FAFSA teaching certification question disappeared - how to answer it for education major?

Yes! That question is actually really important because it determines eligibility for the TEACH Grant program. If he's pursuing teaching certification, answering yes could qualify him for up to $4,000 per year. Try going back to the student information section and look for a page titled \

Thank you! We looked in the Additional Information section but couldn't find it. Very frustrating that it showed up briefly and disappeared. I'm worried about submitting without answering it correctly. Would calling FSA help, or are they impossible to reach these days?

That question specifically relates to the TEACH Grant program. It should be in the student's section under \

i had similar thing happen w/ my fafsa last year. the teach grant question kept disappearing on chrome but when i tried on edge it showed up?? weird system glitches happen all the time with fafsa

I've been through this EXACT problem when helping my nephew with his FAFSA! The teaching certification question is tricky because it appears and disappears depending on other answers you've given. What worked for us was going back to the school selection section and making sure the schools selected had education programs. Once we did that, the teaching certification question reappeared! It's like the system only shows it if it thinks you might be eligible based on your school choices. Super frustrating design!!

Oh that's interesting! He did just add another school to his list that doesn't have an education program. I'll try removing that one temporarily to see if the question reappears. Such a strange system design. Thanks for the tip!

This is definitely related to the TEACH Grant qualification. That question is crucial if your son wants to be considered for it. If you still can't find it, here's what I recommend:\n\n1. Take screenshots of your current progress\n2. Try the browser switching trick others mentioned\n3. If that fails, you should actually contact Federal Student Aid directly\n\nLast month I had a similar issue and used Claimyr (claimyr.com) to get through to a real FSA agent in about 2 minutes instead of waiting on hold for hours. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ\n\nThe agent was able to tell me exactly where to find the missing question and confirmed they could add a note to my account that we had technical difficulties. Worth trying if you're stuck!

thx for sharing this! been trying to call fsa for 3 days about verification issues. gonna try that service

THE FAFSA SYSTEM IS BROKEN GARBAGE!!! I cant believe in 2025 we still have to deal with disappearing questions and glitchy forms for something THIS IMPORTANT!!! My daughter lost out on a grant last year because of a similar issue - some question about her planned major disappeared and we couldnt figure out how to answer it. By the time we realized the problem it was too late to fix it. CALL THEM IMMEDIATELY and document EVERYTHING. Take screenshots of every page. The FSA people will try to blame YOU for not filling it out right but DONT LET THEM!!!!

Exactly! Same thing happened with my son's application. The whole system is designed to make us fail I swear. Every year they \

Have you tried accessing the FAFSA from the mobile app instead of the website? Sometimes the questions are formatted differently there and might be easier to find. Also, after submitting, you have the option to make corrections for up to 18 months, so if you can't find it now, you can submit and then correct it later when you figure out where it went!

We haven't tried the mobile app - good suggestion! I'm hesitant to submit without finding this question since it seems directly tied to potential grant money, but it's good to know we can correct it later if needed.

i think i kno what happened!! the teach grant question only shows up if u select certain majors or programs. if ur son selected undecided or something general as his major it might hide the question. try changing his intended major to something specificly education related and see if it comes back?? the system is super picky about this stuff

Thank you! He did have

Good news - I've confirmed with the Federal Student Aid office that even if you submit without answering the teaching certification question, you can definitely add that information later through the correction process. The most important thing is getting the FAFSA submitted before priority deadlines. After submission, wait 3-5 days for processing, then go back in and make corrections to add the teaching certification information. This won't affect his priority filing date or position in line for aid consideration.

That's extremely reassuring! Thank you for confirming this. We'll try the suggestions everyone provided first, but if we still can't find the question, we'll submit and then make the correction afterward. His school's priority deadline is next week, so that's definitely the most important consideration right now.

Just wanted to update everyone - we had this EXACT problem and finally solved it! The teaching certification question was hidden because our daughter had selected a specific school that didn't offer teaching programs. As soon as we temporarily removed that school, the question appeared! After answering it, we were able to add the school back. Really poor design by FAFSA, but at least there's a workaround. Hope this helps someone else!

