Understand and Prepare FAFSA® Form Contributors

[@hannatuabbas8635]

To sign your students document you need to create your own account. Go to the home page and select create an account. Fill out all the sections and this should allow you to sign after you put in all the information. It will take 1-3 days to verify. Then you can complete everything. I have been trying to figure this out since January. I just broke through. Last year seemed simpler. I hope this helps

[@lemoinehelton4290]

Hanna, You are a God-send! I too had been struggling with this since January with NO help provided from the website; Nothing ever worked. Thank-you ever so much for your simple explanation and being so gracious to share it. You're the best! God's blessings to you & yours!

[@fishngamestv5817]

It was even worse that my mom's account is glitched so we had to make my dad a new account rn

[@hannatuabbas8635]

​@@lemoinehelton4290Ameen. Glad to help.

[@officialmbglilkg5875]

My parents account is verified but it doesn’t show my form on her account even though they are contributors

[@YB00]

So if a contributor is not responsible for payments, what is the role of him/her? Why are there contributors to begin with?

[@loopernow]

The vast majority of federal student aid is need-based--the types and amounts of federal aid varies depending on the student's need for that aid. When determining a student's need, the contributors' income is considered. But, all of the aid, whether a grant or a loan or both, is in the student's name, not the contributor's. The only exception is the completely optional Parent PLUS loan, and that is a separate application, not the FAFSA.

[@Adam-ll8ow]

Lol I love how it assumes that parents do as they should. What if they don’t want to consent or pay? What if that’s just because theres an abusive dynamic? You’re just screwed.

[@Curry_for_3]

The contributor is not responsible to pay for your educational expenses, as the FAFSA only requires it for the app only. But, for the latter part of your question, you can appeal or submit the FAFSA without parental data so the school can work with you in completing your application.

[@malcolmlevittfurr7715]

The system is growing but there are still loops to jump through. :/ You can look at their "Dependency Status" link to see what can be done if there is no contact or if parents refuse to file the application. studentaid.gov/apply-for-aid/fafsa/filling-out/dependency#live-on-own

[@jay_aich]

It sounds like FAFSA is an abusive dynamic. No one has to help you, but they'll punish you if they don't.

[@SamanthaLoza-cl4kr]

If there is any kind of danger to the student contacting parents, you should apply as an independent student, then schedule a meeting with your school's financial aid advisor. They can review your situation on a case by case basis.

[@Adam-ll8ow]

@@Curry_for_3 Sorry, I failed to really provide insight on what I meant, but I appreciate your advice a tonnn. What I meant is more so a what if for when your parent makes enough money to where FAFSA is essentially going to give you nothing, but your parent also is going to provide nothing, and most grants/scholarships seem to be based on financial merit. Feels like a lose-lose situation no matter what, so Ive just decided to attend community college (feels like my effort in beefing up my college application was useless though😭). Thanks again.

[@mrscoleyoliver]

It sent me the contributor email but it won’t let me fill out the parent part for my daughter’s application.

[@harryromero5569]

I have the same issue

[@yoitschrissy4257]

same!

[@khalidtheeb38]

Did it get fixed? , I have the same issue

[@krisslyb8966]

I have the same issue, they say that I have to resend the invitation but I just got the email but when my mom login, she can’t see anything

[@YennyRodriguez-u8e]

I already have an account but when I get to the invite part it says that I have an account created and I don't know where to go to enter my information as a contributor

[@mirandafam-u9i]

I have the same question !!! let me know if you found out

[@marymccumber8777]

same here. Leave it to the you know who to create a new rule that doesn't even allow the contributor to fill out their section of the form wth

[@harryromero5569]

Did any of you guys find out?

[@akihinchuo9941]

Same here I don't even see where to sign

[@89babay]

What happens in case a contributor does not have a SSN? For example, those who are not US citizens - what would they provide instead?

[@flowerssantaana581]

When you start creating a Student ID, you have to choose the option of " I'm a parent who is applying for aid" and check the box which says " I don"t have a SSN"

[@JenniferRubio-z7g]

Once I sent my mom the contributor link, she clicked on it and made her ID but we havent been able to complete her part because there is no way to find where we can edit the form to add her information.

[@aalvarez2064]

Your mom needs to create her own account. Then she will have to enter your name to find your data and links her to capture her taxes information..

[@JenniferRubio-z7g]

@@aalvarez2064 where does she need to enter my name? because when we open the link it wont reference her anywhere but the home page

[@sushi3202]

Where do we look for it though?

[@davidsanchez8193]

hey, were you able to solve this problem?@@sushi3202

[@Raquelkokoro]

Have you found an answer to this? I am having the same issue

[@ThomasCox-pu4qh]

The application wont let me put in my identity information nor continue past that page. Is there a page somewhere that i can fill out the correct information and move forward with the application?

[@inataliarm]

How am I supposed to transfer my and my husband’s tax return information into the account?

[@nunyabidness143]

Ive sent my parents both invites to my form as contributors. The invite doesnt show for my mothers account though, so there's no way to fill out the information and get the form completed when all the emails fafsa sends dont even link properly for my mom to log in and find her invite to fill out. pls help have been trying since March.

If parents file a joint tax return and both SSNs are listed, are both parents required to set up a studentaid ID, or can you just use one parent?

[@kimberlymcgauley5589]

If your parents filed taxes jointly, only one parent is required as a contributor and will report information for both parents. studentaid.gov/articles/fafsa-changes-coming/

[@angeladecicco6650]

Yes, same question... can you use just one parent?

