FAFSA system incorrectly classifying my son as independent student - help!
I'm completely confused about my son's FAFSA application for 2024-2025. He's answering NO to all the dependency questions (he's not married, not in military, not an orphan, etc.), but for some reason the system is still classifying him as an independent student! This makes no sense because he's always been considered a dependent in previous years. I've checked, and he's only 20, lives with us during breaks, and we provide over 50% of his support. We've emailed FAFSA support and they just robotically replied 'answer no to the questions' which he's already done multiple times. Has anyone else experienced this glitch? Any idea how to fix it? I'm worried this will mess up his financial aid package if our income isn't included.
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Manny Lark
This happens more than you'd think! The system has been glitchy since they updated it for the 2024-2025 FAFSA. One thing to check - is your son accidentally selecting 'yes' to the question about having dependents of his own? Even selecting one wrong answer can trigger independent status. Otherwise, try completing the application using a different browser - Chrome seems to work better than Safari or Firefox for the new FAFSA.
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Liam Duke
•Thanks for the quick response! I just checked with him and he's definitely answering NO to all dependency questions, including the one about having dependents of his own. He's using Chrome already, but I'll have him try clearing his cache and cookies. Should we just submit it as independent and then try to correct it afterward? I'm worried about missing deadlines.
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Rita Jacobs
had the same issue w/ my daughter last month!!! so frustrating. we had to call them 6 times before someone actually helped us. keep trying different times of day some agents know more than others
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Liam Duke
•Six times?! That's awful. Did you eventually get it fixed? Was it a system error or something else?
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Khalid Howes
This is a known technical issue with the 2024-2025 FAFSA. The specific bug occurs when a student answers the housing questions in a certain order. When your son reaches the question about where he plans to live during the school year (on campus, off campus, with parents), try having him select "with parents" first, then go back and change to the correct answer afterward if needed. This has resolved the independent status glitch for several students I've worked with. If that doesn't work, you'll need to speak directly with an FSA agent who can override the system. Unfortunately, the regular email support team doesn't have authorization to fix dependency status issues.
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Liam Duke
•Thank you so much for this detailed explanation! My son just tried your suggestion about the housing question, but unfortunately it's still showing him as independent. I guess we need to talk to an FSA agent directly. Do you know the best way to reach them? The general number always has hours-long wait times.
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Ben Cooper
I had this exact problem! Your son might accidentally be in "demonstration mode" and not the actual FAFSA. The demo version looks identical but is just for practice. Check the URL and make sure it doesn't have "demo" or "practice" in it. Also double check he's using his FSA ID to login not yours
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Liam Duke
•Hmm, that's a good thought! Just checked and he's definitely in the real application with his own FSA ID. The more I think about it, I'm wondering if it has something to do with his age - he turned 20 recently. But that shouldn't matter since the cutoff is 24, right?
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Naila Gordon
Have you tried calling FSA directly? Email responses from them are basically useless for complex problems. You need to talk to a real person who can look at your specific application. I had to call 7 TIMES before someone actually helped fix my daughter's SAI calculation last month.
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Cynthia Love
•Calling FSA directly is definitely the way to go, but the wait times are absolutely brutal this season with all the FAFSA Simplification Act changes. After getting disconnected multiple times, I finally used Claimyr.com to reach an agent without the wait. They have a service that holds your place in line and calls you when an agent is available. Saved me hours! There's a video that shows how it works: https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ The agent I spoke with was able to see exactly what was causing the dependency status error in real-time and fixed it immediately. Some issues just can't be resolved through email.
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Darren Brooks
FAFSA IS THE WORST!!!! I've been dealing with them for 3 kids and every year is a new nightmare. The whole system is designed to be confusing on purpose I swear. Last year they somehow lost my husband's income info AFTER we submitted everything correctly. Cost us $5000 in grants. MAKE SURE YOU SAVE SCREENSHOTS OF EVERYTHING!!
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Liam Duke
•That's awful! I'll definitely tell my son to save screenshots at every step. Did you ever get that $5000 back? I'm getting really worried about how this might affect his aid package if we can't get it fixed.
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Manny Lark
Based on what you've described, I think you're dealing with the "dependency override glitch" in the new FAFSA. Here's what worked for several students I've advised: 1. Log out completely 2. Use a brand new private/incognito browser window 3. Log back in with the student's FSA ID 4. Start a new FAFSA application (don't continue the existing one) 5. When you reach the dependency questions, answer them in order without skipping around The new system is extremely sensitive to the order in which questions are answered. If that doesn't resolve it, your son's school's financial aid office can process a dependency override correction after submission.
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Liam Duke
•This is incredibly helpful, thank you! We'll try the steps you outlined tonight. If we still can't get it fixed, I'll contact his school's financial aid office. I appreciate your expertise - this whole process is so much more complicated than when I went to college!
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Rita Jacobs
my nephew had this EXACT problem!!! turns out he was putting his birthday wrong hahaha. he was putting 2002 instead of 2003 which made him 21 and living alone which triggered some automatic independence thing. double check all the basics!
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Liam Duke
•Oh wow, that would be a simple fix! I just texted my son to verify his birth date on the application - waiting to hear back. These systems are so sensitive to little errors. Thanks for the suggestion!
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Khalid Howes
Just to follow up - did any of the suggestions work? Were you able to get your son's dependency status corrected on the FAFSA? If you're still having trouble, another option is to complete and submit the FAFSA as is (even with the incorrect independent status), then immediately submit a correction. Sometimes the correction process works more reliably than the initial application for resolving dependency issues.
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Liam Duke
•Update: We tried everything suggested here but still no luck fixing it before submission. We ended up submitting it as independent (to meet his school's priority deadline) and immediately filed a correction request. The correction is still processing, but his school's financial aid office told us they're seeing this issue with lots of students and have a process to handle it on their end if the correction doesn't go through. Thank you all so much for your help - this community is amazing!
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Abigail Patel
I'm dealing with a similar issue right now with my daughter's FAFSA! It's so frustrating how buggy the new system is. One thing that helped us was making sure she was logged in with her own FSA ID (not mine) and completely clearing all browser data before starting fresh. Also, I noticed you mentioned your son is 20 - just double-check that his birth year is entered correctly on the application. Even a small typo there can trigger the system to classify him as independent. The dependency questions are super sensitive this year. If all else fails, your son's financial aid office should be able to help sort this out even after submission. Hang in there!
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Jeremiah Brown
•Thank you for sharing your experience! It's reassuring to know we're not alone in dealing with this issue. We actually went through all those troubleshooting steps and even verified the birth year was correct, but still couldn't get it resolved before the deadline. We ended up submitting as independent and filing a correction, which is still processing. It sounds like you're on the right track though - definitely try the fresh browser approach first since that seems to work for some people. Hope you get yours sorted out more easily than we did!
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