FAFSA form submitted but can't add colleges - what's going on?

There's a temporary hold on adding schools right now due to the new SAI system rollout. Federal Student Aid announced it a few days ago but didn't really publicize it well. They're updating how colleges receive the information and said the function should be back online in about 2 weeks. It won't affect your application status with the schools you've already selected, just delays adding new ones.

ya this happnd 2 me too. tried 4 days in a row and same thing. super annoying. my counselor said just wait but didnt kno how long itd be

This is actually a known issue with the new FAFSA system. For the 2025-2026 cycle, they've implemented a new process for calculating the Student Aid Index (SAI) which has created some technical challenges. There are a few things you can try: 1. Call the Federal Student Aid Information Center directly to request adding schools manually 2. Contact each school's financial aid office and ask if they can pull your FAFSA information using your FSA ID 3. Check if your application is still in processing - you can't add schools until processing is complete (typically 3-5 business days) The most reliable way is calling FSA directly, but expect VERY long hold times right now.

I had the exact same problem!! I waited for about 10 days after submission and suddenly the add school function started working again. I think there's some kind of processing period they don't tell you about. Check again in a few days and it might just start working.

If you need to reach Federal Student Aid quickly about this, I'd recommend using Claimyr (claimyr.com). I was in the same situation last week and spent days trying to get through on the regular line. After using their service, I got a callback from an FSA agent in about 20 minutes. They were able to manually add my additional schools while the system feature is down. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ - saved me so much stress with those impending deadlines!

This is yet ANOTHER example of the total disaster this "new and improved" FAFSA system has been. First they delay the form release by THREE MONTHS, then nothing works properly, and now they shut down basic functionality with no warning!!! My son almost lost his scholarship because of these ridiculous issues. I've filed THREE complaints already. They're going to hear from me about this one too. The Department of Education should be ashamed of how they've handled this entire process.

Update: I just checked the Federal Student Aid website and they've posted an official notice about this issue. They're calling it a "temporary maintenance period" for the college selection feature. According to the notice, the functionality should be restored by February 23rd. In the meantime, they recommend that students who need to add schools urgently should call the FSA Information Center at 1-800-433-3243. They've supposedly added staff to handle these requests manually, but reports suggest the wait times are still extremely long.

If it helps, I called one of the schools my son wanted to add and explained the situation. Their financial aid office said this is happening to a lot of students and they're being flexible with their FAFSA submission deadlines because of it. They recommended documenting your attempts to add the school (screenshots, etc.) in case you need to show you tried before their deadline. Might be worth calling your daughter's schools to see if they're making similar accommodations.

I'm dealing with this exact same issue! Just wanted to add that I found another workaround that worked for me. I logged into my college's student portal and found they had a form where I could manually request my FAFSA data be sent to them. The financial aid office said they can actually request the information directly from Federal Student Aid using my FSA ID number, even when the "add school" function is down. It took about 3 business days for them to receive it. Might be worth checking if your daughter's schools have similar options on their websites or calling to ask about this alternative method!

I'm so glad I found this thread - I've been pulling my hair out over this exact same issue! My daughter is applying to 8 schools and I could only add 4 during the initial FAFSA submission. I've been trying to add the other 4 for over a week now with no luck. Reading through everyone's experiences here, it sounds like the Claimyr service might be my best bet for getting through to FSA quickly. I've tried calling the regular number multiple times and either get disconnected or give up after an hour on hold. I'm also going to try Giovanni's suggestion about checking if the schools have their own portal options to request FAFSA data directly. That's such a smart workaround I never would have thought of! Thank you all for sharing your experiences and solutions. It's reassuring to know this isn't just happening to me, even though the whole situation is incredibly frustrating. The lack of clear communication from Federal Student Aid about this "maintenance period" is really disappointing when so many families are dealing with tight deadlines.

