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OMG the exact same thing happened to us last month!!! So frustrating! It turned out that even though we both signed, my daughter's FSA ID wasn't properly linked to her Social Security number in the system. We had to call and stay on hold for almost 2 hours, but they finally fixed it. The problem is that the system sometimes shows "in review" status even though it's actually waiting for something else to be fixed. Keep trying the phone line at odd hours - we got through at 8:05am on a Tuesday.
Two hours on hold?! That's insane. I'll try calling right when they open tomorrow morning. Did you have to provide any specific information when you finally got through?
UPDATE: I finally figured it out! After trying literally everything suggested here, I discovered the issue was actually with our browser settings. I switched from Chrome to Firefox, cleared all cookies, and suddenly a pop-up appeared with the signature prompt when I logged in. For anyone facing this issue - try different browsers and disable any ad blockers or cookie blockers you might have. The signature page was there the whole time but was being blocked by my browser settings. My daughter's FAFSA now shows fully processed instead of in review. Thanks everyone for your help!
Glad you figured it out! Their website is so poorly designed it's ridiculous. Thanks for sharing the solution!
Great troubleshooting! This is actually a common issue with the new FAFSA system - certain browser configurations can prevent security elements from loading properly. I'll add that using private/incognito browsing mode can sometimes help with these issues as well.
One more thing to check - log into the StudentAid.gov portal and go to the "My FAFSA" section. Look at the actual confirmation page and make sure it says "Processed Successfully" with a green checkmark, not just "Correction Submitted." Also, verify the school code is correct. Sometimes people accidentally select similar-named institutions (like University of Michigan-Ann Arbor vs. University of Michigan-Dearborn).
Just double-checked and it definitely says "Processed Successfully" with the green checkmark. And I'm 100% certain the school code is correct because we selected it directly from the dropdown menu. But thanks for suggesting those checks - they're really important things to verify!
Not helpful to your current situation, but for future reference - when adding schools, I always recommend doing it during regular business hours then immediately calling both FSA and the financial aid office to confirm receipt. This year's FAFSA rollout has been a complete disaster compared to previous years.
That's actually really helpful advice for anyone reading this thread in the future. I wish I had done that! I naively assumed that since it said "processed" everything was fine.
Advice from someone who was in your exact position last month: call the school's financial aid office every single day until they give you more information. Be polite but persistent. They have access to more detailed status information than what shows up on your studentaid.gov account. Our daughter's application was stuck in "reprocessing" for 3 weeks until I finally got someone who explained exactly what document was missing (it was something we had no idea we needed to provide).
Thank you for this advice! What was the missing document in your case, if you don't mind sharing? I'm wondering if we might be missing something similar without knowing it.
It was bizarre - they needed a verification of non-filing letter from the IRS for my spouse who doesn't work. Nothing on the FAFSA or school website indicated this was required, and none of the other schools asked for it. Once we provided it, the aid offer came through within 48 hours.
UPDATE: I finally got some answers! I called the Federal Student Aid Information Center this morning (used that Claimyr service someone mentioned - it actually worked really well) and discovered our application was flagged for verification because my husband's reported income on the FAFSA didn't exactly match what the IRS data transfer showed (off by about $200 due to a late-reported retirement contribution). The weird part is that this verification flag was applied THREE WEEKS AGO but we were never notified! The FSA agent said schools are supposed to notify us about verification requirements, not the Department of Education. I then called the school again and spoke to a different financial aid counselor who confirmed they can see the verification flag but said they haven't started processing verifications for regular decision students yet - only for early decision. That's why they haven't contacted us about what documents they need. After explaining our situation with the approaching decision deadline, they're expediting our verification and will send the document request today. The counselor said once we submit the required documents, they should be able to prepare an aid offer within 3-5 business days. Lessons learned: 1) The FAFSA system doesn't always notify you of issues, 2) Schools handle verification differently, and 3) Being persistent and escalating your case can help get answers!
This is great news! And unfortunately very typical of this year's FAFSA rollout. The lack of notification about verification selection has been a widespread issue. I'm glad you were able to get answers and that they're expediting your verification. For anyone else reading this who might be in a similar situation, always check your FAFSA status regularly even if you haven't received any notification of issues. And don't hesitate to contact schools directly if you haven't received expected financial aid offers.
This is a common issue with the new FAFSA system. Here's what I recommend: 1. First, confirm the email is correct in the system 2. Have your ex create an FSA ID if he doesn't already have one 3. Have your daughter go to her FAFSA dashboard and check if there are any alerts about parent information being incomplete 4. Try the manual connection method someone mentioned above If all else fails, your ex can call Federal Student Aid directly at 1-800-433-3243. They can manually link him to your daughter's application. Just be prepared for a potentially long wait time. The good news is that this won't necessarily delay her financial aid package as long as everything gets completed before the school's priority deadline.
Thank you! This is super helpful. I'm going to try all these steps in order. Good to know it won't necessarily delay her aid package - that was my biggest worry. The priority deadline for her top choice school is March 1st, so we still have a little time.
Any update? Were you able to get this resolved?
Yes! Turns out it was two issues combined. First, my daughter had entered his email with a typo (.con instead of .com). But even after fixing that, we still had problems. We finally had him create his FSA ID and manually link to her application. Worked immediately! Thanks everyone for your help!
Ravi Malhotra
That's exactly the kind of school-specific form I was talking about! Glad you got it sorted out. Those Title IV authorizations are important but often overlooked in the FAFSA process. Best of luck with your classes!
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Javier Cruz
nice! u got this š
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