FAFSA parent contribution issue - one parent got email but the other didn't?

same thing happened with my parents. ended up being that my dad's email had the FAFSA invite in his spam folder. tell your dad to check there

Sometimes the system glitches and only sends one contributor invitation. Have your dad try logging into studentaid.gov directly with his FSA ID. If he doesn't have one yet, he can create one and then check if your application appears in his dashboard. The system sometimes connects contributors even without the email invitation.

This is a common issue with the new FAFSA system. For married parents, you need to ensure both are listed as contributors in your original application. If you didn't add both initially, you'll need to go back to your application and edit the contributor section. Here's what to do: 1. Log into your studentaid.gov account 2. Go to your FAFSA application 3. Navigate to the "Contributors" section 4. Verify both parents are listed with correct email addresses 5. Use the "Invite Contributor" button to manually send another invitation 6. The system will generate a new email to the missing parent If the email still doesn't arrive within 24 hours, there might be an issue with how the parent's information was entered. Double-check the email address for typos.

this whole new fafsa system is GARBAGE!!!! i had the EXACT same problem with my parents except NEITHER of them got emails for 2 weeks!!! then suddenly they both got emails on the same day but by then we missed the priority deadline for state grants. thanks for nothing, department of education!! 🤬

After trying to help my daughter with this exact issue for days, I finally got through to an actual FSA agent who helped resolve it. If you've already double-checked the email and tried manually resending invitations, you might need to speak with someone directly. I used a service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that got me connected to a real person at Federal Student Aid in about 20 minutes instead of waiting on hold for hours or getting disconnected. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ The agent told me there's actually a bug in the system where sometimes contributor invitations don't generate properly for the second parent. They had to manually trigger the invitation from their end.

wait isnt this only a problem if your parents file taxes separately? if they file jointly why do they both need accounts? my mom did the whole thing for both her and my dad last year

Have you tried using the "Check Status" feature on studentaid.gov? Sometimes it will show if there are pending contributor invitations even if the emails didn't arrive. Also, make sure your dad checks ALL email folders including Updates, Promotions, etc. My husband's invitation was buried in a folder we didn't even know existed!

Just to add some positivity - we had the exact same issue with my husband not getting the contributor email. Turned out I had entered his old work email that he rarely checks. Once I updated the email in my FAFSA and resent the invitation, he got it right away and completed his section in about 10 minutes. The system processed our application within 5 days after that and we got our SAI score. Don't panic yet!

I'm dealing with a similar situation right now! My mom got her contributor email immediately but my stepdad has been waiting over a week. After reading through all these responses, I'm realizing there might be multiple issues at play. For anyone else struggling with this: 1. Check for typos in the email address (like Lara found with the .con vs .com issue) 2. Have the missing parent create an FSA ID anyway and check their dashboard 3. Use the "Invite Contributor" button to manually resend 4. Check the application status to confirm both parents are actually listed as contributors The new FAFSA system definitely has some bugs, but it seems like most people eventually get it resolved. Fingers crossed for all of us dealing with this stress! The timing pressure with scholarship deadlines makes it so much worse.