As someone who went through this exact nightmare last year, I can tell you that the "under review" status after showing completed is unfortunately becoming more common with the new FAFSA system. In most cases, it's either a random verification selection or the system detected some inconsistency in the data. A few things that might help while you wait: - Check if your son's college has a "FAFSA delay" form you can submit to extend deadlines - Ask the financial aid office about their appeals process for late aid applications due to federal processing delays - Consider applying for private scholarships as a backup plan while this gets sorted out The business income flag that caused your review is actually really common - the FAFSA system is much more sensitive to Schedule C income this year. At least you know what caused it now! Hopefully other parents reading this will double-check those business sections before submitting. Fingers crossed you get that final SAI calculation quickly! 🤞

I'm so glad you got this resolved! Your story is incredibly helpful for the rest of us navigating this chaotic FAFSA year. The Schedule C business income trigger makes total sense now - I bet a lot of parents with small businesses or side hustles are running into the same issue without realizing it. It's ridiculous that we have to become detective experts to figure out why our "completed" applications suddenly need more review, but at least you persisted and got answers. The fact that they're expediting your review and the school is providing a preliminary aid package shows that there ARE people in the system who understand how broken this process has been. Your experience gives me hope that even when things seem impossible, there's usually a solution if you keep pushing. Wishing your son all the best with his college decision!

Hi everyone! I'm new to this community and also preparing for my daughter's first FAFSA for 2025-2026. This thread has been such a lifesaver - thank you all for sharing such detailed and practical advice! I wanted to ask about something I haven't seen mentioned yet: for families who have moved states between filing their 2023 taxes and when they'll be applying for FAFSA, are there any special considerations? We relocated from Texas to California in late 2024, so our 2023 tax return shows Texas residency, but my daughter will be establishing California residency for college purposes. Also, I'm curious about the timing of asset reporting - if I have investments that fluctuate significantly in value, is there any guidance on what constitutes a "reasonable" snapshot date for reporting current values? I don't want to be accused of cherry-picking a particularly low-value day, but I also understand the values need to be current. The advice about creating FSA IDs early, organizing documents, and preparing for system crashes has been incredibly helpful. I'm definitely starting my preparation this summer. Your insights about rental property reporting and the IRS Data Retrieval Tool have been particularly valuable since we have similar assets to report. Thank you for creating such a welcoming and informative community for newcomers like me! It's giving me so much confidence going into this process.

Hi everyone! I'm new to this community and currently preparing for my daughter's 2025-2026 FAFSA as well. This entire thread has been incredibly helpful - thank you all for sharing your experiences and detailed advice! I'm in a very similar situation to the original poster - my daughter will be a freshman for 2025-2026 and has maintained excellent grades while working part-time. Reading through everyone's responses has been both reassuring and eye-opening about what to expect. A few things I wanted to add based on my research so far: 1. I called our state's financial aid office and they mentioned that the new FAFSA formula weights parent assets at about 5.64%, meaning for every $10,000 in reportable assets, your SAI increases by about $564. This might help when deciding on the timing of major purchases before filing. 2. For those dealing with business assets, I learned that if your business has 100 or fewer employees, the net worth of the business is NOT reported as an asset on the FAFSA. This could be significant for families with smaller businesses or LLCs. 3. One tip I got from a financial aid workshop: if you're selected for verification, respond as quickly as possible. Delays in providing requested documents can hold up your entire aid package, and some aid is awarded on a first-come, first-served basis. I'm definitely taking everyone's advice about setting up FSA IDs early and being prepared for technical difficulties. The stories about system crashes are concerning but knowing what to expect helps tremendously. Thank you all for creating such a supportive community for newcomers navigating this process!

