FAFSA schools list edit - avoiding application wipeout when swapping colleges?

Deep breath! Editing the school list is actually pretty straightforward when done correctly. To safely edit your daughter's college list: 1. Log into studentaid.gov with her FSA ID 2. Go to the FAFSA form and select "Make FAFSA Corrections" 3. Navigate to the "School Selection" section 4. Remove the unwanted school first 5. Add the new school 6. Re-sign the FAFSA with her FSA ID (and yours as the parent) 7. Submit the changes The key is making sure you're selecting "Make FAFSA Corrections" and not starting a new application. Those horror stories typically happen when people accidentally start a new FAFSA instead of editing the existing one.

OMG this happened to my niece last year and it was a NIGHTMARE!!! She tried changing schools and somehow the whole thing got deleted. Had to redo the entire thing from scratch just days before the deadline. Her SAI score ended up being totally different the second time too which messed up her aid package. Be super careful!!!

I just did this exact change for my son last week with no issues. The process is actually very stable now compared to previous years. One important thing to know: colleges are notified within 3-5 business days of any changes, so your daughter should prioritize which schools she wants to receive her info first. The FAFSA allows up to 10 schools at once, so if you're not at the limit, you could add the new school before removing the other one. If you do hit issues with the online system (rare but possible), take screenshots of any error messages. This helps tremendously if you need to call for support.

wait can u even change the schools after u submit it? i thought once u hit submit thats it game over?? my counselor never mentioned we could add more later

The whole FAFSA school selection process is completely broken. My daughter tried to make a simple school change last month and ended up getting locked out of her account for THREE DAYS. Then when she finally got back in, her SAI score had mysteriously changed even though we didn't update any financial info. Called the Federal Student Aid helpline over and over and never got through to anyone. Just got disconnected after 45+ minutes of waiting EVERY TIME. The entire system needs to be overhauled!!

my brother just did this last week! he said make sure u actually click the SUBMIT button at the very end. he thought he completed the change but didnt actually hit submit and the schools never got updated lol. also took like 5 days for the new school to get his info

Another helpful tip - after making the change and submitting, you should receive a confirmation email within 24 hours. If you don't get this confirmation, log back in and check the status. Also, print or save a PDF copy of the confirmation page showing the updated school list. This serves as proof if there's ever a question about which schools were selected. Most importantly, these changes don't affect the SAI calculation at all, contrary to some misconceptions. Your financial information and SAI remain exactly the same - you're just changing which schools receive that information.

btw does anyone know if colleges can see which other schools ur applying to on fafsa?? my friend said they can see the whole list and will judge u based on it lol

As someone who just went through this process with my daughter last month, I can confirm it's really not as scary as it seems! The key things that helped us were: 1) Making sure we were logged in with her FSA ID (not mine), 2) Going slowly through each step and reading everything carefully, 3) Taking screenshots at each major step just in case, and 4) Double-checking that the new school appeared correctly before hitting the final submit button. The whole process took maybe 15 minutes and we got the confirmation email the next day. Her SAI stayed exactly the same and both schools (the one we removed and the new one we added) were properly notified. Don't let the horror stories psych you out - most changes go smoothly when you follow the correct process!

I just helped my son with this exact same change two weeks ago and it went perfectly! Here's what worked for us: since you're not at the 10-school limit, definitely ADD the new school first before removing the old one. That way if anything glitches (which it shouldn't), you still have all your original schools intact. We logged in through studentaid.gov, clicked "Make FAFSA Corrections," went to School Selection, added the new school, double-checked everything looked right, then removed the unwanted school. The whole thing took about 10 minutes and we got our confirmation email within 6 hours. One thing I'd add to the great advice already given - make sure your daughter's phone number and email are up to date in her FSA profile before making changes. That way if there are any issues, they can reach her directly. You've got this! The system is much more stable than those old horror stories suggest.