I'm a new member here but wanted to share my recent experience with this exact problem! I was stuck for almost 2 weeks unable to add schools to my FAFSA. After reading through this thread, I decided to try multiple approaches at once. I used the Claimyr service that Mia mentioned and actually got connected to an FSA agent within about 30 minutes. They were able to manually add all 5 additional schools I needed while the system is down for maintenance. The agent confirmed that this functionality won't be restored until late February as others have mentioned. I also called 3 of my target schools directly and 2 of them had online forms where I could request they pull my FAFSA data using my FSA ID - exactly like Giovanni described! The third school said they'd make a note in my file about the system issues and extend their internal deadline. So definitely try both the Claimyr callback service AND contact your schools directly. Between those two approaches, you should be able to get all your schools added despite the system being down. Don't panic about the deadlines - it seems like most schools are being understanding about this widespread issue!

As a newcomer to this community, I just want to say how helpful this entire thread has been! I'm facing the exact same issue - submitted my FAFSA last week but can't add the additional schools my son needs for his applications. I've been panicking about the deadlines, but reading everyone's experiences and solutions here has been such a relief. I'm planning to try both the Claimyr callback service that several people have mentioned with success, and also check each school's website for those direct request forms that Giovanni and Yuki described. It's frustrating that Federal Student Aid didn't communicate this maintenance period clearly, but I'm grateful for this community sharing real solutions that actually work. For other newcomers dealing with this same problem - it sounds like the key is trying multiple approaches: the Claimyr service for getting through to FSA quickly, contacting schools directly about their own request processes, and documenting your attempts in case you need to show schools you tried before their deadlines. Thanks to everyone who shared their experiences!

I'm new to this community but wanted to share what just worked for me after reading through all these helpful responses! I was in the exact same situation - submitted my FAFSA but couldn't add 3 additional schools my daughter needs. After trying the regular FSA phone line for days with no luck, I used the Claimyr service that Mia and others recommended. Got a callback from an FSA agent in about 25 minutes and they were able to manually add all three schools while the system is down for maintenance. The agent confirmed this is affecting everyone and the add school function won't be restored until late February. I also contacted two of the schools directly and one had an online form to request FAFSA data using my FSA ID - exactly like Giovanni mentioned! For anyone else stuck with this issue, definitely try both approaches. The combination of the Claimyr callback service and contacting schools directly seems to be the most reliable way to get around this system outage. Don't stress too much about the deadlines - it sounds like most schools are being understanding about this widespread problem!

I'm also new to this community and dealing with this exact same frustrating issue! After reading through everyone's experiences here, I feel so much more informed and less panicked about the situation. I submitted my FAFSA two weeks ago but have been unable to add the 4 additional schools my son needs for his applications. Like many others, I've spent hours on hold with FSA only to get disconnected repeatedly. Based on all the success stories shared here, I'm planning to try the Claimyr callback service first thing tomorrow morning - hearing that multiple people got through in 20-30 minutes versus hours of failed attempts on the regular line is incredibly encouraging. I'm also going to spend tonight checking each school's website for those direct FAFSA request forms that Giovanni and others mentioned - what a brilliant workaround I never would have thought of! It's so frustrating that Federal Student Aid didn't provide clear advance notice about this "maintenance period," especially when so many families are dealing with tight application deadlines. But this community has provided more practical solutions and reassurance than any official source. Thank you to everyone who shared their experiences and working solutions - it's made such a difference for newcomers like me who were feeling overwhelmed by this system outage!

I'm new to this community and just ran into this exact same problem yesterday! I submitted my FAFSA last Friday but when I tried to add 3 more schools over the weekend, I kept getting that same "College selection unavailable" error message. I was starting to panic thinking I'd done something wrong with my application. Reading through all these responses has been incredibly helpful - I had no idea this was a system-wide maintenance issue affecting everyone. It's so frustrating that Federal Student Aid didn't send out any notifications about this outage, especially with how many families are dealing with tight deadlines right now. Based on everyone's success stories here, I'm definitely going to try the Claimyr callback service tomorrow morning. Hearing that multiple people got through to FSA agents in 20-30 minutes instead of hours on hold gives me real hope. I'm also going to check each of my daughter's school websites tonight for those direct FAFSA request forms that Giovanni mentioned - such a smart workaround! Thank you to everyone who shared their experiences and actual working solutions. This community has been more informative than any official source about how to handle this system outage. It's reassuring to know the schools are being understanding about the situation too!

