FAFSA website login resets required every time - is there a fix?

same thing happens to me!!!! ive reset my password like 8 times since january. and sometimes it lets me log in with the OLD password that supposedly wasnt working before?? makes no sense

The FAFSA website is completely trash this year with the new system rollout. My daughter can't stay logged in for more than 5 minutes before it kicks her out. Then we go through the whole reset dance again. The government spent millions on this "upgrade" and it's worse than ever.

I've had this exact issue! What finally fixed it for me was using a different browser AND making sure I had JavaScript fully enabled. For some weird reason, the FAFSA site doesn't properly track login sessions if you have certain privacy extensions running. Also, when you reset your password, are you using any special characters? I found out they SAY they accept special characters, but certain ones (like $, &, and %) actually cause login problems even though they let you set a password with them.

this happened to me too lol i just gave up and called them but was on hold for like 2 hours and then they hung up on me 😭

I work in a college financial aid office, and we've been telling students to try these steps for the FAFSA website issues: 1. Use Firefox or Edge (Chrome has the most issues) 2. Create a password with exactly 12 characters - no more, no less 3. Use only letters and numbers in your password (no special characters) 4. Clear ALL cookies and cache before logging in 5. Don't click back or refresh while on the site 6. Log out completely between sessions About 80% of students report these steps fixing their login issues. The remaining 20% usually have to call FSA directly to get their account unlocked because the system has flagged them for too many login attempts.

One thing no one's mentioned - check if your SAI has been calculated yet. If your application is still in processing and you don't have a Student Aid Index calculated, the system often has these weird login glitches. It's like they have different levels of account stability depending on your application status. Still not an excuse for such terrible website functionality, but it might explain the timing of your issues.

anyone else notice how they spent like $100 million on this new fafsa system and it STILL doesn't work right? meanwhile we're all desperate for the financial aid and can't even access our accounts. classic government efficiency at work 🙄

Has anyone tried using the FAFSA mobile app instead of the website? I was having similar login issues on desktop but switched to the mobile app and it's been way more stable. Still not perfect, but I haven't had to reset my password in over a week now. The app seems to handle the authentication differently than the web version. Just a thought if you're still struggling with the browser solutions!

I've been dealing with this exact same nightmare! What's really frustrating is that I'll successfully log in, start filling out a section, and then get kicked out halfway through without any warning. Then when I try to log back in, it acts like my password is completely wrong even though I literally just used it 10 minutes ago. I've started writing down every password I create with timestamps because I was going crazy thinking I was misremembering them. The worst part is losing progress on forms when you get randomly logged out - there's no auto-save feature so you have to start that entire section over again. It's like they designed this system to make getting financial aid as difficult as possible.

I've been having the exact same issue! What's worked for me is using an incognito/private browsing window every single time I need to access the FAFSA site. It's annoying to have to do this, but it seems like the site has major issues with stored cookies and session data. I also noticed that if I'm logged into any other .gov sites in the same browser (like IRS or SSA), it sometimes causes conflicts with the FAFSA login. So now I use a completely separate browser just for FAFSA - it's been much more reliable. Still shouldn't have to jump through all these hoops for something this important though!

I've been struggling with this too! What finally worked for me was a combination of several suggestions here - using Firefox in incognito mode with a simple 12-character password (no special characters). I also discovered that if you're on a school or work network, sometimes their firewall settings interfere with the FAFSA authentication. When I switched to my phone's hotspot, the login issues completely disappeared. It's crazy that we have to troubleshoot like this for such a critical system, but at least there are workarounds. For anyone still having problems, I'd also recommend trying to log in during off-peak hours (early morning or late evening) - the system seems more stable when there's less traffic.

I'm so glad I found this thread! I've been dealing with the exact same password reset nightmare for weeks now. Just tried the Firefox + 12-character password combo that Miguel suggested and it actually worked! I was able to log in AND stay logged in long enough to submit my verification documents. For anyone else still struggling, I also noticed that if you bookmark the direct login page (studentaid.gov/h/apply-for-aid/fafsa) instead of going through the main site, it seems to load more reliably. Still can't believe we need all these workarounds just to apply for financial aid, but at least there are solutions that actually work. Thanks everyone for sharing what's helped you!

I've been lurking on this thread for a while dealing with the same issues, and I just wanted to say THANK YOU to everyone who shared their solutions! I tried the Firefox + 12-character password + incognito mode combo and it's been a game changer. What really helped me was also turning off all my browser extensions (especially ad blockers and privacy tools) before logging in - apparently some of them interfere with the FAFSA site's authentication process. I've been able to stay logged in for over an hour now without any issues, which is a personal record lol. For anyone still struggling, I also found that logging out completely and closing the browser between sessions (instead of just closing the tab) seems to prevent a lot of the password confusion. It's ridiculous that we need a whole strategy guide just to access financial aid, but at least we're all figuring it out together!

OMG yes! I've been having the exact same issue and it's been driving me absolutely crazy! I thought it was just me but clearly this is a widespread problem with their system. I've probably reset my password at least 10 times in the past few weeks and sometimes it works with an "old" password that supposedly wasn't working before. The inconsistency is maddening! Reading through all these solutions, I'm definitely going to try the Firefox + 12-character password combo that seems to be working for so many people. I've been using Chrome this whole time so maybe that's been part of my problem. Also had no idea there was a mobile app - downloading it right now! It's honestly ridiculous that we need a whole technical support thread just to access our financial aid applications. This is supposed to help students, not create more barriers to getting the help we need. But I'm so thankful for everyone sharing what's worked for them - gives me hope that I can finally get logged in consistently and check my application status without wanting to throw my laptop out the window! 🤞

I've been dealing with this exact nightmare too! What's been working for me lately is a combination of several tricks from this thread. I switched to using Firefox in private browsing mode with a simple 12-character password (no special characters), and I also make sure to completely close the browser between sessions instead of just logging out. One thing I discovered that nobody else mentioned - if you have any password managers or auto-fill extensions running, they can actually interfere with the FAFSA login process even if you're not using them to fill in your password. I had to completely disable my password manager extension for the FAFSA site specifically. Also, for checking verification status when the main dashboard is being glitchy, I found that going directly to studentaid.gov/complete-aid-process/verify-your-fafsa-information sometimes loads the status page even when the regular application status page won't work. It's absolutely insane that we need all these workarounds for something this important, but hopefully these tips help someone else avoid the password reset hell we've all been through!

I've been having this exact same problem! Just want to add another potential fix that worked for me - I noticed that if I have multiple tabs open with other government websites (like IRS.gov or SSA.gov), it seems to mess with the FAFSA login cookies. Now I make sure to close ALL .gov sites before trying to log into FAFSA and it's been way more stable. Also, I've started using the "Forgot Password" link even when I'm pretty sure I know my password - sometimes it's faster than trying to troubleshoot why the login isn't working. The whole system is definitely broken but at least we're all finding workarounds together! Going to try some of these other solutions too, especially the mobile app approach.