As a parent who just went through this exact situation last week, I can confirm that you absolutely need to re-sign when schools are added! The email notification system is completely unreliable - I never got a single email but found 3 pending signature requests just sitting in my FSA account. What really saved me was setting up a daily calendar reminder on my phone to check both my FSA account and my son's student portal during this whole application period. It only takes 2 minutes but prevents those awful surprises where applications sit incomplete for days or weeks. One thing that confused me initially - even though the system says "processing" again after you sign, your son's original SAI calculation stays the same. The new schools just get that same financial info sent to them, so no need to worry about starting over with the calculations. The whole process is stressful enough without having to redo all that work! Hope this helps ease some of the FAFSA anxiety - you're definitely not alone in dealing with these system glitches!

Just wanted to chime in as another parent who recently dealt with this! My daughter added two schools to her FAFSA last month and I definitely had to re-sign, but like others mentioned, I never got any email notification. The tricky part is that the FSA website doesn't always make it super obvious where to find pending tasks - I had to click around a bit before I found the signature request under the "My Applications" section. One tip that might help: if you're having trouble finding the signature page on the FSA site, try logging out completely and logging back in. Sometimes the tasks don't show up right away due to browser caching issues. Also, make sure you're logging into your own FSA ID account, not your son's student account - I initially made that mistake and couldn't figure out why I wasn't seeing anything! The whole process is definitely more confusing than it needs to be, but at least once you know to check manually instead of waiting for emails, it becomes much more manageable. Good luck with the rest of the application process!

This is such a relief to read your update! I've been following this thread because I'm going through the exact same nightmare with my twin daughters' applications. The tip about calling right at 8 AM is gold - I'm setting my alarm for tomorrow morning. It's ridiculous that the system doesn't clearly communicate when a contributor hasn't finished their section. How are parents supposed to know if there's no notification? At least now I know what to ask about when I (hopefully) get through to someone. Did the agent mention anything about how long it typically takes once both contributors complete their sections? My girls' enrollment deadlines are coming up fast too and I'm starting to panic.

Wow, reading through this thread has been both helpful and terrifying as someone just starting the FAFSA process for my oldest! @Lena Schultz so glad you finally got through and figured out the issue. The contributor section confusion seems to be a major problem - I had no idea both divorced parents need to complete separate sections even with a paper application. @Melina Haruko thank you for the insider perspective from the financial aid office side! The tip about contacting the school directly is something I never would have thought of. And @Beatrice Marshall I'm definitely looking into that Claimyr service - anything to avoid the phone line nightmare you all described. It's absolutely unacceptable that families are dealing with this level of stress and uncertainty over something as important as college financial aid. The fact that there's no clear communication when something is incomplete or wrong is just mind-boggling. Hoping the Department of Education gets their act together soon, but in the meantime this community sharing real solutions is invaluable!

I just wanted to thank everyone who contributed to this thread - what an incredibly helpful discussion! My son and I were really struggling with this dependency question, and all of your explanations have made it crystal clear. We're going to proceed with marking him as a dependent student and including his adoptive parents' (my parents') financial information. It's such a relief to understand that the adoption completely replaced the guardianship for FAFSA purposes. I also really appreciate all the practical tips about keeping adoption paperwork ready for verification, checking Social Security name records, and potentially connecting with the college financial aid office early on. This community is amazing - you've saved us from what could have been a costly mistake or major delays in his financial aid processing!

As a newcomer to the FAFSA world, this entire thread has been incredibly educational! I had no idea that dependency status could be so complex, especially in situations involving guardianship and adoption. Reading through everyone's explanations really highlights how important it is to understand the specific legal distinctions the FAFSA makes. The key insight that adoption creates a completely new legal parent-child relationship (rather than just continuing guardianship) makes perfect sense once explained, but I can definitely see how families could get confused by this. Thank you to all the financial aid professionals and parents who shared their experiences - this is exactly the kind of real-world guidance that makes navigating these federal forms so much easier!

I'm a college financial aid counselor and wanted to add some additional context that might help. The 2025-2026 FAFSA rollout has been particularly challenging due to the major system overhaul. Here are a few things to keep in mind: 1. **Timeline expectations**: While the normal processing time is 3-5 days, we're seeing 7-10 days regularly due to the high volume and system issues. 2. **Mobile app vs website**: The mobile app has had more display issues than the website version. If you submitted through the app, try logging into studentaid.gov through a desktop browser to check your SAI. 3. **For urgent deadlines**: Most colleges have received guidance from the Department of Education about these delays and have contingency plans. When you contact your financial aid office, mention specifically that you're dealing with the "2025-2026 FAFSA SAI display issue" - they'll know exactly what you're talking about. 4. **Verification flags**: If you're selected for verification, your SAI might show as "pending" or not display at all until verification is complete. Check your to-do list on the portal. Don't panic - virtually every school is dealing with these same issues with multiple students. The system will catch up!

Hey everyone! I'm new to this whole FAFSA thing and reading through this thread has been SO helpful. I'm in a similar situation - submitted my application about a week ago and still haven't seen my SAI appear anywhere. Based on what I'm reading here, it sounds like this is pretty normal given all the system issues this year? I'm planning to call the Federal Student Aid number tomorrow and also reach out to my college's financial aid office to let them know about the delay. One quick question - when you all say "check your college portal," do you mean the general student portal where you applied, or is there a separate financial aid portal? I want to make sure I'm looking in the right place! Thanks for all the advice in this thread, it's made me feel way less stressed about this whole situation.

UPDATE: I just received a memo from Federal Student Aid today about this multiple flag issue. They've implemented a new review process starting April 30th that will consolidate all verification flags into a single comprehensive review. If your application was flagged multiple times before April 30, you should receive an email with consolidated verification instructions within 5-7 business days. This won't automatically clear existing flags, but it should prevent new ones from appearing after you've submitted documentation. I recommend waiting for this consolidated email before submitting additional documents if possible.

I'm going through this exact same nightmare right now! My son's FAFSA has been flagged THREE times since mid-April - first for income verification, then for dependency status, and now for some "institutional verification" that I don't even understand. Each time we submit documents, a new flag appears 1-2 weeks later. It's absolutely maddening! What's really frustrating is that each college portal shows different information about what's needed, and the studentaid.gov site seems to update at random times. I've been keeping a spreadsheet tracking every document we've submitted and when, because I'm starting to lose track of what we've already sent where. The worst part is watching other families get their financial aid packages while we're still stuck in verification limbo. My son's top choice school said they can't process ANY aid until ALL verification is complete, so we have no idea what our actual costs will be. Really hoping this new consolidated review process that @Hattie Carson mentioned actually works!