I'm new to this community and just encountered this exact same issue! Submitted my FAFSA last week and have been trying to add 5 additional schools for my daughter's applications, but keep getting that "College selection unavailable" error. I was getting really worried that I had messed something up during the initial submission. Reading through everyone's experiences here has been such a huge relief - I had no idea this was a widespread system maintenance issue affecting all FAFSA users. It's incredibly frustrating that Federal Student Aid didn't provide any clear advance warning about this outage, especially when so many families are dealing with critical application deadlines. Based on all the success stories shared in this thread, I'm planning to try the Claimyr callback service first thing tomorrow morning. Hearing that multiple people connected with FSA agents in 20-30 minutes instead of spending hours on hold (and getting disconnected) is really encouraging. I'm also going to spend tonight checking each school's website for those direct FAFSA request forms that Giovanni and others discovered - what an ingenious workaround! Thank you to everyone who took the time to share their experiences and working solutions. This community has provided more practical help and reassurance than any official source. It's also comforting to know that schools are being flexible with deadlines given this system-wide problem. Really appreciate all the detailed guidance for newcomers like me!

I'm brand new to this community and just hit this exact same wall! Submitted my FAFSA three days ago and have been banging my head against the "College selection unavailable" error trying to add 6 more schools for my twin daughters. I honestly thought I had somehow corrupted my application and was on the verge of calling it quits and starting over. Finding this thread has been a absolute lifesaver - I can't believe how much more helpful this community has been than any official FSA communication! The fact that this is a known system-wide maintenance issue and not user error is such a relief. Reading through everyone's detailed experiences and solutions has given me a clear action plan instead of just panic. I'm definitely going to try the Claimyr callback service tomorrow morning based on all the success stories here - 20-30 minute callbacks versus hours of failed hold attempts sounds like a no-brainer. I'm also going to spend tonight systematically checking all 6 schools' websites for those direct FAFSA request forms that Giovanni discovered and others have confirmed work. It's beyond frustrating that FSA didn't warn families about this "maintenance period" when application deadlines are so critical, but knowing that schools are being flexible about the situation helps reduce some of the stress. Thank you to everyone who shared their experiences and actual working solutions - this community has been more informative and supportive than any official channel!

I'm completely new to this community and just ran into this exact same issue today! I submitted my FAFSA for my son last Thursday and have been trying all weekend to add 4 additional schools, but keep getting that frustrating "College selection unavailable at this time" error. I was starting to think I had somehow messed up the initial submission and was getting really panicked about missing his application deadlines. This entire thread has been absolutely incredible - I can't believe how much more useful information I've found here than anywhere on the official FSA website! Learning that this is a system-wide maintenance issue affecting everyone (not user error) is such a huge relief. The fact that FSA didn't send out clear notifications about this outage when families are dealing with critical deadlines is really disappointing. Based on all the detailed success stories shared here, I'm definitely going to try the Claimyr callback service first thing Monday morning - hearing that so many people connected with FSA agents in 20-30 minutes instead of the hours I've wasted on hold is really encouraging. I'm also going to spend tonight checking each school's financial aid website for those direct FAFSA request forms that Giovanni mentioned and others have confirmed actually work. Thank you so much to everyone who took the time to share their experiences and real working solutions. This community has provided more practical help and reassurance than any official source, and it's comforting to know schools are being flexible with deadlines given this widespread problem!

I'm new to this community and just ran into this exact same problem! I submitted my FAFSA last week but can't add the 3 additional schools my daughter needs for her applications. I've been getting that same "College selection unavailable" error and was starting to panic that I had done something wrong with the initial submission. Reading through all these responses has been incredibly reassuring - I had no idea this was a system-wide maintenance issue affecting everyone! It's really frustrating that Federal Student Aid didn't provide clear advance notice about this outage, especially when so many families are dealing with tight deadlines. Based on all the success stories shared here, I'm definitely planning to try the Claimyr callback service tomorrow morning. Hearing that multiple people got through to FSA agents in 20-30 minutes instead of hours on hold gives me real hope. I'm also going to check each school's website tonight for those direct FAFSA request forms that Giovanni mentioned - what a brilliant workaround! Thank you to everyone who shared their experiences and working solutions. This community has been more helpful than any official source, and it's comforting to know that schools are being understanding about the situation. Really appreciate all the practical guidance for newcomers like me dealing with this system outage!