How to change first choice school on FAFSA after submission? Can't edit priority list
I seriously messed up when submitting my FAFSA for 2025-2026. I accidentally put State University as my first choice when I meant to put Tech Institute first (it's my dream school and where I really want to go). When I log into my studentaid.gov account and try to edit my school list, it won't let me change the order! I've tried clicking everywhere but there's no option to rearrange them. Does this mean I need to start a completely new application? I'm freaking out because I've heard the first choice school gets priority for certain funds. Any advice would be so appreciated!
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Mohammad Khaled
Don't panic! You don't need to create a whole new FAFSA. Log into studentaid.gov, click on "Manage FAFSA," then select "Add or Remove School." This lets you adjust your school list. While you're technically not changing the order, you can remove all schools and then add them back in your preferred order. Just make sure you do this soon, as some state aid is first-come, first-served based on FAFSA submission date.
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Fiona Sand
•Thank you! I tried the "Add or Remove School" option but didn't think about removing ALL schools first. I was just trying to drag them to reorder (which doesn't work). I'll try your way tonight!
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Alina Rosenthal
idk if this helps but my cousin had same problem last yr. she called the fafsa ppl directly and they fixed it for her over the phone
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Fiona Sand
•Really? That would be amazing if they could just fix it for me! Did she have to wait on hold forever? I tried calling once before and gave up after 40 minutes 😩
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Finnegan Gunn
I made literally the SAME mistake this year!!! The online interface is SO confusing. I thought I could just drag and drop to reorder schools but NOPE. Had to delete them all and re-add. What a pain! But at least your SAI score stays the same regardless.
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Miguel Harvey
•Quick correction here - the order of schools doesn't actually affect federal aid amounts at all. Each school gets the same FAFSA information. The order might matter for some state-based aid programs, but for federal aid (Pell Grants, Direct Loans, etc.), the order is irrelevant. Still good to fix it if you have state programs that care about listing order though.
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Ashley Simian
If you're struggling to get through to FAFSA on the phone, try using Claimyr (claimyr.com). I was in a similar situation with needing to change my parent contributor information and kept getting disconnected after waiting for hours. Someone recommended this service that holds your place in line and calls you when an agent is available. Saved me so much time and frustration! They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ
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Fiona Sand
•Thank you! I might need to try this if the remove/re-add method doesn't work. I'll check out that video. At this point I'd do anything to avoid waiting on hold for hours!
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Oliver Cheng
Financial aid advisor here - let me clarify a few things: 1. For FEDERAL aid (Pell, SEOG, Direct loans), the school order doesn't matter at all 2. For STATE aid, it does matter in some states (about 12 states use position #1 for state grant eligibility) 3. You CAN'T reorder schools directly, but you CAN remove all schools and add them back in your preferred order 4. The correction process takes 3-5 days to process 5. You do NOT need to submit a new FAFSA If you're in one of the states where order matters for state grants (like IL, IN, MI, etc.), definitely make this correction. Otherwise, it won't impact your federal aid packages.
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Fiona Sand
•This is SO helpful, thank you! I am in Illinois, so it sounds like the order really does matter for me. I'll make the correction tonight.
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Alina Rosenthal
wait i thought the first school listed gets first dibs on your financial aid money??? thats what my high school counselor told us
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Oliver Cheng
•That's a common misconception. For federal aid, ALL schools receive exactly the same information and the same SAI (Student Aid Index) calculation. Each school then creates their own aid package based on their available funds and your eligibility. The order only matters for some state-based grants in certain states.
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Taylor To
THE WHOLE FAFSA SYSTEM IS BROKEN!!! I had the exact same problem last year and when I called, they kept me on hold for TWO HOURS only to disconnect me! Then when I finally got through after calling FIVE TIMES, they said it was too late to change it because my information had already been sent to schools! This new "simplified" FAFSA is ANYTHING BUT SIMPLE!!!!
