FAFSA finally processed after weeks of contributor invite issues - success story

congrats!! same thing happened with my moms invite but it took us over a month to figure out what was wrong lol

This is a pretty common issue with the new FAFSA unfortunately. The system doesn't always notify contributors properly. For anyone facing this issue, I recommend having the student log into their FAFSA account and check if the contributor section shows 'invite sent' or 'completed'. If it shows 'invite sent' for more than 48 hours, they should delete that contributor and send a new invite. Also make sure to check spam folders for the invitation emails.

Thank goodness it finally went through for you! I'm currently in a similar situation with my son's FAFSA. He sent me an invite last week but I haven't received anything in my email. I've been checking my studentaid.gov account multiple times a day but nothing shows up there either. Did your daughter have to resend the invite or did it just appear on its own? I'm getting really anxious because his school's priority deadline is next Friday and I don't know what else to do. Should I have him delete me as a contributor and try again??

So glad you got it processed in time! We had a similar issue but in our case, my husband never received his invitation even after multiple resends. We finally had to use the FAFSA correction function after submission to add his information later. Just for anyone reading this who's close to their deadline - you can submit with just one parent/contributor and then add the second one later through the correction process if necessary. It's not ideal but it works in an emergency!

For anyone still struggling with missing contributor invites, here's a comprehensive troubleshooting checklist: 1. Have the student check their FAFSA to confirm the correct email was used for the contributor invite 2. Check all spam/junk folders for the invitation email 3. Try logging directly into studentaid.gov (not through an email link) to check for notifications 4. Have the student delete and re-add the contributor using a different email if possible 5. If the contributor has an FSA ID already, make sure it's linked to the same email used for the invitation 6. Verify the contributor's name and birthdate match exactly what's on their FSA ID account 7. If approaching a deadline, submit with one contributor and use the correction function later The 2025-2026 FAFSA has been particularly problematic with the contributor invitation system.

Coming from someone who works in financial aid - the contributor system is the number one issue we're seeing with the 2025-2026 FAFSA. The system is overwhelmed and these glitches are happening to thousands of families. If you're approaching a school's priority deadline, have the student contact that school's financial aid office directly to explain the situation. Most schools are being flexible with deadlines this year because of these widespread system issues. Don't panic if you're in this situation!

This is exactly what I needed to hear! I'm a new parent going through this process for the first time and I was starting to think I was doing something wrong. My daughter sent me the contributor invite over a week ago and I've been checking my email obsessively with nothing showing up. I'll start checking my studentaid.gov account directly like you suggested. It's so frustrating that such an important system has these kinds of glitches - you'd think they would have worked out the bugs by now. Thanks for sharing your experience and congrats on getting it processed!