FAFSA form submitted without parent info - system error when trying to edit
I'm seriously about to lose my mind with the FAFSA website! I was helping my son fill out his application and somehow when I clicked what I thought was a 'save progress' button, it SUBMITTED the entire application without ANY of my parental information! Now every time I try to go back in to add my info, I just get this stupid 'System Error - please log out and try again' message. I've logged out, cleared cache, tried different browsers, even waited overnight - same error message every single time! Has anyone else dealt with this? How can they expect students to get financial aid when their website is this broken? My son's college priority deadline is in 3 weeks and I'm panicking!
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Yara Sabbagh
omg same thing happened to my daughter last week!! so frustrating. have u tried calling them? i spent 4 hrs on hold yesterday and never got thru
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Connor O'Brien
•I tried calling twice today and got disconnected both times after waiting more than an hour! Did you ever get through to anyone?
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Keisha Johnson
This is a common issue with the 2025-2026 FAFSA. When you get the system error, you need to try accessing the form at exactly midnight Eastern Time - the servers have less traffic then and often allow edits to go through. Also, make sure you're using the "Correct FAFSA Form" option rather than trying to create a new application. If that doesn't work, you can request a manual correction by submitting Form FSA-C19 available on studentaid.gov/forms. It's not ideal, but it will eventually get your parental information added to your son's application.
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Connor O'Brien
•Thank you for this! I'll try the midnight trick tonight. I looked for the FSA-C19 form but couldn't find it on the website. Is there a direct link? Also, do colleges see that the application was submitted incomplete while we're trying to fix it?
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Keisha Johnson
•Sorry about that - the correct form is actually the FAFSA Correction Request (FCR). You can find it under the Forms section after logging in. And yes, colleges will see the application was submitted, but they'll also see it's incomplete since the SAI calculation can't be completed without parent information. I recommend contacting your son's schools to explain the situation.
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Paolo Rizzo
hv u tried using a difrent device? my sons fafsa kept giving me error on laptop but worked fine on my phone for some reason
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Connor O'Brien
•I haven't tried my phone yet! That's actually a great idea - will try that right now. Thank you!
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QuantumQuest
I worked in financial aid for 6 years before retiring, and this has been a recurring problem since they updated the system. The best approach is to contact the Federal Student Aid Information Center directly. Unfortunately, their phone lines are chronically understaffed, so expect long waits or disconnections. I recommend using Claimyr (claimyr.com) to get through to an agent much faster. They basically hold your place in line and call you when an agent is available. I've recommended it to several families this year who had similar FAFSA submission errors. You can see how it works here: https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ Once you reach someone, specifically ask for a "FAFSA correction override" for a "premature submission error." They have a protocol for this exact situation.
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Connor O'Brien
•Thank you so much for this specific information! I'll check out Claimyr right now because I'm desperate to get this fixed. Do you know if this type of correction typically takes a long time to process once I reach someone?
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QuantumQuest
•Once you get an agent to process the override, you should be able to edit the FAFSA within 1-3 business days. Make sure you get a confirmation number from them. Also, email your son's financial aid offices to document that you're addressing the issue - most schools will be understanding as long as you're proactive about fixing it.
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Amina Sy
The FAFSA system is completely BROKEN this year!!! I'm a single mom trying to help my twins with college apps and BOTH of their FAFSAs got submitted without my information! When I called, they said over 15,000 people have reported this same exact problem but they have NO TIMELINE for fixing it!! This is affecting people's FUTURES and they don't care!!! I ended up having to go IN PERSON to my kids' school financial aid office to get help because nothing else worked. If you have that option, DO IT.
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Oliver Fischer
•Did going to the financial aid office actually help? My daughter's college is 3 hours away so that would be a serious trip, but I'm desperate at this point. What were they able to do that we can't do ourselves?
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Amina Sy
•The financial aid officer couldn't fix the FAFSA directly but they helped us fill out a special circumstance form that they said would allow them to process her aid package even with the FAFSA issues. They also documented everything in her file so she won't miss priority deadlines. Worth the drive in my opinion!
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Natasha Petrova
have u tried logging in with ur kids info instead of urs? my nephew had this problem and for some reason when HE logged in (not his mom) he could edit everything fine even tho it was submitted. worth a try maybe?
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Connor O'Brien
•That's interesting! I've only been trying with my parent account. I'll ask my son to try logging in with his account tonight to see if he can access the edit options. Thanks for the suggestion!
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Connor O'Brien
UPDATE: So I tried multiple things based on everyone's suggestions. The midnight trick didn't work, neither did using my phone. HOWEVER - having my son log in with his own account DID show different options! He could see a button for "Correct or Update FAFSA" that wasn't visible in my parent view. Still got an error when trying to save changes though. I ended up using Claimyr like someone suggested, and got through to an agent in about 20 minutes instead of waiting for hours. The agent confirmed this is a known issue affecting "thousands of applications" and put in an override request. They said we should be able to edit the FAFSA in 2-3 business days. I've also emailed all the financial aid offices to let them know what's happening. Thank you everyone for all the help! This has been so stressful.
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