FAFSA keeps looping back to financial page when trying to add a second college - anyone solve this?

I had this exact issue last month! The FAFSA school code update page has a weird bug this year where it keeps looping back if you've already received your SAI calculation. What finally worked for me was logging in during non-peak hours (like 6am) and making sure I didn't navigate away from ANY page until the entire process was complete. Also, when you get to that financial info page that keeps reappearing, don't change anything - just click 'confirm' and keep pushing through. It took me about 4 attempts but it eventually went through without looping.

Omg thank you! I'll try the early morning thing tomorrow. Did you have to re-enter all your financial info again or were you able to just confirm what was already there? This whole system is so frustrating!

THE WHOLE SYSTEM IS GARBAGE!! 🤬 I'm in the same situation trying to add a school and keep getting sent around in circles. Called their support line THREE TIMES and each person gave different instructions. One told me to wait 3 business days, another said I needed to resubmit my whole app, and the third just said

same. its ridiculous how bad their website is. million dollar budget and cant even make a page that works smh

honestly i had this happen too and gave up trying to add online. ended up just calling the financial aid office at the new school and they added themselves to my fafsa somehow? worth asking if they can do it on their end

Wait, schools can add themselves? I had no idea that was even possible. I'll definitely call the financial aid office tomorrow morning. Thanks for the tip!

Financial aid counselor here. This is unfortunately a known bug in the 2025-2026 FAFSA portal that occurs primarily when adding schools after an SAI calculation has been completed. Here's what I recommend:\n\n1. Try accessing the system between 2-5am ET when traffic is lowest\n2. When it loops you back to the financial page, don't change anything - just hit continue\n3. If that fails after 3 attempts, you have two other options:\n - Request the school add themselves using your FSA ID (they'll need your permission)\n - Call FSA directly and request a manual school code addition\n\nAlso, take screenshots of the error loop - this can help if you need to file an appeal for missing priority deadlines due to technical issues.

And you think this is ACCEPTABLE?? We're supposed to wake up at 2am to use a government website that OUR TAX DOLLARS pay for?? Absolutely ridiculous. The financial aid system is DESIGNED to be difficult to keep people from accessing education. 😠

I understand your frustration completely, and no, I don't think it's acceptable. I'm just sharing the workarounds we've found effective while the Department of Education works on fixing these issues. The FAFSA simplification initiative unfortunately introduced new technical problems this year. Always document your attempts when technical issues occur - it helps with appeals.

After having similar issues with FAFSA this year, I stumbled on claimyr.com which got me connected to an actual FSA agent in about 8 minutes instead of the usual hour+ wait. The agent manually added my schools while I was on the phone. They have a video showing how it works at https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ. Way less stressful than fighting with the website for weeks!

Never heard of this service but I'm desperate at this point. Did they need any special information to add the school? I'm worried about missing my priority deadline.

They just needed normal verification stuff - my FSA ID, name, DOB, and the school codes I wanted to add. The agent checked my identity then added the schools while I was on the phone. Got confirmation emails about 20 minutes after the call ended. Definitely worth it to avoid the website loop nightmare!

I think theres someting in ur application thats flagged for verification. My application did the same looping thing, but when I called after waiting forevr the woman said my income info was being verified and thats why it wouldnt let me update anything. But its weird because I never got any emails about verification??? Maybe check if you have any notifs in your message center on the fafsa site?

I just checked my message center and there's nothing about verification. My SAI was already calculated and I received my aid package from my first school, so I don't think that's it. But thanks for the suggestion!

lol welcome to fafsa. been dealing with this stuff for 3 yrs now and it never gets better. new year new problems.

Just following up - were you able to add your school? I found another trick that might help if you're still stuck. If you access the site through the FSA mobile app instead of the website, sometimes it bypasses the loop issue. The app interface is different enough that it doesn't hit the same bug.

Success! I actually used that Claimyr service someone mentioned and got through to an agent who added the school manually. Got confirmation emails this morning that both schools now have my FAFSA. But thank you so much for checking back and for the app tip - I'll remember that for next time (hopefully there won't be a next time with these issues).

So glad to hear you got it resolved! This thread should be pinned or something - the combination of tips here (early morning access, mobile app, schools adding themselves, and that Claimyr service) covers all the workarounds for this annoying bug. Hopefully the Department of Education fixes this loop issue soon, but at least future students dealing with this will have solutions to try. Thanks everyone for sharing what worked!

This is exactly why I tell all my students to submit their FAFSA early and add ALL possible schools from the start, even if they're not sure they'll attend. The "add schools later" feature has been buggy for years, but this year's loop issue is particularly bad. For anyone reading this thread in the future - if you're filling out your FAFSA for the first time, list every school you might possibly consider, even reaches. It's much easier to remove schools later than to add them after processing. The system wasn't designed to handle post-submission modifications gracefully.

As someone who just went through this exact nightmare last year, I can confirm that the FAFSA system's "add schools later" feature is basically broken. I ended up having to submit a completely new application because nothing else worked - not the early morning trick, not the mobile app, nothing. It was incredibly frustrating to lose weeks of time, but at least the new application processed normally. Just wanted to add this as a last resort option if all the other workarounds fail. Also, for future reference, when you do get it working (however you manage it), screenshot EVERYTHING as proof in case there are any issues with your financial aid timeline. Schools are usually understanding about technical delays if you have documentation.

