Is anyone else FURIOUS that they completely revamped the FAFSA system this year and it's been nothing but problems?? My niece has been waiting since JANUARY and still doesn't have her SAI. Meanwhile my student loan payments are due AND I'm trying to figure out how to pay for her freshman year. The Department of Education should be ashamed of this disaster.

Update on processing times: I just attended a financial aid conference last week where FSA officials shared that they've added additional staff to process both online and paper submissions. They're now projecting 2-3 weeks for parent verification and about the same for mailed forms that are properly completed. The most common reason for delays is missing information or mismatched data (like a name spelled differently on tax forms vs. the FAFSA). Double-check that all your information exactly matches across all documents.

Just to add some clarification - when the form goes back to your daughter, she should see specific sections highlighted as needing attention. The most common sections that need completion after parent contribution include: 1. Review of parent-provided household information 2. Confirmation of special circumstances (if applicable) 3. The final submission section The good news is that once all contributors have provided their information, your daughter just needs to review and submit. The final SAI calculation can't be generated until she completes this step.

Financial aid advisor here. The new FAFSA is definitely causing confusion, but what you're experiencing is working as designed. The application now has conditional logic that determines what questions appear based on previous answers. After you completed your section as a parent contributor, the system likely generated new questions for your daughter based on your responses. For example, if your income falls below certain thresholds, additional questions about specific tax credits or benefits might appear. Also, there's now a mandatory student review of parent-provided information before final submission. This is actually a positive change as it helps catch potential errors before submission. My advice: Have your daughter log in and carefully check each section for completeness. The system should clearly indicate which sections still need attention.

One more important thing to check: does that $29,780 include EVERYTHING? Many schools advertise tuition only, but then have mandatory fees, housing requirements, meal plans, etc. that can add thousands more. Make sure you're looking at the TOTAL cost of attendance, not just tuition. If they're quoting you just tuition to match your aid, your actual costs will be much higher.

Based on your update about the additional costs beyond tuition, I'd recommend these steps: 1. Request a Cost of Attendance (COA) breakdown from every school you're considering 2. Subtract all grants and scholarships (money you don't repay) from each COA 3. This gives you your "net cost" at each institution 4. THEN look at loans to cover that net cost Also, ask each school about their tuition guarantee or caps - some schools guarantee your tuition won't increase for 4 years, while others might increase 5-8% annually. This makes a huge difference in your total cost. Finally, remember that your financial aid package can be negotiated, especially if you have better offers from comparable schools.

Wait is the FAFSA for 2025-2026 open already??? I thought it didn't open until December? I'm so confused about when we need to apply for next year's aid....

One additional tip that might help: Print out your Account Summary before and after setting up the payment plan. This creates a paper trail that can be invaluable if there are any discrepancies later. Also, don't forget that if you have excess financial aid (meaning your total aid exceeds your charges), you'll receive a refund which can be used for books, off-campus housing, etc. Virginia Tech typically processes refunds starting 10 days before the semester begins, but they can take up to 2 weeks to appear in your bank account if you've set up direct deposit.

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!

nice! u got this 👍