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Finnegan Gunn
•Omg this is my fear right now. The whole studentaid.gov website feels like it was designed in 2005 and never updated. Half the time the buttons don't even work for me!
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Miguel Harvey
I've helped dozens of students with this exact issue. The most reliable method: 1. Log into studentaid.gov 2. Go to your FAFSA application 3. Select "Make FAFSA Corrections" 4. Navigate to the "School Selection" section 5. Remove ALL schools (yes, all of them) 6. Add them back in your preferred order 7. Submit the correction 8. Receive confirmation email The correction typically processes in 3-5 business days. Your SAI won't change. If you're in a state where the first school matters for state grants, do this ASAP. For federal aid, the order doesn't affect anything.
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Fiona Sand
•Thank you for the clear step-by-step! I'm going to follow these instructions exactly. So relieved I don't have to start over with a new application.
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Ella Cofer
when i was doing fafsa last month the whole website crashed when i was trying to add schools lol... had to start all over! at least ur form submitted
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Taylor To
•THIS!!! The site is CONSTANTLY crashing! Try using it on Sunday nights - IMPOSSIBLE! How can they expect us to complete something this important on such a broken system???
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Fiona Sand
UPDATE: I followed the advice to remove all schools and add them back in my preferred order. It worked! The site gave me a confirmation that my correction was submitted successfully. Now I just need to wait for it to process. Thanks everyone for your help!
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Oliver Cheng
•Great to hear! The correction should be processed within 3-5 business days. Your schools will receive the updated information automatically. This won't affect your SAI calculation at all, so no worries there. Good luck with your applications!
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Fatima Al-Maktoum
So glad you got it sorted out! I'm dealing with a similar situation right now - accidentally put my safety school first instead of my top choice. Your post gave me the confidence to try the remove/re-add method tonight. Quick question though - when you removed all the schools, did you lose any of the other information you had entered, or did it just affect the school list? I'm paranoid about messing up something else on my application!
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Yara Khalil
•Hey! When I removed all the schools and re-added them, it only affected the school list - all my other information (like parent info, tax data, etc.) stayed exactly the same. The system just removes the schools from that specific section. I was worried about the same thing, but it was totally fine! Just make sure to double-check the school codes when you're adding them back to avoid any typos. You've got this!
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Ava Martinez
•Don't worry at all! I just went through this exact process last week and only the school list gets affected. All your financial info, parent contributor data, tax information - everything else stays put. The "Make FAFSA Corrections" section is pretty smart about only touching what you're actually changing. Just take your time when re-entering the school codes and double-check them against the official school search tool. The whole process took me maybe 10 minutes once I got into the right section. You'll be fine!
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Yuki Yamamoto
Just want to add that if you're still having trouble with the online system, many colleges have financial aid offices that can help walk you through this process! I was struggling with a similar FAFSA correction last year and called my top choice school's financial aid office. They were super helpful and even stayed on the phone with me while I made the changes to make sure I did it right. Sometimes they can also tell you if the order actually matters for any institutional aid they offer. Don't be afraid to reach out to them directly - they want to help you get this sorted out!
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Sophia Nguyen
•That's such great advice! I never thought about calling the schools directly for help with FAFSA issues. It makes total sense that they'd want to help since they need our applications to be correct too. I'm definitely going to keep this in mind if I run into any other problems. Thanks for sharing that tip!
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Kelsey Chin
I'm so glad I found this thread! I'm a parent helping my daughter with her FAFSA and we made the exact same mistake. We accidentally listed her backup school first instead of her dream school that she got accepted to early action. I was about to panic and think we'd have to withdraw and resubmit everything. The step-by-step instructions from Miguel Harvey are super clear - we're going to try the remove/re-add method tonight. It's such a relief to know this won't affect her federal aid eligibility and that we don't need to start over. Thank you everyone for sharing your experiences! This community is a lifesaver for stressed parents like me who are navigating this process for the first time.
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