FAFSA mistake: husband marked as student instead of parent - stuck in correction limbo for 20+ days

OMG same thing happened to us!!! my husband did exact same thing and checked himself as student on my sons fafsa!! took us 6 WEEKS to get it fixed. the phone people are useless, half of them dont even kno what theyre talking about. we finally got it fixed when we went IN PERSON to my son's college financial aid office and they had some special contact person who fixed it in 2 days. try that!!

This is unfortunately a common mistake on the redesigned FAFSA form. The parent/contributor section isn't clearly labeled. What's concerning is that they told you it's been processed with the error still in place. This could significantly impact your daughter's SAI calculation, as the system would be using your husband's income as if he were both the student and contributor. A few recommendations: 1. Document every phone call with date, time, and representative name 2. Ask specifically for a Case ID number for tracking 3. Request to speak with a supervisor immediately when calling 4. Submit a formal correction request through studentaid.gov AND through the college financial aid office The timeline they're giving you is unfortunately typical during peak FAFSA season, but you should emphasize the urgency given your daughter's college deadline.

just wondering... has ur husband tried calling really early in the morning? like right when they open? I found thats the only time u can get through to the actual competent people not the call center kids who dont know anything

I went through something similar with my daughter's FAFSA last year. After weeks of frustration with the regular helpline, I discovered Claimyr (claimyr.com) which helped me actually reach a real FSA agent without the endless hold times. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ Once I got through to an actual agent (not the first-level support), they were able to escalate my case properly and get it resolved within a week. Make sure to specifically ask for a supervisor or someone in the corrections department when you get through. Regular agents don't have the authority to make these types of changes directly.

Not to make things worse but your REALLY need to get this fixed asap. When my nephew had something similar happen, he ended up getting ZERO financial aid because the system thought his dad was both the student and the parent which made the SAI calculation completely wrong. The schools financial aid office couldn't override it either since they have to use whatever the FAFSA system says!!

The entire FAFSA redesign has been a disaster this year. People are experiencing all sorts of issues with the new system. I work in college admissions and we're seeing unprecedented delays and errors. Here's my advice: While you're waiting for the correction, contact each college's financial aid office directly. Explain the situation, provide them with documentation of your attempts to fix it, and ask if they can make a note in your daughter's file. Many schools are being flexible this year because of the widespread FAFSA problems. Also, check if any of your daughter's schools have institutional forms they can use as an alternative while this gets sorted out. Some colleges have emergency processes in place specifically because of the FAFSA redesign issues.

i HATE the new fafsa!!! so many problems!!! my sons SAI came back as $44,000 when we make like $65k a year total HOW does that even work???? the whole system is broken!!!!!

have you tried the online correction form? you can submit corrections directly through the studentaid.gov website without calling. might be faster.

Update from my earlier comment - I just checked and if your daughter's schools have later priority deadlines, you might still be okay. Many schools have pushed back their priority deadlines because of the FAFSA delays this year. Also, ask about any institutional scholarships that don't rely on FAFSA data as a backup plan.

Great news! Just checked with my colleagues, and most schools are now extending financial aid deadlines through at least April 15th for the 2025-2026 academic year because of the systemic FAFSA issues. Have your daughter email each school's financial aid office with her full name, student ID (if she has one), and date of birth to confirm their specific extended deadlines.

I'm so sorry you're going through this nightmare! As someone who's been helping families navigate FAFSA issues for years, I can tell you that the "student vs parent" mix-up is unfortunately one of the most complicated errors to fix because it fundamentally changes how the system calculates aid eligibility. Here's what I'd recommend doing immediately: 1. When you call tomorrow, ask to be transferred directly to the "FAFSA Corrections Department" - don't let them keep you in general customer service 2. Use the phrase "systematic error requiring manual intervention" - this often gets you to a higher level agent 3. If they say it's processed with the error, demand they put a HOLD on the application until it's corrected Also, many people don't know this but you can actually file a complaint with the Federal Student Aid Ombudsman if regular channels aren't working. They have more authority to expedite corrections: https://studentaid.gov/feedback-ombudsman The good news is that with all the extended deadlines this year, you likely have more time than you think. Just make sure to keep documenting everything and don't give up - I've seen cases like this resolved in as little as 3-5 days once you get to the right person.