Not able to include contributors (parents) in FAFSA submission

[maindoctor42]

Hey all!

I know that the FAFSA form is different this year (and also buggy), but I submitted my form and assumed that it would ask for contributors after... I know the form considered me an "independent" while filing for medical school aid, but most medical schools will require parent information regardless.

Is this something that I messed up somehow, or can I add my parents info to FAFSA after processing/send directly to schools? The form was so quick to complete compared to when I was in my undergrad, so I am a little weirded out. I'm happy to reach out directly to FAFSA, but I figured I would ask if anyone has experienced this.

Thanks!

(Edit: I am 23 years old, so I know that I will be asked for parental info from schools.)

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[wysdoc]

The new form has been redesigned to be much shorter, so I'm glad it was easier for you this time around.
The portal in general is not fully functional yet and has many time outs each day.

A parent needs their own ID number and to log in to fill out their own info. Refer to the FAFSA.gov site for information on difficulties with this, and probably advise your parents to wait 2 weeks until the system is running better.

Corrected: All Grad student loan applicants are considered to be Independent from their parents. The old FAFSA used to collect parent information anyhow, but the revised one does not.
Undergrads still need to provide parent information.

 

[maindoctor42]

The new form has been redesigned to be much shorter, so I'm glad it was easier for you this time around.
The portal in general is not fully functional yet and has many time outs each day.

A parent needs their own ID number and to log in to fill out their own info. Refer to the FAFSA.gov site for information on difficulties with this, and probably advise your parents to wait 2 weeks until the system is running better.

Thanks so much for the reply!

I am happy to be patient and wait for that. I think my confusion came from the fact that I submitted the form, and it seemed like "contributors" was never even mentioned. I was worried that I skipped this step or opted out somehow. As long as I can have my parents submit their info at some point, then all is good!

 

[wysdoc]

https://studentaid.gov/help/who-is-parent Here is the page that talks about contributors.
Your form should have asked you for your parent email address, full name, DOB, etc.
Corrected: Grad student loan applicants get to skip the parent info step.

 

[maindoctor42]

https://studentaid.gov/help/who-is-parent Here is the page that talks about contributors.
Your form should have asked you for your parent email address, full name, DOB, etc.

Shoot, I will have to get in contact with FAFSA somehow... not sure how I managed to blow by any mention of contributors. Thanks!

 

[earthair02]

The FAFSA this year is not asking for contributor information for people who are independent (majority of med school applicants). That is why many schools will ask this information in their own institutional forms for financial aid. You will not provide any of this information to FAFSA (ie. you did everything correctly so far! No need to worry.)

 

[maindoctor42]

The FAFSA this year is not asking for contributor information for people who are independent (majority of med school applicants). That is why many schools will ask this information in their own institutional forms for financial aid. You will not provide any of this information to FAFSA (ie. you did everything correctly so far! No need to worry.)

Thank you so much for the reassurance. Apparently I take two years away from FAFSA, and I've lost the ability to fill out a form 🤣

 

[swimdoc23]

I have a follow-up question to this. I was filling it out for myself (independent), but it didn't ask for any of my financial info beyond things like EIC/similar, grants/scholarships listed as income, and foreign income exclusion. Was this the case for others as well?

 

[pablo213]

I have a follow-up question to this. I was filling it out for myself (independent), but it didn't ask for any of my financial info beyond things like EIC/similar, grants/scholarships listed as income, and foreign income exclusion. Was this the case for others as well?

I started freaking out after submitting and realizing I didn't put how much I earned last year, but I think I hit yes to a page consenting to automatic retrieval of my tax records. I'm guessing you might have done the same.

 

[brevity]

I started freaking out after submitting and realizing I didn't put how much I earned last year, but I think I hit yes to a page consenting to automatic retrieval of my tax records. I'm guessing you might have done the same.

I did the exact same thing lol. Was freaking out until I realized that FAFSA can now finally do the sensible thing (and retrieve the tax records that we've already filed).