[@raezugg]

Apparently both have to have individual accounts... They really screwed this up this year

[@danielacastanozuloaga8531]

I'm a citizen but I'm here by myself so I do not have any contributor. What do you in that case?

[@gaminggoof1542]

1:25 What do you mean if they have one? I thought everyone is required to have an SSN?

[@F2Ponce]

Illegal immigrants

[@gaminggoof1542]

@@F2Ponce I didn’t realize illegals were allowed to go to college here, given that they’re illegal.

[@Maaaurice-w1i]

Students that are not citizens don't qualify for the same aid that folks on FAFSA do, not even a loan. There's some misinformation about what undocumented people have access to, legally not much.

[@Maaaurice-w1i]

@@F2Ponce Students that are not citizens don't qualify for the same aid that folks on FAFSA do, not even a loan. There's some misinformation about what undocumented people have access to, legally not much. You can also google it, in this world of higher Ed we're all fck up, aid is subjected and the income brackets are unrealistic. There's no way someone can live on an income of 30,000 a year anywhere in the country. Sadly that applies to everything from education to medical. For example if you drop to the floor ill depending on the insurance you have, you'll be stuck with a big bill likely over +60,000. If you apply for charity care depending on the hospital they will only help if you make less than 60k a year. Just an example of how things work when it comes to your health, education etc... they can only help when you are literaly on in extreme poverty or straight out unhoused

[@charitylovely2157]

It's not only illegal immigrants that don't have Socials. LEGAL immigrants do not either. They apply for an ITIN or an individual Taxpayer Identification Number...it is not an easy process to get a Social. please educate yourself before making ASSumptions.

[@veranamorales8312]

What form does a contributor sign? Or do you need to fill out a fasfa form?

[@flowerssantaana581]

you're son/daughter needs to fill out the fafsa form and invite you to create an account for yourself, it will take about 3 or so days to be approved and after that you can fill out all the tax info and will be able to sign.

[@sgbrospressurewashing]

How can I send the contributor link to my husband so he can sign it??? I don’t see an option anywhere in the Fafsa form… under the “Spouse Information” I have enter all of his info with the exception of a SSN since he doesn’t have one, I’ve tried filling out with all zeros, living it blank but no luck. I am stuck in this section, can anyone help???

[@loopernow]

He needs to create an FSA ID - studentaid.gov/fsa-id/create-account/launch

[@adhi3raj]

Getting an error message 'Unable to process the information' when my parent tries to add the spouse details. Not able to proceed further.

[@hjfjhtyfr]

I am having the same problem

[@iuseyoutubealot]

what if the contributor doesn't have any of their information on the IRS, they're in a foreign country

[@Belinda-d6y]

were you able to figure it out?

[@iuseyoutubealot]

@@Belinda-d6y i think ii just used my address in the us for them or sumn this was aa while ago cant fully rememb

[@mackymac9693]

Ok so we didnt get to create one of my parents account for fafsa and we used the SSN and now we can’t create an account as it says it doesn’t exist what can we do

[@dacostankuah]

Please which country qualify to apply.

[@Richard-zy4qh]

Hi. I just need to know if all contributors can get federal financial aid for college? I’m a contributor and my college denied financial aid due to my immigration status in Tennessee. I’m not illegal, I’m still in the process to obtain my residency. I’m paying around $900 monthly to IRS. Please response.

[@klaeparchment2938]

How can I invite another contributor after I've already finished the student section?

[@alanparks5614]

I haven't submitted my FAFSA yet. If my parents are married and file jointly, but I accidentally invited both parents, how can I uninvite the "Parent Spouse or Partner"?

[@alexx_zandrr5323]

same issue happened for me, i found that just editing contributors information to put the main parent as the first invitation solves this problem.

[@alanparks5614]

@@alexx_zandrr5323Thank you so much! I was able to complete the FAFSA form :)

[@angeladecicco6650]

@@alexx_zandrr5323 when you say main parent, does that mean the Head of Household? I am wife and not head of household (to the gov of course) - I don't see the need to create another account for my husband

[@MrsLoveableLori]

Do I have to create username name when already have a account with a previous daughter for my youngest that going to college and she applying for fsfa

[@Victoriaaillis]

If you already have an account you won't need to make a new one.

[@hjfjhtyfr]

Here is the problem we ran into ..won't let the contributor sign to finalize application process ..anyone else have this problem?

[@thefinleysfamily7346]

@hjfjhtyfr -- Yes, this keeps happening to me when I sign in to fill out as my daughters contributor.. Over and over and over. Everything is filled out and when it's time to go to the next step to sign, it just circles back to the "let's review that everything is correct before we continue" screen. I've reviewed a. million times and it never changes. Still won't let me sign. Trying to get help via the FAFSA phone number or chat proved useless!! Has anyone found a solution to this???

[@harryromero5569]

Did you find the solution?

[@eddyatumonyogo1270]

Same problem and no solution yet

[@akihinchuo9941]

Same problem here Have been calling to no avail

[@HenryGarcia-ev5sl]

They found the problem with this

[@maccomes9685]

We don’t wan our kid to see our financial info yet. Anyway to block them from seeing the data? So stupid.

[@YennyRodriguez-u8e]

I already have an account but when I get to the invite part it says that I have an account created and I don't know where to go to enter my information as a contributor

[@mirandafam-u9i]

same question here !!! did you find out yet ?