I went through this exact situation with my daughter just last month! The anxiety is totally understandable, but I can confirm the process is much smoother than those horror stories make it seem. Here's what worked for us: Since you're not at the 10-school limit, I'd recommend adding the new school FIRST before removing the old one - this gives you a safety buffer in case anything unexpected happens. Make sure you're using the "Make FAFSA Corrections" option (not starting a new application) and go slowly through each step. We took screenshots at every major step just for peace of mind. The actual change took about 10-15 minutes, and we received our confirmation email within a few hours. One additional tip that helped us: before making any changes, we logged into the new school's student portal to make sure they were properly set up to receive FAFSA information. Some schools have specific deadlines or requirements for when they need to receive your FAFSA data. Your daughter's weeks of work are safe as long as you use the correction process properly. The SAI calculation stays exactly the same - you're just changing which schools receive the information. Take a deep breath, you've got this!

I completely understand your anxiety - I was in the same boat just a few months ago when my son needed to swap out a school on his FAFSA! After reading all these helpful responses, I wanted to add one more reassuring voice: the process really has improved significantly from those old horror stories you're reading about. Here's what made me feel more confident going into it: I called the school he was removing ahead of time to let them know we'd be making the change. They confirmed that as long as they hadn't already processed his aid package, the removal wouldn't cause any issues on their end. This extra step probably wasn't necessary, but it gave me peace of mind. Also, since you mentioned your daughter has been working on this for weeks - all that financial information and her responses to the questions are completely safe. The school selection is just the very last step that tells the system where to send her completed information. Think of it like changing the mailing address on an already-written letter. You're being smart by asking questions and planning this out carefully. With all the great step-by-step advice already shared here, you're going to handle this just fine!

I went through this exact same situation with my daughter earlier this year, and I'm so glad you asked for advice before diving in! The anxiety is totally understandable - those horror stories can be really scary to read. Here's what worked perfectly for us: Since you mentioned you're not at the 10-school limit yet, definitely add the new school FIRST before removing the old one. This way, if anything unexpected happens during the process, you still have all your original schools intact. The key steps we followed: 1. Log in with your daughter's FSA ID at studentaid.gov 2. Select "Make FAFSA Corrections" (NOT "Start New Application") 3. Go to School Selection section 4. Add the new school first 5. Double-check it appears correctly 6. Then remove the unwanted school 7. Review everything one final time 8. Submit the changes We took screenshots at each major step just for peace of mind, and the whole process took about 15 minutes. Got our confirmation email within a few hours, and her SAI stayed exactly the same. One extra tip: Make sure your daughter's contact information is current in her FSA profile before making changes, just in case they need to reach her about anything. All those weeks of work are completely safe - you're just changing where the information gets sent, not the information itself. You've got this!

I just want to echo everyone's reassurance here - I helped my nephew with this exact change just two weeks ago and it went completely smoothly! Reading through all these responses, the consensus is clear: the process is much more stable now than those old horror stories suggest. One small addition to all the great advice already shared: after you make the changes and get your confirmation email, I'd recommend logging back in after 24-48 hours just to double-check that everything still looks correct. Not because anything will go wrong, but just for that extra peace of mind. Also, if your daughter is anything like my nephew, she might be worried about "messing something up" - remind her that thousands of students make these kinds of corrections every day without issues. The FAFSA system is designed to handle these changes. You're being so smart by asking for advice first and planning this out carefully. With all the detailed step-by-step guidance from everyone here, you're absolutely going to handle this successfully. Take a deep breath - you've got this!

I just went through this exact process with my son last week, so I completely understand your anxiety! All the advice here is spot-on, but I wanted to add one more reassuring data point. The "horror stories" you're reading about are mostly from several years ago when the system was much less stable. The current FAFSA platform handles corrections really well, and the school list changes are actually one of the most common corrections students make. Here's what gave me confidence: I called the Federal Student Aid helpline first (early morning seems to be the best time to get through) and they walked me through exactly what to expect. The representative told me that school list corrections have a 99%+ success rate when done through the proper "Make FAFSA Corrections" pathway. We followed the same approach everyone's recommending - added the new school first since we weren't at the limit, then removed the old one. The whole thing took maybe 12 minutes, and we got our confirmation within 3 hours. One final tip that helped my peace of mind: before starting, I bookmarked the exact page where we'd make the correction so there was no chance of accidentally clicking on "new application" instead. Your daughter's hard work is completely safe - you're just updating the recipient list, not the application itself. You've got this!