I'm new to this community but wanted to share my experience since I'm in the exact same boat! My son's FAFSA has been "In Review" since January 12th and I was starting to panic about scholarship deadlines. After reading all these responses, I feel so much better knowing this is normal with the new system rollout. The advice about checking the student account instead of the parent portal was incredibly helpful - I had no idea! We checked last night and confirmed his school was properly selected. I also called his university's financial aid office today and they said they're extending all FAFSA-related deadlines because of the widespread delays. It's frustrating that the Department of Education didn't better communicate these processing times upfront, but at least we know what to expect now. Thanks to everyone for sharing their experiences - this thread has been a lifesaver!

I'm new to this community but wanted to jump in here because we're experiencing the exact same frustrating situation! My daughter submitted her FAFSA on January 6th and it's still showing "In Review" - I was getting really anxious about whether we had made some kind of error. This thread has been incredibly reassuring! I had no idea that 4-6 weeks was the new normal, and I definitely didn't know about checking the student account versus the parent portal. That seems like such a basic thing they should have explained better in the new system. We're going to have her log in tonight to verify her school selections, and I'm planning to reach out to her university's financial aid office tomorrow just to give them a heads up that we've submitted but are still waiting on processing. It's comforting to know so many schools are being flexible with deadlines given these widespread delays. Thanks to everyone for sharing your experiences and practical advice - it's so helpful to have this community support during what feels like a really chaotic rollout of the new FAFSA system!

As someone who just went through this process with my oldest (now a college freshman), I wanted to share some practical timeline advice! You're actually in a great spot starting to think about this now. Here's what worked for us with our junior: **Spring of Junior Year (NOW):** - Research colleges' financial aid policies - some are much more generous than others - Start tracking which schools require CSS Profile vs. just FAFSA - Begin organizing your financial documents in one place - Look into merit scholarships that don't depend on financial need **Summer before Senior Year:** - Create a spreadsheet with all aid deadlines for each school on your list - Gather all your 2024 tax documents as soon as you file - Consider any last-minute financial moves if they make sense **Fall of Senior Year:** - Submit FAFSA as soon as it opens (October 1st) - Submit CSS Profile for schools that require it - Apply for local scholarships with early deadlines The investment property income will definitely impact your SAI, but don't let that discourage you from applying everywhere. Some schools have much better aid programs than others, and you won't know until you try!

As a parent who just finished this process with my twins (both now college sophomores), I want to emphasize something that might ease your stress: you're NOT behind at all! Having FSA IDs already puts you ahead of most families. One thing I wish I'd known earlier - don't get too caught up in trying to "game" the FAFSA system with your investment property. The income from it will count regardless, and any major financial restructuring could have tax implications that offset potential aid benefits. Instead, focus on what you CAN control: - Apply to a mix of schools with different aid philosophies (some are much more generous than others) - Look for schools that meet 100% of demonstrated need - Don't overlook merit aid opportunities that aren't income-dependent - Consider having your daughter apply to a financial safety school where her stats put her in the top 25% of applicants The FAFSA process itself is actually pretty straightforward once you sit down to do it. It's all the overthinking beforehand that makes it seem overwhelming! You've got this.

I'm new to this community and unfortunately dealing with this exact same contributor issue! My husband and I file separately, and we've been stuck for about 4 weeks now - he gets those reminder emails constantly but his studentaid.gov dashboard is completely blank when he logs in. This thread has been incredibly valuable! I had no idea this was such a widespread problem. I've been feeling like we were doing something wrong, but clearly this is a major system bug affecting lots of families who file separately. Based on everyone's suggestions, I'm going to try these solutions in order: 1) Clear browser cache and try incognito mode, 2) Check if he has any old FSA IDs from years ago that might be conflicting, 3) Try the direct login page approach, and 4) Call for a contributor bypass if needed. One question - for those who successfully got the bypass, how long did it take for your FAFSA to process after that? My daughter's college is also asking about completion status, so I'm wondering what kind of timeline to expect once we get past this hurdle. Thanks to everyone who shared their experiences - this is exactly the kind of practical help that should be available through official channels but clearly isn't!

