FAFSA for multiple kids in college - do I submit separate forms for each child?

You fill out ONE FAFSA form but you list BOTH kids on it! There's a section where you add all your dependents who will be in college. Each student will need their own FSA ID though, and they'll each need to sign the application electronically. The system then sends the info to both colleges. Much easier than doing it twice!

There's some confusion here I want to clarify. For the 2025-2026 FAFSA, you actually fill out ONE base application with your financial information, but each student needs to complete their own "student" section. They'll use your information but complete their portions separately with their own FSA IDs. The days of listing multiple students on one form ended with the FAFSA Simplification Act changes.

Sorry for the confusion! Let me explain more clearly: You (the parent) provide your financial information ONCE through your FSA ID. Then each student accesses the FAFSA separately with their own FSA ID, and your financial data automatically transfers to their application. So technically it's separate submissions, but you only enter your financial information once. The system links everything through your FSA ID.

The system did change for 2025-2026. With the FAFSA Simplification, each student must initiate their own application. As the parent contributor, you'll get an email notification when each child lists you, then you log in ONCE with your FSA ID to provide your financial info, which automatically transfers to all your students who've listed you. It's more streamlined but different from previous years. Each student will receive their own individual SAI calculation.

You don't need to complete everything at the same time. Each student can start their application whenever works for them. Once they list you as a contributor, you'll get notified and can log in to provide your information at your convenience. Just remember that no applications are fully processed until all parties (students and contributors) have completed their sections. Also important: having multiple students in college may significantly improve your SAI and increase aid eligibility, so make sure both applications are completed accurately.

omg i spent 2 HOURS on the phone trying to figure this out with fafsa last year. kept getting disconnected every time i finally got thru the queue. so frustrating!!!

Thanks everyone for the advice! I'll have both kids create their FSA IDs (my daughter already has one) and start their applications separately. Then I'll complete my part once. And I'll bookmark that Claimyr site in case we run into issues. Really appreciate all the help - this actually sounds easier than I feared!

When my 3rd kid started college i actually got a call from the financial aid office at her school asking me to submit the FAFSA again because they thought i made a mistake saying i had 3 in college at once lol. they couldn't believe anyone could afford that many tuitions! make sure u double check the "number in college" field is correct because that REALLY affects your aid calculation.

As a fellow parent navigating this for the first time, I just wanted to say thank you all for this thread! I have twins starting college next fall and was completely overwhelmed thinking I'd have to do everything twice. The new FAFSA system sounds much more reasonable than I expected. One question though - when you say each student needs their own FSA ID, can they create those now or do we need to wait closer to when we actually fill out the FAFSA? I'm trying to get as much prep work done early as possible!

This thread has been so helpful! I'm in a similar situation with two kids starting college this fall. One thing I want to add - make sure you keep track of which schools each kid is sending their FAFSA to. My friend made the mistake of having both her kids accidentally send their applications to the same schools instead of their respective ones. Also, if your kids are applying to any of the same schools, the financial aid offices there will see both applications and factor in that you have multiple students when calculating aid packages. It's actually worked out better for us financially than having just one in college - the EFC gets split between them!

As someone who just went through this process with my two kids last year, I wanted to jump in and confirm what others have said - the new FAFSA system really is more streamlined once you understand how it works! Each of my kids started their own applications, I got email notifications to provide my financial info (which I only had to do once), and then their information automatically populated to both of their forms. The hardest part was honestly just getting both kids to sit down and create their FSA IDs and start their applications - typical teenagers procrastinating! But once we got rolling, it was much smoother than the old system. Pro tip: set calendar reminders for FAFSA deadlines for EACH kid because they might have different school deadlines even though they're using the same parent financial information. Good luck to all the multiple-college-kid families out there - we're all in this together!

Just wanted to jump in here as someone who's been through this exact situation! I have twin daughters who both started college this past fall, and I was just as confused about the FAFSA process initially. The advice everyone's given here is spot-on - each student does start their own application with their FSA ID, then you as the parent get notified to provide your financial information once. What really helped me was sitting down with both girls at the same time to walk through creating their FSA IDs and starting their applications together. That way I could make sure they both understood the process and had everything they needed. Also, don't forget to check if your state has its own financial aid deadlines that might be different from the federal FAFSA deadline - some states have earlier cutoffs for their grant programs. The silver lining is that having two in college simultaneously really does help with aid eligibility since your Expected Family Contribution gets divided. Hang in there - you've got this!

Just wanted to add my experience from last year when I had two kids applying! One thing that really helped us was creating a shared family calendar with all the important FAFSA dates marked out - not just the federal deadline, but each school's priority deadlines for both kids. We also made sure to take screenshots of every confirmation page because there were some technical glitches early in the process where applications seemed to disappear temporarily. The customer service wait times can be brutal, so having those screenshots saved us from having to re-enter everything. Also, if you're like me and tend to procrastinate, start the FSA ID creation process now - it took longer than expected for both my kids' identities to be verified, and you can't submit anything until that's complete. The good news is that once you get through the initial learning curve, having multiple kids in college really does help with aid eligibility!