FAFSA parent account won't let me complete my section - stuck with college junior daughter

This is happening to everyone! The new FAFSA is a DISASTER. My son's college financial aid office told us they've had hundreds of parents with the same issue. They said to try using Edge browser instead of Chrome, that worked for some people.

I experienced this exact problem last month. It turned out that my contributor role wasn't properly linked to my daughter's FAFSA. Here's what fixed it for me: 1. Ask your daughter to log into her studentaid.gov account 2. Have her go to the FAFSA form and check the "Contributors" section 3. If your name isn't there or shows as "pending," she needs to re-invite you 4. After she sends a new invitation, you'll need to accept it through the email link 5. Important: After accepting, you must WAIT 24-48 hours before trying to access your contributor section The system doesn't tell you this, but there's a processing delay between accepting the contributor invitation and when you can actually access the form. This is different from previous years.

The same thing happened with my nephew's application! So frustrating. Have you tried logging out completely, clearing your cookies/cache, and trying again? Sometimes the system gets stuck in a weird state. Also make sure your FSA ID isn't locked - that happened to me and I didn't even realize it.

After struggling with the parent contribution section for my son's FAFSA (sophomore this fall), I finally got through to FSA by using Claimyr (claimyr.com). They got me through to an actual person at FSA in about 20 minutes instead of waiting for hours. The agent told me my account had a verification flag that was preventing me from accessing the parent section, but she fixed it right away. You can see how it works in their video: https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ - totally worth it to get this resolved quickly instead of stressing about missing deadlines.

somtimes the problem is just ur using the wrong email adress or phone # when u login. i kept getting errors bc i forgot which email i used for my fsa id. check with ur daughter to make sure shes putting ur correct contact info when she adds u as contributer.

I work in a college financial aid office, and we're seeing this issue frequently with the new FAFSA. There are a few potential causes: 1. Contributor invitation issues: Sometimes the student needs to delete you as a contributor and re-add you with exactly the same information that's on your FSA ID. 2. SSN/DOB mismatch: The information on your FSA ID must EXACTLY match what your daughter entered when inviting you. Even a single digit off will cause errors. 3. Technical glitch: There's a known issue with the contributor function that affects parents with children at multiple colleges or who previously submitted FAFSAs for other children. 4. Browser compatibility: Try using the site in incognito/private browsing mode to eliminate extension conflicts. If none of these work, you'll need to contact FSA directly. Unfortunately, wait times are extremely long right now. Your daughter should also contact her school's financial aid office - many schools are extending priority deadlines due to the widespread FAFSA issues.

After using Claimyr (from the suggestion above), I was able to get through to FSA in about 15 minutes! The agent confirmed my account had a verification flag due to my previous FAFSAs for my older son. She removed the flag and had me wait 2 hours before trying again. I'm happy to report I can now access and complete the parent section! Thank you everyone for your help!

This happened to me too but it was because I wasn't using EXACTLY the same email and phone number that I used for my FSA ID when my daughter invited me. Also make sure your daughter submitted her part first before trying to do yours. The system is super picky about the order of operations.

Just checking back - were you able to get this resolved? My sister is now having the same issue with her son's FAFSA and I'd like to help her too!

I'm dealing with a very similar issue right now with my daughter's FAFSA! After reading through all these responses, it sounds like there are multiple potential causes. Based on what everyone's shared, here's what I'm planning to try in order: 1. First, I'll have my daughter check if I'm properly listed as a contributor in her account and re-invite me if needed 2. Double-check that all my personal info (SSN, DOB, email, phone) exactly matches what's on my FSA ID 3. Try the Claimyr service that a few people mentioned to get through to FSA faster 4. When I call, I'll specifically mention that I previously completed FAFSAs for my older child (graduated 2 years ago) since that seems to be a common cause of verification flags It's so frustrating that the new system has all these issues, but at least it's reassuring to know we're not alone in this! Thanks to everyone who shared their solutions - this thread is incredibly helpful for parents navigating this mess.

I'm having this EXACT same issue right now! My daughter is also going to be a junior and I keep getting stuck at the same place - I can log into my FSA account fine, but when I try to access the parent contributor section, it just loops me back to the dashboard with that same vague error message. Reading through all these responses has been so helpful though! It sounds like the most common fix is calling FSA directly to have them remove verification flags, especially if you've done FAFSAs before for other kids (which I have - my son graduated 3 years ago). I'm definitely going to try the Claimyr service that several people mentioned to actually get through to a human. Has anyone had success with any of the other workarounds, or does it really seem like most people need FSA to fix it on their end?

I'm a new parent going through this process for the first time with my daughter (she'll be a freshman this fall), and reading through this thread has been both terrifying and incredibly helpful! It sounds like the new FAFSA system is a complete disaster. I haven't run into this specific issue yet since we just started the process, but now I'm worried we will. A few questions based on what I've read here: 1. For those who had to call FSA - about how long did the actual fix take once you got through to someone? 2. Should I be proactive and contact my daughter's college financial aid office now to let them know about potential FAFSA delays, even if we haven't hit problems yet? 3. Is there anything I can do differently from the start to avoid these verification flag issues that seem so common? This is so stressful - I had no idea the financial aid process would be this complicated! Thank you to everyone who shared their experiences and solutions.

As a first-time FAFSA parent, this thread has been incredibly eye-opening about what to expect! My son will be starting college this fall, and we're just beginning the FAFSA process. Based on everything I've read here, it sounds like the key things to watch out for are: 1. Making sure all personal information matches EXACTLY between what my son enters and what's on my FSA ID 2. Being prepared for potential technical glitches that might require calling FSA directly 3. Having a backup plan like Claimyr to actually get through to customer service 4. Contacting the college financial aid office early if we run into issues It's honestly shocking how many problems people are having with what should be a straightforward process. The old system might have had its issues, but at least it was stable! I really appreciate everyone sharing their experiences and solutions here - it's going to save me a lot of stress knowing what to look out for and having a game plan if we hit similar roadblocks. Hopefully the Department of Education gets these technical issues sorted out soon, but in the meantime, threads like this are a lifesaver for confused parents like me!