How to add transfer college to existing 2024-25 FAFSA when student switches schools mid-year?
My son is currently a sophomore but he's transferring to a different college starting Spring 2025. We've already completed and submitted his 2024-25 FAFSA listing his current college, but now we need to add this new school. I tried logging into the FAFSA portal with my parent FSA ID but couldn't find where to update this info anywhere! Does my son need to log in with his own account to make this change? Is there a specific area in the student portal to add additional schools? Really confused about the timing since this transfer happens mid-academic year but affects the FAFSA we already submitted. Any help appreciated!
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Anastasia Romanov
Your son needs to log in to studentaid.gov with HIS FSA ID (not yours). Once logged in, he should select the 2024-25 FAFSA form and choose the option to 'Update School or Housing Information.' From there, he can add the new college's federal school code. He'll need that specific code - he can get it from the new school's financial aid office or search for it on the federal student aid website. The school will then automatically receive his FAFSA data within a few business days. This won't affect his current aid for Fall 2024, but will ensure the new school has his info for Spring 2025 aid packaging.
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Diego Mendoza
•Thank you so much! I had no idea parents couldn't make this change. I'll have him log in tonight and update it. Do you happen to know if we need to notify his current school that he's transferring, or does that happen automatically when the new school is added?
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StellarSurfer
I JUST went through this exact thing with my daughter last semester! What a headache. The parent portal is useless for making these changes - I spent THREE HOURS trying to figure it out before realizing only she could do it. Have your son log in to studentaid.gov with his FSA ID, go to the FAFSA application, and click on "Make FAFSA Corrections." Then navigate to the school selection page and add the new college. BUT IMPORTANT: DO NOT remove the current school until after fall semester aid has been fully processed or it could mess up his current financial aid!
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Diego Mendoza
•Oh wow, thanks for the warning about not removing the current school! We definitely don't want to mess up his fall aid. Did your daughter have any issues with her spring aid package timing after adding the new school?
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Sean Kelly
did u try calling fafsa? they nver answer tho lol
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Diego Mendoza
•We tried calling twice but got disconnected both times after waiting for like 25 minutes. So frustrating!
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Zara Malik
Financial aid advisor here. Just to add some important context: When your son adds the new school, his FAFSA will be sent to that institution, but there are several additional steps he needs to take: 1. Contact the new school's financial aid office IMMEDIATELY after adding them to his FAFSA. Some schools have internal deadlines for transfer students that differ from regular applicants. 2. Check if the new school requires the CSS Profile in addition to FAFSA (many private colleges do). 3. Submit a mid-year transcript from his current college once fall grades post. 4. Confirm with both financial aid offices how his satisfactory academic progress (SAP) will be evaluated as a mid-year transfer. 5. Ask the new school if they require a Transfer Financial Aid Transcript from his current institution. The timing can be tricky for spring transfers, so I recommend having him set up a meeting with the new school's financial aid office as soon as possible.
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Diego Mendoza
•Thank you for this detailed information! I hadn't even thought about the CSS Profile or transfer transcript requirements. We'll definitely have him contact the new financial aid office directly. It sounds like there's a lot more to this process than just updating the FAFSA.
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Luca Greco
Not sure if someone mentioned this, but make sure your son is VERY CAREFUL when making corrections. My nephew accidentally changed some income information when he was just trying to add a school, and it triggered a verification review that delayed his aid by MONTHS. Only make the change to add the school - don't touch anything else on the application!
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Diego Mendoza
•Thank you for this warning! That's exactly the kind of mistake we could have made. I'll make sure he's careful to only update the school information and not touch anything else.
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Nia Thompson
try using claimyr.com to actually get through to a FAFSA agent on the phone. saved me hours of frustration when my daughter was having issues with her transfer. they have a video showing how it works here: https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ i used it to get straight answers about how to handle her mid-year transfer without messing up her aid. the agent explained everything about the correct timing and what settings to check when adding the new school.
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Anastasia Romanov
•I second this recommendation. I used this service when I couldn't get answers about my daughter's verification process. It saved me from taking a day off work just to sit on hold. The FAFSA agent I got connected with actually walked me through exactly where to find the transfer school options on my daughter's account while I was on the phone with them.
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Mateo Rodriguez
when my kid transferred i just had them add the new school but keep the old one too until after fall semester. also make sure ur son emails the financial aid office at the new school to tell them hes transferring mid-year. they might have special forms he needs to fill out for mid-year transfers!!!! good luck!!
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Diego Mendoza
•Thanks for sharing your experience! Seems like everyone agrees we should keep both schools listed for now. I'm going to have him email the new financial aid office right away.
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Sean Kelly
why not just fill out a new fafsa? thats what i did
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Zara Malik
•Please don't submit a new FAFSA! This would create duplicate records in the federal system and could significantly delay aid processing. The correct approach is to update the existing FAFSA by adding the new school code. Submitting multiple FAFSAs for the same academic year can trigger flags in the system that require manual resolution by the Department of Education.
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Diego Mendoza
UPDATE: We figured it out! My son logged into studentaid.gov with his FSA ID, clicked on "Manage My FAFSA" then selected "Edit FAFSA Form." He was able to add the new college without removing his current one. The new school should receive his information within 3-5 business days according to the confirmation page. We've also emailed both financial aid offices to inform them of the transfer. Thanks to everyone for your helpful advice!
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StellarSurfer
•Great! Now make sure he follows up with the new school in a week if they don't contact him. When my daughter transferred, we had to call the new school to confirm they received everything because they were waiting on something that wasn't clearly communicated. Better to be proactive!
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Connor O'Neill
Glad you got it sorted out! One more tip for anyone else reading this thread - make sure your son keeps screenshots of the confirmation page showing both schools were successfully added. I learned this the hard way when there was a system glitch that removed one of my daughter's schools and we had no proof it was ever added. Having that documentation saved us weeks of back-and-forth with the financial aid offices. Also, consider setting a calendar reminder to check both schools' aid portals in about 10 days to confirm they've received and processed his updated FAFSA information.
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