Thank you so much for coming back to share this! We're going to try that exact solution tonight. It's so helpful to know that someone else successfully resolved this issue. The FAFSA design is so frustrating sometimes!

I'm dealing with something similar right now! My daughter is a junior education major and we just submitted her FAFSA last week, but I'm realizing we might have missed that teaching certification question too. I'm wondering if anyone knows - once you've already submitted and received your SAR (Student Aid Report), can you still go back and add the teaching certification information? Or do we need to wait until the schools process everything first? I'm kicking myself for not catching this earlier, but the FAFSA interface really is confusing with all these conditional questions that appear and disappear!

I just went through this same nightmare with my son's FAFSA two weeks ago! The teaching certification question kept vanishing and reappearing randomly. What finally worked for us was completely logging out, clearing the browser cache, and starting fresh. When we logged back in, we went directly to the "Review and Submit" section instead of trying to navigate through all the previous pages. The question was there waiting for us! Also, make sure his intended major is specifically listed as "Education" or "Elementary Education" rather than something generic. The system seems to hide the TEACH Grant question if it doesn't detect education-related keywords in the major field. Super frustrating design, but once we got it working, he qualified for the full $4,000 TEACH Grant. Don't give up - it's definitely worth the hassle to get that extra funding!

I'm so glad I found this thread! I'm currently helping my daughter with her FAFSA as a first-year education major, and I had no idea there was a specific teaching certification question that could qualify her for the TEACH Grant. Reading through everyone's experiences, it sounds like this question is really easy to miss due to all the technical glitches. I'm going to go back and double-check her application using some of the suggestions here - especially making sure her major is listed specifically as "Elementary Education" rather than just "Education" and trying the cache clearing method. It's ridiculous that we have to become FAFSA detectives just to make sure we don't miss out on potential funding, but I really appreciate everyone sharing their solutions and workarounds. Question for those who successfully found the TEACH Grant question: does it appear in the same section every time, or does its location vary depending on other answers? I want to know what to look for when I go back in to check our submission.

I'm a first-time FAFSA filer and this thread has been incredibly eye-opening! I had no idea about the TEACH Grant or that there was a specific teaching certification question that could be worth up to $4,000. My younger brother is planning to major in secondary education next year, so I'm definitely going to bookmark all these troubleshooting tips. It's honestly shocking how many technical issues people are having with something as important as financial aid applications. The fact that questions can just disappear based on browser choice or school selections seems like a major design flaw. I really appreciate everyone sharing their specific solutions - the cache clearing method, trying different browsers, and making sure the major is listed as something education-specific rather than generic. For anyone still struggling with this issue, it sounds like the consensus is: don't panic if you can't find the question, submit by your priority deadline, and then make corrections afterward if needed. But definitely worth trying all the troubleshooting steps first since that $4,000 TEACH Grant could make a real difference!

As someone who just went through this exact issue with my daughter's FAFSA last month, I want to emphasize how important it is to persist with finding this question! The TEACH Grant really is worth up to $4,000 per year, but there's a catch - recipients have to commit to teaching in a high-need field at a low-income school for 4 years after graduation, or the grant converts to an unsubsidized loan with interest calculated from the original disbursement date. For anyone still troubleshooting this disappearing question issue, here's what worked for us after trying everything mentioned in this thread: 1. Make sure your son's major is listed as something very specific like "Elementary Education," "Secondary Education - Mathematics," etc. rather than just "Education" or "Undecided" 2. Ensure ALL the schools on his list have accredited teacher preparation programs 3. Try accessing the FAFSA during off-peak hours (early morning or late evening) when the servers are less congested If you absolutely cannot get the question to appear and need to submit by your deadline, don't stress! You can definitely add this information through corrections later. Just make sure to do it within the first few weeks after submission so schools can consider it for their aid packages. The TEACH Grant has specific deadlines that vary by school, so you'll want to contact the financial aid offices directly to confirm their timelines.