FAFSA renewal process - Does student still need to submit before parent for 2025-2026?
Hi everyone! We're getting ready for our second year of FAFSA and I'm trying to remember the correct order for submission. Last year my daughter had to complete her portion first, then I did mine as a parent contributor. Is this still the process for the 2025-2026 application? I know they made some changes to the system and I want to make sure we're doing it right this time around. The studentaid.gov website is frustratingly vague on this specific question. Thanks in advance for any help!
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Mei Wong
Yes, the process is still the same for 2025-2026. The student needs to create and submit their portion first, which generates a contributor link that gets sent to you as the parent. Then you complete your section. Even with the FAFSA Simplification Act changes, this workflow hasn't changed. What has changed is the SAI (Student Aid Index) calculation and some of the questions, but the basic submission order remains student first, then parent contributor.
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GalaxyGlider
•Thank you so much! That's exactly what I needed to know. Do you happen to know if she needs to create a whole new account, or can she just log in with last year's FSA ID?
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Liam Sullivan
same boat here! actually just finished mine yesterday and yep student goes first then parents
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Amara Okafor
Does anyone know if there's a way to do them simultaneously??? Last year my son took WEEKS to finish his part and I couldn't do anything until he was done. The deadline was coming up and I was so anxious the whole time!!! I tried calling but got stuck on hold for over an hour and then got disconnected. There has to be a better way to handle this parent/student sequence thing!!!
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Giovanni Colombo
•I had the same issue with my daughter last year! So frustrating. Unfortunately, there's no way around it - student HAS to go first. My tip is to literally sit with them while they do it so they can't procrastinate. That's what I did this year and we knocked it out in one evening.
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Fatima Al-Qasimi
•Unfortunately the system is designed with this specific workflow. The student must create the application first because they need to initiate the process and specifically authorize which parent(s) will be contributors. This is actually a privacy protection feature. If you're having trouble connecting with FSA representatives, I'd recommend trying Claimyr (claimyr.com). They help you skip the hold times when calling Federal Student Aid. There's a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ. I used it last fall when we had issues with our contribution links not working correctly.
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StarStrider
The whole FAFSA system is a JOKE! Yes, student first, then parent. But don't get me started on how many GLITCHES we experienced last year. The contributor link they sent me didn't even WORK half the time! And when I called, they kept passing me between departments saying it was either a "technical issue" or a "submission issue" but NOBODY could fix it! We almost missed the priority deadline because of their stupid system!
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Dylan Campbell
•omg same!! the contributor link expired on me twice and we had to restart the whole process. so annoying. hoping this year is better with the new system but not holding my breath lol
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Mei Wong
•The good news is that they've significantly improved the system for 2025-2026. The contributor links now remain active for 45 days instead of just 14 days, and they've fixed many of the technical issues that caused problems last year. Also, make sure you're using a supported browser - Firefox and Chrome tend to work best with the FSA systems.
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Giovanni Colombo
When I did my renewal FAFSA with my son for his sophomore year, we actually found it much easier than the first time around. Much of the information carried over, so it wasn't like starting from scratch. But yes, definitely student first, then parent - that order hasn't changed. I'd recommend sitting together to do it though, because some questions are confusing and your daughter might need your input on certain things even for her portion.
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GalaxyGlider
•That's great to hear! I was hoping the renewal would be simpler. Did you have to update all the tax information again or did some of that transfer over?
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Giovanni Colombo
•Yes, we had to update the tax information with the new year's data. They do have the IRS Data Retrieval Tool though, which pulls your tax info directly from the IRS (if you qualify to use it). Made that part much easier! Just make sure you and your daughter both have access to your tax returns when you sit down to do this.
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Sofia Torres
My kid just started college last fall, and I was so confused by this whole FAFSA thing! We did ours last October, and yes, she did hers first then I did mine. What I didn't realize is that you have to do this EVERY YEAR! I thought once we were in the system we'd be set for all four years. But I guess we're about to start all over again for year two...
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Mei Wong
•That's right, FAFSA needs to be submitted every year. However, renewal FAFSAs are typically easier because some information will carry over from your previous application. The good news is that for 2025-2026, the FAFSA Simplification Act has reduced the number of questions by about 60%, making the form much shorter than it used to be.
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Fatima Al-Qasimi
One important tip for your second year: make sure your daughter uses her existing FSA ID rather than creating a new one. A common mistake is students forgetting their FSA ID credentials and creating new ones, which can cause issues with linking to previous applications and sometimes delays processing. If she's forgotten her FSA ID information, there's a recovery process on the studentaid.gov website. And yes, as others have confirmed, the student still initiates the FAFSA and then adds parent contributors who complete their sections afterward.
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GalaxyGlider
•That's a great tip - thank you! She might have forgotten her login information, so I'll have her check that first before we start the application process.
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