My nephew just got his yesterday and he submitted on October 5th. My daughter submitted October 22nd so I guess we still have a wait ahead of us lol. What's weird is that my nephew's SAI was calculated completely different than last year - his expected contribution went up by $7,000 even though our family income only increased by about $3,000. Anyone else notice big changes in the calculation method?

Update: I called my son's college financial aid office this morning, and they told me they've extended their priority deadline to March 15th because of all the FAFSA delays! They also said they're seeing most applications take 4-5 weeks to process right now. So relieved to have a little more breathing room. Thanks everyone for your helpful comments!!

I had this same problem last month and it was because I didn't realize I needed my OWN fsa id. I thought I could just use my daughters login since I'm paying for everything anyway but nope! had to create a whole new account just to fill out some forms. the whole system is so unnecessarily complicated if you ask me

Update: I got it working! Turns out I needed to log in with my FSA ID (not my son's) AND my son had entered a slightly different email for me than the one I used for my FSA ID. Once he corrected that and re-sent the invitation, I could see the contributor form in my "Help My Student" section. Thanks everyone for your help! For anyone else having this problem, double check ALL your info matches exactly.

Based on the 2025-2026 FAFSA guidelines, having the student begin the application is the technically correct approach. The student is the applicant (even if they're a dependent) and parents are considered contributors. The current FAFSA form was redesigned with this workflow in mind. Technically speaking, the student should: 1. Create their FSA ID (if they haven't already) 2. Start the FAFSA application using their FSA ID 3. Complete the student demographic section 4. Select their schools 5. Answer dependency status questions 6. Use the "Invite a Contributor" function to have parents complete their section Then the parent: 1. Receives the invitation 2. Logs in with their own FSA ID 3. Completes only the parent financial information section 4. Signs with their FSA ID Finally, the student returns to review everything and submit the completed application. Following this process reduces errors and confusion.

Thanks everyone for all your helpful responses! It's clear that having my daughter start the application first is the right approach. I'll make sure she initiates it and completes her sections before I jump in to help with the parent information. Really appreciate all the insights - especially about the communication going to her email and the importance of building ownership in the process. This community is amazing!

Financial aid office update: Most schools are handling this reprocessing situation by: 1. Extending May 1st deposit deadlines to May 15th for affected students 2. Prioritizing revised award letters for those students 3. Maintaining original award amounts in many cases, especially if the SAI change is minor 4. Only adjusting federal aid components if legally required I recommend accepting your best current offer but explaining to that school that your FAFSA is being reprocessed. Most institutions are being very understanding this year given all the FAFSA challenges.

Yes, now that your reprocessing is complete and your SAI decreased, you should: 1. Immediately contact all schools that previously provided aid packages 2. Let them know your SAI has decreased by $1,200 after the Department of Education's reprocessing 3. Ask if they'll recalculate your aid package based on the updated information 4. Request an update on timing for any revised offers With a $1,200 SAI decrease, you might see modest improvements in need-based aid at some schools. This could mean a few hundred dollars more in grants or subsidized loans, depending on each school's awarding policies. Based on conversations with other advisors, most schools are recalculating packages within 48-72 hours for reprocessed FAFSAs at this point. Good luck!

my financial aid office told me that the most important thing is that all the FSA IDs are correct for each person. if u used the right ID for urself and she uses the right one for herself then the system knows who is who and wont duplicate anything

You're not alone in this confusion! The new FAFSA process changed dramatically this year, and many parents and students are struggling with similar issues. If you're still having trouble after your daughter completes her section, I'd recommend calling Federal Student Aid directly. Their wait times can be brutal though - when I needed to reach them about a similar issue, I used Claimyr (claimyr.com) which held my place in line and called me when an agent was available. They have a video demo at https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ that shows how it works. Saved me hours of frustration and the agent was able to verify that our application was processing correctly despite the confusing interface.