FAFSA mix-up: Submitted 2023-24 form but need 2024-25 for this Fall - must I redo everything?
I'm panicking right now. We spent HOURS completing my son's FAFSA in January, triple-checking every number and document upload. Just got an email from his university financial aid office saying they're waiting on his "2024-2025 FAFSA" for fall enrollment. Looking at our confirmation, I realized we filled out the 2023-2024 form instead of the 2024-2025 one! Do we seriously have to start completely over with a new application? Will any of our information transfer? His orientation is in 3 weeks and I'm worried this will mess up his entire aid package. Has anyone else made this mistake? Should I call FSA directly or work through the university?
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Declan Ramirez
Yes, unfortunately you do need to complete a new FAFSA for 2024-2025. The 2023-2024 FAFSA covers Summer 2023, Fall 2023, and Spring 2024 terms. The 2024-2025 FAFSA is required for Summer 2024, Fall 2024, and Spring 2025 terms. There's no automatic transfer of information between application years, but at least you'll be familiar with the process now. I recommend completing it ASAP as some aid is first-come, first-served.
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A Man D Mortal
•Ugh, that's what I was afraid of. I can't believe we made such a basic mistake. Will this affect his chances of getting enough aid since we're submitting so late? The original deadline was back in February!
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Emma Morales
done the same thing last yr lol dont feel bad. gotta do the new one but most of the tax info is the same just different yr. takes way less time 2nd go round
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A Man D Mortal
•Thanks, that makes me feel slightly better. Did your late submission affect your aid amount?
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Emma Morales
•nah still got full pell grant and loans. school gave me less scholarhsip $ but cant say if it was bcuz of late fafsa or something else
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Katherine Hunter
Financial aid advisor here. You definitely need to complete the 2024-2025 FAFSA as soon as possible. While the information won't transfer automatically, you can reference your 2023-2024 application to make the process faster. A few important things to note: 1) The 2024-2025 FAFSA uses the 2022 tax year information (same as the 2023-2024 application), so your financial data should be mostly identical 2) Contact your university's financial aid office immediately to explain the situation - they may have institutional forms or provisional arrangements while your new FAFSA is processed 3) While priority deadlines have passed, the federal FAFSA submission deadline for the entire 2024-2025 academic year isn't until June 30, 2025, so you are still eligible for federal aid 4) Your SAI (Student Aid Index) calculation should be similar to last year's since you're using the same tax year data Don't panic - this happens more often than you'd think, especially with the FAFSA simplification changes this year.
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A Man D Mortal
•Thank you so much for this detailed response! That's a huge relief that it uses the same tax year. I'll start working on the new application tonight and contact his university tomorrow morning. Really appreciate your help!
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Lucas Parker
This happened to my daughter too! The whole FAFSA system is SO confusing. Why can't they make it clearer which year you're applying for? We ended up having to rush the correct application and almost missed out on her state grant because of the delay.
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Katherine Hunter
•You're right that the year designation can be confusing. The 2024-2025 FAFSA refers to the academic year, not the calendar year you're submitting it in. I always recommend students check with their specific school's financial aid office about deadlines, as they vary significantly by institution and state.
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Donna Cline
Have you tried calling the Federal Student Aid hotline? I spent DAYS trying to get through to fix a similar issue last month. Always busy signals or disconnects after waiting 2+ hours. I finally used a service called Claimyr that got me through to an agent in under 20 minutes. They have a video showing how it works at https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ and their website is claimyr.com. The FSA agent was able to explain exactly what I needed to do and even helped transfer some of my information. Saved me so much stress!
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A Man D Mortal
•I hadn't thought about calling FSA directly, but that's a good idea. Those wait times sound horrific though. I'll check out that service - at this point I'm desperate enough to try anything that might help expedite this process. Thanks for the suggestion!
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Emma Morales
•those wait times r crazy right now cuz everyone having problems with the new fafsa. my cousin was on hold 4 HOURS last week!!
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Harper Collins
THE WHOLE FAFSA SYSTEM IS BROKEN!!!! I filled out BOTH years just to be safe and they STILL messed up my son's financial aid. The college is saying they can't even SEE his FAFSA submission from March!!! Four calls to FSA and nobody can explain where his application went. Now they're saying he might not get housing because financial aid is delayed. THIS IS RIDICULOUS!!!!!
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Kelsey Hawkins
•I had this exact problem - the college couldn't see the FAFSA I submitted. It turned out there was a mismatch between how my student's name was entered on the FAFSA vs. how it was in the college system (middle initial included in one but not the other). Check if there are any discrepancies in the name, SSN, or DOB between the systems. That might be why they can't locate it.
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Kelsey Hawkins
When you go to start the new FAFSA, make sure you're using the official studentaid.gov site. There are a lot of scam sites that try to charge you for filing (remember, the first F in FAFSA stands for "Free"!). Also, if you used the IRS Data Retrieval Tool last time, you should be able to use it again to automatically import the tax information, which saves a ton of time. Good luck!
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A Man D Mortal
•Yes, we definitely used the official site last time and will again. The IRS Data Retrieval Tool was a lifesaver! Glad to hear we can use it again. That should speed things up considerably.
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Declan Ramirez
One important thing to keep in mind: the FAFSA simplification for 2024-2025 means the output is now called the Student Aid Index (SAI) instead of the Expected Family Contribution (EFC). Also, some of the questions and formulas have changed. So even though you're using the same tax information, your results might be somewhat different from last year's application.
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A Man D Mortal
•I hadn't heard about this change! Is the SAI generally higher or lower than the old EFC calculation? We were right on the borderline for need-based aid with the previous formula.
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Declan Ramirez
•It varies case by case. The new SAI calculation eliminated some deductions that were in the old EFC formula, but it also changed how multiple students in college are counted and made adjustments to income protection allowances. In general, families with multiple college students might see less favorable results, while single-student families with moderate incomes might benefit. I'd recommend completing it ASAP so you know where you stand.
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Emma Morales
btw make sure ur kid logs into the studentaid website every few days after u submit. my application got stuck in processing cuz they needed more info but never emailed me about it!!
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A Man D Mortal
•That's a great tip - thank you! I'll make sure he checks regularly. The lack of communication in this process is so frustrating.
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Katherine Hunter
Just to clarify on deadlines - while the federal deadline is June 30, 2025, many states and institutions have much earlier deadlines for their own aid programs. Since you mentioned a February deadline, I'm guessing that was your school's priority deadline. Immediately after submitting the new FAFSA, I strongly recommend following up with the financial aid office directly to explain the situation. They may have institutional funds they can still provide or might be able to consider you for aid programs where deadlines can be extended in special circumstances. Having this conversation sooner rather than later maximizes your options.
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A Man D Mortal
•Thank you - we'll definitely follow up with the financial aid office directly. I'm hoping they'll be understanding since it was an honest mistake. Do you think it would be better to call or go in person if possible?
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