Has anyone mentioned that they now want MUCH more investment information???? Like literally every single account. We had to report my husband's small employee stock purchase plan that we'd completely forgotten about and it delayed our whole application by THREE WEEKS because we had to get special valuation statements. They even wanted information about a tiny inheritance my husband received that was only $5,400! Ridiculous how they penalize families who save responsibly while giving massive aid to families who never bothered to save a cent for college.

Just went through this with my kid who's a freshman now. I recommend taking screenshots of EVERYTHING during the FAFSA submission process. Our confirmation page never arrived by email even though the system said it sent it. Also, make sure your daughter lists all potential schools on the FAFSA when she first submits it - adding schools later triggers additional verification steps sometimes. And weirdest thing - after submitting, login to the studentaid.gov account every few days to check status. They don't always send notifications when there are problems or if they need more info. We almost missed a verification request because the email went to spam.

btw make sure u didnt get any FAFSA verification emails. my cousins application got flagged for verification and she had no idea until she checked her junk mail folder. if that happens the schools wont process ur aid package even if they got the fafsa

Verification is fairly common - about 25% of all FAFSA applications get selected. It can be random or triggered by certain factors like missing information or discrepancies. If you were selected, you'd receive an email from Federal Student Aid and would also see a verification flag when you log into studentaid.gov. To directly answer your original question: by this time in the application cycle (mid-cycle), most schools are receiving FAFSA data within 7-10 days after processing, though some reports indicate 10-14 days this year due to the new FAFSA rollout. As long as you can prove you submitted before the priority deadline, most schools will honor your place in line for institutional aid.

this is why the whole system is so unfair. its not about need anymore, its about who knows how to game the system. my niece didnt get any aid and her parents make less than 40k

Thank you everyone for all the helpful responses! I'm going to wait until we have all offers in hand, then draft formal appeal letters to each school using the appropriate terminology. I'll focus on my daughter's fit with each school while respectfully presenting the competing offers. Definitely feel more confident navigating this process now!

i withdrawn from classes last semester too and got hit with a bill.... its total bs how they dont explain this to u when u sign up for classes!!!! like how am i supposed to know all these rules??? the FAFSA system is so confusing and nobody explains anything until its too late

Something everyone is missing - make sure you check if your withdrawal has put you in SAP (Satisfactory Academic Progress) violation too. If you failed to complete 67% of your attempted credits, you might lose future aid eligibility on top of owing this money. Dealing with both issues at once is important.

This happened to us, and what worked was having my daughter's high school counselor call the university directly. They have established relationships with admissions offices and can sometimes cut through the red tape faster than parents can. Worth a try if you're running out of time!

Here's something important to understand: the May 1st deadline is part of something called the "National Candidate Reply Date Agreement" that most colleges follow. If a school participates in this agreement AND they haven't provided you with a complete financial aid offer, they are actually obligated to extend your decision deadline. In fact, this scenario is specifically addressed in their guidelines. You have a legitimate case to request an extension if you haven't received complete financial information. Make sure to mention this specific agreement when you communicate with them.