FAFSA lists wrong person's info - how to update parent/child demographics?

SAME THING happened to me last month!! The whole fafsa system is so broken this year with all the changes. I ended up having to delete everything and start over with new IDs for both me and my son. Wasted like 4 hours of my life I'll never get back 🙄

This is actually a common issue with the new FAFSA system. What happened is you likely created a student FSA ID for yourself instead of a parent FSA ID. The system doesn't always make the distinction clear. You do NOT need to start completely over, but you will need to: 1. Log out completely 2. Go to studentaid.gov and select "Create Account" 3. This time, make sure you select that you are a parent helping a student 4. Complete YOUR information as the parent 5. Then have your daughter create her own student FSA ID 6. When you start the FAFSA, use your daughter's FSA ID to begin the application, then you'll contribute your part when prompted The system will then correctly place your information in the parent section and her information in the student section.

i had this issue and called fafsa and was on hold for 2.5 hours before getting disconnected. tried again next day, another 1.5 hours on hold before someone picked up who couldn't even help me. ended up figuring it out myself by watching youtube tutorials. basically you need to create separate fsa ids for each person - one for you (parent) and one for your daughter (student

Check under the profile settings once you're logged in. There should be a section called "My Information" where you can update the role (student vs. parent). I think this year's FAFSA is super confusing on this part because they changed how parents and students access the form.

After fighting with the FAFSA phone system for days trying to fix a similar issue, I discovered Claimyr (claimyr.com) which got me connected to an actual human at Federal Student Aid in about 15 minutes. Their service basically jumps you ahead in the phone queue. You can see how it works in their video demo: https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ. The agent I spoke with was able to help me reset everything properly so the right info showed up in the right places. Saved me so much frustration!

Financial aid advisor here - This is a common issue this year with the redesigned FAFSA. Here's the official solution: 1. You need separate FSA IDs for you and your daughter - each linked to your respective SSNs 2. Your daughter must create her FSA ID first as she is the student applicant 3. You create a parent FSA ID separately (select "I am a parent" during setup) 4. Your daughter starts the FAFSA application using her FSA ID 5. She'll add you as a contributor, and you'll get an email to complete your section Do NOT try to repurpose the existing FSA ID or edit the information manually - this will cause verification problems later. The system tracks the role assigned during ID creation. Creating new, properly designated IDs is the only correct approach.

The system won't allow you to create multiple FSA IDs with the same SSN. You'll need to contact Federal Student Aid to have them deactivate your incorrectly created FSA ID before you can create a new one with the correct role. This is for security reasons. Call 1-800-433-3243, but be prepared for potentially long wait times.

my son and i had to do the fafsa thing 3 times before it worked right lol. the new system is so confusing compared to last year!! but we finally got it working when we both made separate accounts. good luck!!!

UPDATE: I called the Federal Student Aid number this morning using that Claimyr service someone mentioned (which actually worked!). The agent confirmed I need to have my incorrect FSA ID deactivated before creating a new parent one. She took care of it on the spot and said I can create the new parent ID tomorrow (there's a 24-hour waiting period). Then my daughter needs to create her own student ID, and she'll start the application and add me as a contributor. Thanks everyone for the help - would have been completely lost without your advice!