FAFSA won't let me delete college or add new one - getting error messages

same thing happened to me last week! so annoying how the whole system crashes for the stupidest things. have u tried using a different browser? my error kept showing up in chrome but when i switched to firefox it let me delete the school

This is actually a common issue with the 2025-2026 FAFSA that many students are experiencing. The problem comes from the new college selection interface they implemented. Here's what you need to do: 1. Clear your browser cache completely 2. Log out of your FAFSA account 3. Wait 30 minutes (the system needs time to reset) 4. Log back in using a private/incognito window 5. Go to the "College Selection" page and try again If that doesn't work, there's likely a system-wide issue that requires FSA intervention. The colleges you've already selected can still see your application, so your aid won't be delayed while you sort this out.

LOL the FAFSA site is such a joke! I had to submit mine 3 times bc it kept glitching out. The whole thing should be thrown in the garbage and they should start over tbh

Have you tried contacting your high school counselor? Mine helped me when I had FASFA problems and she knew some tricks to fix it that weren't on the website.

Former financial aid advisor here. This specific error is related to a cache issue in FAFSA's college selection module. The steps mentioned above are good, but there's actually a specific timing window where you need to perform these actions. The FAFSA system refreshes college selection data at specific intervals (usually overnight between 1-4am EST). Try making your changes during off-peak hours, ideally early morning. Also, when you remove a college, you need to click "Save" before attempting to add a new one. Many students miss this intermediate save step, which causes the exact error you're describing. If you've tried all these steps and still having issues, it's definitely time to contact FSA directly. The regular helpline rarely resolves technical issues properly.

I was having the EXACT same issue last month. Spent hours trying to get someone at FSA to help me. I ended up using Claimyr (claimyr.com) to reach an actual FAFSA agent who could help. They have this service that gets you through to FSA without the wait times. There's a video demo here: https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ The agent I spoke with was able to manually delete the college from my list on their end and then told me to wait 24 hours before adding the new one. Worked perfectly after that! Saved me so much stress.

Did you try updating your college list from the mobile app instead of the website? Sometimes the app works when the website is glitching. That's what I had to do when I couldn't update my parent contributor section. Either way, this new FAFSA is a hot mess compared to previous years!

UPDATE: IT WORKED!!! I tried using the incognito window at 5:30am like suggested, making sure to save after each step. It finally let me delete the old college and add the new one! For anyone else having this issue, definitely try the early morning approach with the incognito browser. Thanks everyone for your help!

That's awesome! So glad it worked out for you. Sometimes these FAFSA glitches make me think they're intentionally making it difficult so people give up on getting financial aid!