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UPDATE: You were all right!! I went back in and found that I had completed all the questions but never did the final review and submission with the digital signature. Just finished that part properly and got a REAL confirmation screen this time with a submission ID number. The dashboard now shows "Submitted" instead of "In progress." My son should get his email invitation soon. Thank you all so much for your help!!
Excellent! Glad you got it resolved. Just remember for next year that the parent submission must be fully completed (including signature) before the student can access their portion. The process is sequential by design.
Pro tip: set a calendar reminder to check the status a week after u think you've submitted. i do this cuz the FAFSA website is so glitchy sometimes that even when u think you've done everything right, something still goes wrong lol
Just to clarify an important point - once your FAFSA is processed, what you'll see is your SAI (Student Aid Index), which replaced the old EFC. This is just a number that schools use to determine your aid eligibility. A lower SAI means you're eligible for more need-based aid. Don't panic if your SAI seems high - each school has different formulas for awarding aid, and you might still qualify for merit scholarships, work-study, and federal loans regardless of your SAI. The schools will put together financial aid packages based on their own budgets and your information.
Thank you for explaining this! I was so confused about what happens after processing. Once I get my SAI, how long does it typically take for schools to send their aid packages?
Update us when your status changes! I'm curious how long it ends up taking with the new FAFSA system. My sister is applying next month, so I'm trying to gather real experiences to set her expectations.
The federal FAFSA deadline for the 2025-2026 academic year is June 30, 2026, but many schools have much earlier priority deadlines for maximum financial aid consideration. Some state grants have deadlines as early as February or March 2025. I'd recommend checking your school's financial aid website for their specific priority deadline.
Just to follow up on this thread: If anyone experiences persistent technical issues with the FAFSA that can't be resolved through the suggestions here, remember to document everything. Take screenshots of error messages, note dates and times of system issues, and keep track of any confirmation numbers if you speak with representatives. This documentation can be extremely valuable if you need to file for a deadline extension or appeal a financial aid decision due to technical issues outside your control.
Did you resolve this issue? I'm curious what the outcome was, as it might help others who get similar notices in the future.
This is why i HATE the new FAFSA. The entire system is filled with these kinds of confusing notifications. My daughter got an "action required" email that made it sound like her application was going to be rejected, but it was just asking her to fill out an optional survey. The stress these vague emails cause is ridiculous.
Steven Adams
One more thing to consider: make sure both students complete their own FAFSA applications separately. Even though your SAI is calculated at the parent level, each student needs their own application. Sometimes I see families missing out on aid because they incorrectly think one FAFSA covers all their children. Also, the SAI can sometimes change slightly due to student-specific factors, so don't assume both will have identical aid packages.
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Zoe Wang
•Yes, we did complete separate FAFSA applications for each child. That's interesting about the SAI potentially varying between them though - I assumed it would be identical since it's based on our household information. I'll keep a close eye on both aid packages when they come in.
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Grace Durand
Contact your congressperson!!!!! Seriously, this change to FAFSA is DESTROYING middle class families with multiple kids in college. There's a group of parents pushing for legislation to fix this. The more complaints they get the better chance we have of getting this fixed!!
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Alice Fleming
•lol good luck with that the govt doesnt care about us
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Zoe Wang
•That's actually not a bad idea. I hadn't thought about contacting our representative, but this change really does impact a lot of families. Do you know if there's a specific advocacy group organizing around this issue?
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