mom finished her section and dad never did his part. my application still went through fine but then i got selected for verification later and had to submit my dads tax info anyway. so i think having both accounts is actually BETTER than just having one! youre probably fine

Update for everyone in this thread: The 2025-2026 FAFSA specifically allows for multiple contributors, which is actually a design feature of the new simplified FAFSA form. The system can handle multiple contributors without issues as long as they are properly linked to the student's application. If you're concerned about your application status, you can always check the status online or call the Federal Student Aid Information Center at 1-800-433-3243. They can confirm whether your application is processing correctly and if any additional steps are needed.

As someone who just went through this process with my own kid, I can confirm that having both parents create contributor accounts is totally normal and won't cause any issues! The new FAFSA system is actually designed to handle multiple contributors. The key thing is that your daughter properly linked both accounts to her application (which it sounds like she did since they both show up in her dashboard). You should get your SAI within a few days, and if there were any problems with the multiple accounts, you would have gotten an error message during the submission process. Don't stress too much about it - the system is way more flexible than the old FAFSA. The confusing part is just that the studentaid.gov website doesn't do a great job explaining this clearly upfront!

Hey there! I totally understand your stress - I went through the exact same panic with my twins' FAFSA applications earlier this year. Both my husband and I created contributor accounts and I was convinced we'd messed everything up too! Turns out it's completely fine and actually pretty common. The system handled it without any issues, and we got our SAI calculations within about 4 days. The fact that your daughter can see both of your accounts linked in her dashboard is a great sign - that means everything connected properly. One tip: save screenshots of the confirmation pages and keep track of your application ID number. That way if you do need to call FSA for any reason, you'll have everything handy. But honestly, from what you've described, it sounds like you did everything correctly. The waiting is the hardest part!

Don't worry at all! I'm a college financial aid advisor and I can confirm that having both parents create contributor accounts is actually very common and won't cause any problems with your FAFSA submission. The 2025-2026 FAFSA system is designed to handle multiple contributors seamlessly. Since your daughter can see both accounts linked in her dashboard, that means everything was set up correctly. You should receive your SAI within 3-5 business days if there are no other issues with the application. The only time multiple contributor accounts cause delays is if there are significant discrepancies in the financial information provided, but that would trigger an immediate error during submission rather than a processing delay later. Since your application went through successfully, you're in good shape! Keep an eye on your email for the SAI notification, and don't hesitate to contact your daughter's school's financial aid office if you have any questions once you receive it. They can help interpret the results and guide you through next steps for aid applications.

I just went through this exact same situation a few weeks ago! Both my husband and I created contributor accounts and I was absolutely panicking that we'd ruined our son's application. Turns out it's totally fine - we got our SAI in 4 days and everything processed normally. The new FAFSA system actually expects multiple contributors in many cases, especially for married parents filing jointly. As long as both of your accounts show up in your daughter's dashboard (which you confirmed they do), you're all set. One thing that helped ease my anxiety was calling the school's financial aid office directly. They were able to pull up our application and confirm everything looked good on their end. Might be worth doing that if you want extra peace of mind while waiting for the SAI!