FAFSA glitch not recognizing my dependents as a disabled veteran student parent
I'm so frustrated with the new FAFSA system! I'm a disabled veteran, independent student, and a mom of 2 kids. When filling out the 2025-2026 application, I correctly entered my household size as 4 (me, my partner, and my two children), but on the review page before submission it shows "has dependents --- no"! I went back through EVERY single page multiple times and there's literally nowhere it asks specifically about my children. Has anyone else run into this glitch? Should I submit anyway or will this mess up my SAI calculation? My kids are a huge factor in my financial need!
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CyberSiren
Ugh the new FAFSA is such a mess!! I had something similar happen but with my income information. Just kept saying "income reported: $0" even though I entered everything correctly. So annoying.
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Ava Thompson
•Did you end up submitting it anyway? I'm worried about how this will affect my aid eligibility since having dependents makes a big difference.
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Miguel Alvarez
This is definitely one of the known glitches with the FAFSA this year. The system isn't properly identifying dependents in some cases, especially for independent students with children. You should go ahead and submit it, then wait 1-3 business days and submit a correction to fix the dependent status. The good news is that corrections are being processed much faster than initial applications right now.
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Ava Thompson
•Thank you! That's really helpful to know. Do you think this will delay my SAI calculation significantly? My school's priority deadline is coming up.
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Miguel Alvarez
•It might add a week to your processing time, but if you submit the correction promptly, you should still have your SAI calculation before most school priority deadlines. Just make sure to document everything and take screenshots of your correction submission in case you need to prove you addressed it quickly.
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Zainab Yusuf
OMG THE EXACT SAME THING happened to me!!!! I'm also a parent (single mom) and the system completely ignored my 3 kids. I spent HOURS on hold with Federal Student Aid trying to get answers. Did you try clicking on the "household information" section again? Sometimes going back in and just re-saving without changing anything fixes glitches.
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Ava Thompson
•I tried that actually! Went back through every section multiple times, clicking through without making changes, and it still showed the same error. So frustrating. Did you ever get through to someone on the phone?
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Connor O'Reilly
just submit it and fix it later thats what i did lol. the new system is broken but they'll figure it out eventually
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Ava Thompson
•Thanks - seems like that's the consensus. Just hate having incorrect info on my application even temporarily.
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Yara Khoury
I ran into this exact issue as a veteran parent student! I called the FAFSA helpline after trying literally everything to fix it myself. The agent confirmed it's a known system glitch specifically affecting independent students with children. You have to submit it with the error, then wait 1-3 business days until the application is fully processed in their system before you can submit a correction to fix the dependents issue. This glitch is potentially affecting your Student Aid Index calculation, so definitely make that correction as soon as you're able to. When I called, I waited 2+ hours before getting disconnected three times, which was beyond frustrating.
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Ava Thompson
•That's exactly what I ended up doing! The wait times are ridiculous - I got disconnected twice before finally reaching someone. Hoping the correction doesn't delay my aid too much.
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Keisha Taylor
If you're still having trouble reaching someone at Federal Student Aid about this glitch, I highly recommend using Claimyr. It saved me hours of frustration when dealing with a similar FAFSA issue. They connect you directly to a FSA agent without the wait. I watched their demo video (https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ) and gave it a try - had an agent on the line in minutes instead of hours. Their website is claimyr.com if you want to check it out. Helped me resolve my verification issues so much faster.
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StardustSeeker
•is that service legit? sounds too good to be true tbh
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Keisha Taylor
•It's definitely legit. They basically wait on hold for you and call you when they have an agent on the line. Saved me from the endless hold music and disconnects.
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Yara Khoury
UPDATE: Just wanted to follow up - after submitting my correction to add my dependents, my SAI dropped by over $7,500! That's a huge difference that affected my Pell Grant eligibility. So definitely don't skip fixing this glitch once you can submit corrections.
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Ava Thompson
•Wow that's a massive difference! Thanks for sharing the update. I submitted my correction yesterday so hoping to see my updated SAI calculation soon. This makes me feel better about the whole process.
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StardustSeeker
why is fafsa so complicated for parents???! nobody told me i would need a computer science degree to apply for financial aid lmao
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Zainab Yusuf
•FOR REAL!!! And they claimed the new system would be "simplified" 🙄 It's actually MORE confusing than before.
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