As a new member here, I just wanted to say thank you to everyone who shared their experiences and solutions! I'm currently dealing with this exact same looping issue trying to add my safety school to my FAFSA. Reading through all these responses has been incredibly helpful - I had no idea there were so many different workarounds to try. I'm going to start with the early morning access method that @Simon White suggested, and if that doesn't work, I'll definitely look into having the school add themselves or using that Claimyr service. It's honestly shocking that a government system has this many technical problems, but at least there's a supportive community here sharing real solutions. Will update if I find any other tricks that work!

As someone who works in college admissions, I want to add another potential solution that's worked for several students I've helped this year. If you're still having issues, try accessing FAFSA through your school's student portal if they have a direct link - sometimes these bypass the main FAFSA site's bugs. Also, I've noticed this loop issue seems to happen more frequently on applications that were submitted very early in the cycle (October/November). The Department of Education has acknowledged this is a known issue and they're supposedly working on a fix, but no timeline has been given. In the meantime, all the workarounds mentioned in this thread are solid options. Just want to emphasize what others have said about documentation - keep screenshots and notes about every attempt, including dates and times. This will be crucial if you need to appeal any missed deadlines due to technical issues. The financial aid offices at most schools are very understanding about FAFSA technical problems this year since they're so widespread.

Just wanted to chime in as someone who's been lurking here for a while but finally had to create an account because of this exact issue! I've been battling the same FAFSA looping nightmare for almost 2 weeks now trying to add my backup school. Reading through all these solutions has been a lifesaver - I had no idea there were so many different approaches to try. The fact that this is such a widespread problem with a government system that's supposed to help students access education is honestly infuriating. But I'm so grateful for this community sharing real solutions instead of just the useless "clear your cache" advice you get from official support. I'm going to try the early morning method first thing tomorrow, and if that doesn't work, I'll definitely look into having the school add themselves. The Claimyr service sounds promising too as a backup option. Will report back with results in case it helps anyone else still struggling with this! Thanks to everyone who shared their experiences - you've probably saved my sanity and my financial aid deadline! 🙏

Just joined this community because I'm having the EXACT same issue! I've been stuck in this loop for over a week now trying to add my second choice school. It's honestly mind-boggling that a system this important can be so broken. Reading through everyone's solutions gives me hope though - I had no idea there were so many workarounds to try! I'm definitely going to attempt the early morning access method first since that seems to have the highest success rate based on what I'm seeing here. If that fails, I'll try contacting my school's financial aid office to see if they can add themselves like @Khalil Urso mentioned. The fact that we have to wake up at 2am or use third-party services to access a government website is absolutely ridiculous, but I'm just grateful this community exists to share real solutions. Official FAFSA support has been completely useless - just the same "clear your cookies" nonsense that doesn't work. Thanks to everyone for sharing your experiences and solutions. This thread should honestly be stickied at the top of the forum given how common this issue seems to be!

Just wanted to jump in as another newcomer dealing with this exact nightmare! I've been fighting with the FAFSA loop for 10 days now trying to add my state school as a backup option. It's reassuring (but also depressing) to see I'm not alone in this struggle. What really gets me is that I originally submitted my FAFSA in early November thinking I was being responsible by getting it done early, but now it seems like that might actually be part of the problem based on what @Javier Garcia mentioned about early submissions being more prone to this bug. So frustrating! I'm planning to try the 2am approach tomorrow morning, and I've already reached out to my backup school's financial aid office to see if they can add themselves on their end. Really hoping one of these methods works because my priority deadline is next week and I'm starting to panic. Thank you to everyone who's shared their experiences and solutions here - this community support means so much when you're feeling helpless against a broken government system. Will definitely update with my results to help others who might be dealing with this same issue! 🤞

As someone who just discovered this community while desperately searching for solutions to this exact problem, I can't express how relieved I am to find I'm not alone! I've been stuck in the same FAFSA loop for almost 2 weeks trying to add my safety school, and like so many others here, the official support has been absolutely useless. Reading through all these experiences and solutions has been incredibly eye-opening. I had no idea there were so many different workarounds to try - the early morning access method, having schools add themselves, the mobile app bypass, and even third-party services like Claimyr. It's both helpful and absolutely infuriating that we need to resort to these creative solutions for what should be a basic function of a government website. The insight about early submissions being more prone to this bug really explains a lot since I also submitted mine in October thinking I was being responsible. It's backwards that doing the right thing early creates more technical problems later! I'm going to start with the 2-5am approach tomorrow morning since that seems to have the highest success rate, and I've already contacted my school's financial aid office to see if they can add themselves as a backup plan. My priority deadline is coming up fast, so I really appreciate everyone sharing what actually works instead of the standard "clear your cache" nonsense. Thanks to this amazing community for turning what felt like a hopeless situation into something manageable with real solutions. Will definitely report back with results! 🙏

New member here! I just want to echo what everyone else has said about how invaluable this thread has been. I've been lurking on various forums for weeks trying to find a solution to this exact looping issue, and this is the first place I've found with actual practical advice that works. I'm currently stuck trying to add my second school choice and have been dealing with the same endless financial page loop for about 10 days now. Like many others, I submitted early (late October) thinking I was being smart about deadlines, only to discover that might actually be contributing to the problem! Reading through everyone's experiences, I'm planning to try the early morning method (2-5am) first since that has the highest success rate, and I've already reached out to my target school's financial aid office to see if they can add themselves as Plan B. The Claimyr service also sounds like a solid backup option if needed. It's absolutely ridiculous that we need these workarounds for a basic government website function, but I'm so grateful this community exists to share real solutions. The fact that official FAFSA support keeps giving the same useless "clear cookies" advice while students are missing deadlines is infuriating. Thanks to everyone who took the time to share what worked for them - you're literally saving people's educational opportunities! Will definitely update with my results to keep the knowledge sharing going. 🙏