Just wanted to add my perspective as another newcomer dealing with this exact issue! My family's FAFSA also skipped the asset questions despite our AGI being around $85k. We have a decent amount in 529 plans and savings that should have been reported. What's been most helpful from this thread is understanding that this is a known system bug, not something we did wrong. I was panicking that I somehow missed critical sections or filled something out incorrectly. The detailed explanations about how parent assets are assessed (5.64% after protection allowances) and the examples of how much SAI might increase have really helped manage my expectations. I'm planning to try the Claimyr service mentioned earlier to get through to FSA, and I'll definitely reach out to my daughter's financial aid office proactively to let them know about the situation. Thanks to everyone for sharing their experiences and solutions - this community has been invaluable for a stressed parent trying to navigate this broken system!

Hi everyone! I'm new to this community but have been following this thread closely as we're experiencing the exact same issue. Our FAFSA also completely skipped the asset questions despite having an AGI around $72k, and we have significant 529 savings plus other investments that should have been reported. Reading through all your experiences has been so helpful - especially learning that this is a widespread system bug rather than something we did wrong. I was honestly losing sleep thinking I had somehow messed up my daughter's financial aid by missing important sections. The detailed explanations about the 5.64% parent asset assessment rate and the examples of SAI increases have really helped me understand what we might be looking at once this gets fixed. It sounds like while our SAI will likely go up, it may not be as catastrophic as I initially feared. I'm definitely going to try the Claimyr service mentioned here to get through to FSA, and I'll also reach out proactively to our college's financial aid office. Thank you all for sharing your knowledge and experiences - this community has been a lifesaver for stressed parents like me trying to navigate this broken system!

I'm new to this community and currently going through my first FAFSA experience for my daughter's 2025-2026 application. This thread has been absolutely invaluable! I was in complete panic mode when I couldn't find anywhere to report our $8,300 in savings - I even cleared my browser cache thinking it was a technical issue. Reading through everyone's experiences with the FAFSA Simplification Act has been such a relief. It's amazing how many parents went through this exact same confusion! The fact that so many of you successfully submitted without asset information and received positive outcomes gives me the confidence to move forward. It really seems like the new system is working as intended, even though it feels counterintuitive not to report savings we've always had to include before. Thank you to this entire community for sharing your knowledge and experiences - it's made navigating this process so much less stressful for newcomers like me!

I'm a newcomer to this community and just started filling out my son's FAFSA for 2025-2026. This entire discussion has been incredibly helpful! I was having the exact same panic about not finding where to enter our savings account information - we have about $7,800 that I was certain needed to be reported based on everything I'd read online about previous FAFSA requirements. I actually spent over an hour going through every single page multiple times thinking I was missing something obvious. Reading through all these experiences with the FAFSA Simplification Act changes has been such a huge relief. It's amazing to see how many families went through this identical confusion and came out with successful outcomes. The fact that the new system focuses on tax data instead of assets makes sense once you understand it, but they really should have done a better job explaining these major changes upfront. Thank you to everyone who shared their stories and knowledge - it's given me the confidence to submit our application today!

Just wanted to add my experience as someone who went through this exact situation last year! We had the same confusion about FSA IDs when our second child started college. What helped me was creating a simple spreadsheet to track who had which FSA ID - it sounds silly but with all the financial aid deadlines and forms, it's easy to get mixed up. Also, since you mentioned you'll have two in college simultaneously, make sure to submit both FAFSA applications around the same time if possible. Some schools have limited aid budgets and it's first-come-first-served, so getting both kids' applications in early can be crucial even though the multi-student discount is gone. Good luck with the process - it's definitely overwhelming but you've got this!

As someone who works in financial aid at a state university, I can confirm everything that's been shared here about FSA IDs - one per person for life, tied to your SSN. But I wanted to add something important that hasn't been mentioned yet: when you're completing the FAFSA for your second child, make sure to double-check that all your tax and asset information is consistent between both applications. The Department of Education does cross-reference data between family members' applications, and any discrepancies can trigger verification requests or delays in processing. Also, even though the federal multi-student benefit is gone, don't forget to check if your state has any grant programs that still consider multiple students - some states haven't updated their formulas yet. Finally, if either child is considering a gap year or changing enrollment status, that could affect the other's aid eligibility, so plan carefully!