we just bit the bullet and paid the off-campus deposit for our son. better safe than sorry imo. the apartment complex has a 2 week decision window so if by some miracle the fasfa comes through early and he gets on campus housing we can back out. check if any off campus places have flexible deposits!

After making some calls this morning based on advice here, I just wanted to update that our housing office is now offering a special "FAFSA delay" extension form! They said many families are in this exact situation, so they created a process where you can fill out a form explaining you're waiting on financial aid, and they'll extend your housing deadline until 2 weeks after your SAI score is processed. Might be worth asking if your daughter's school has something similar!

One more important thing to note: Some critical financial aid emails might go to your school email account rather than your personal email. Many students miss deadlines because they only check their personal email. Make sure you're regularly checking both, especially as you get closer to the start of the term.

Thanks everyone for the helpful responses! I've set up dedicated folders in my email for FAFSA/aid communications, talked to my parents about checking their emails too, and I'm going to start regularly checking my student portal instead of just waiting for emails. Feeling much more organized now!

Just wanted to follow up - did you end up making the correction or did you get it resolved another way? I'm having a similar issue now with my university and getting worried

Glad to hear you got it resolved! For anyone else with similar issues, here's what to check: 1. Name matches exactly (including middle names/initials) 2. SSN matches exactly (all 9 digits) 3. Date of birth matches exactly 4. School code was correctly entered (each school has a unique federal code) 5. Verification of your FAFSA wasn't required (you'd receive separate notification) Almost all "FAFSA not received" issues are data matching problems, not actual submission problems. Your SAI and Pell Grant eligibility remain the same regardless.

Your FSA ID doesn't expire, but the password needs to be changed every 18 months. You'll get email reminders when it's time to update your password. As long as you keep your password current, your FSA ID remains valid indefinitely. One more tip: The 2024-2025 FAFSA form introduced major changes to the entire system. If you completed your first child's FAFSA before January 2024, you'll find the new system quite different. The good news is it's generally more streamlined now, with fewer questions overall.

last year i had problems with my fsa id cuz my name in the system didnt match exactly with social security (i had a hyphenated last name but social security had it without the hyphen). it took FOREVER to fix it so double check all that stuff before you start!!

why does fafsa have to be so confusing??? my family gave up and hired a financial aid consultant because the whole thing is impossible

UPDATE: I found a workaround that might help others with this signature issue. Even if the system says "processed" but you got the missing signature email: 1. Both parent and student should log in separately to studentaid.gov using your FSA IDs 2. Go to "My FAFSA" section 3. Find the 2025-2026 application 4. Select "Make Corrections" 5. Navigate through until you reach the signature section 6. Complete the signature process again 7. Submit the corrected form After doing this, our status changed to "Processing" for 2 days, then "Processed" again, and then finally we received the SAI score and acknowledgment that everything was complete.