I'm new to this community but unfortunately very familiar with this exact FAFSA contributor nightmare! My spouse and I also file separately, and we've been stuck in this same loop for about 7 weeks now. He keeps getting those reminder emails every few days but sees absolutely nothing when he logs into his FSA account - just a completely empty dashboard. Reading through all these responses has been such a huge relief! I honestly thought we were the only ones dealing with this, and I was starting to wonder if we were missing something obvious. It's both frustrating and reassuring to see how widespread this issue is with the new FAFSA system for married-filing-separately situations. Based on everyone's helpful suggestions, I'm going to try these solutions systematically: first the browser cache clearing and incognito mode approach, then check for any old FSA IDs that might be causing conflicts, try accessing through the direct login page, and finally call for the contributor bypass if needed. One thing I wanted to add - has anyone had success reaching out to their college's financial aid office about this issue? I'm wondering if they have any additional workarounds or if they can put some kind of hold on deadlines while we sort this system bug out. My daughter's scholarship application is also being delayed because of this FAFSA mess. Thank you so much to everyone who shared their actual experiences and solutions! This thread is providing more practical help than months of frustrating calls to the FSA helpline.

Welcome to the FAFSA confusion club! I went through this exact same panic last year. One thing that really helped me was creating a simple checklist to track everything: ✓ FAFSA submitted (you've got this!) ✓ Check if any schools require CSS Profile ✓ Monitor school portals for award letters ✓ Set calendar reminders for acceptance deadlines ✓ Research loan types before accepting anything The most important thing I learned: don't be afraid to call the financial aid offices directly at your schools! I was intimidated at first, but they're actually super helpful and can explain exactly what documents they still need from you and when to expect your award letter. Each school moves at their own pace, so you might hear from some in a few weeks and others not until April. Also, start looking into work-study positions at your top choice schools now - the good campus jobs get claimed fast once students arrive! You've got this! 🎓

Hey Sofia! I just went through this exact process with my younger sister a few months ago, so I totally get the confusion. One thing I wish someone had told us earlier is to create a dedicated email folder just for financial aid communications - you're going to get A LOT of emails from different schools over the next few weeks and it's easy to miss important deadlines if they get buried in your inbox. Also, don't panic if your award letters come at different times. My sister got her first one in early March but didn't hear from her top choice school until late April, which had us stressed thinking something went wrong. Turns out that's totally normal! Each school has their own timeline. One last tip: when you do start getting award letters, pay close attention to whether aid is renewable each year or just for freshman year. Some scholarships require maintaining a certain GPA or completing community service hours to keep them, which can be a nasty surprise if you don't read the fine print. Good luck - you're going to figure this out! 💪

This thread has been incredibly helpful! I'm a parent trying to understand this process for my daughter, and honestly, the lack of transparency in how schools use the SAI is maddening. Our family SAI is $11,200, and we're seeing everything from schools that basically expect us to pay exactly that amount to others wanting $20K+ on top of it. What I've found most frustrating is that the FAFSA makes it seem like there's some standardized process, but clearly every school just does whatever they want with your information. We're definitely going to focus on net price comparisons now rather than getting excited about big aid packages that are mostly loans. For parents who went through this before - is it worth having your student call the financial aid offices directly, or should parents be the ones making those calls? We want to advocate for our daughter but also don't want to undermine her independence in this process.

I'm a current college student who went through this exact confusion last year! My SAI was $8,600 and I got packages ranging from $14K to $26K at schools with similar costs. What really helped me understand the process was creating a spreadsheet comparing the actual net price (COA minus grants only - not loans or work study) across all my schools. I discovered that some schools were much more generous than others, but it didn't always correlate with their prestige or even their endowment size. A few mid-tier private schools actually gave me better packages than some "elite" institutions. The key insight for me was learning that your SAI is like a starting point for federal aid eligibility, but each school then applies their own institutional formula on top of that. Schools with strong need-based aid policies will try to get close to covering costs above your SAI, while others might only meet 60-70% of that demonstrated need. I ended up appealing to three schools and got meaningful increases from two of them. The successful appeals focused on comparing similar schools' offers and explaining specific financial circumstances that might not have been captured in the FAFSA. Definitely worth trying if there's a big gap between your SAI and what they're expecting!