After submitting FAFSA with 10 schools - what happens next in the process?

Great job completing the FAFSA! Here's what happens next: 1. You'll receive a Student Aid Report (SAR) by email within 3-5 days if you provided an email address, or by mail within 7-10 days if you didn't. 2. The SAR will show your Student Aid Index (SAI) calculation and confirm which schools will receive your information. 3. Each school on your list will receive your FAFSA data electronically. 4. Schools will use your SAI to create financial aid packages based on their available funding and your daughter's eligibility. 5. You'll receive financial aid award letters from schools where your daughter has been accepted, typically between February and April. I recommend checking your daughter's studentaid.gov account regularly for any notifications about verification requirements. About 30% of FAFSA applications get selected for verification, which requires additional documentation.

congrats on getting it done! I've been thru this 3 times with my kids. after fafsa u need to check if any of those 10 schools require the CSS Profile too. alot of private schools need that in addition to fafsa. its way more detailed and has a fee. check each school's financial aid page to be sure!!

Don't forget to create and verify your FSA ID for both you and your daughter if you haven't already. You'll need these to access all your FAFSA information going forward. Also, start gathering your tax documents and additional financial information now - if you get selected for verification (which happens randomly to about 1/3 of applicants), you'll need to submit extra documentation to prove your income is what you reported. This verification process can significantly delay your aid if you're not prepared.

just an fyi but the number of schools doesnt matter as much as which ones. most imp is each school has different aid packages. my daughter got full ride at her 3rd choice but barely anything from her 1st pick. dont commit to any school til u see ALL offers

Just went through this nightmare last year. After you submit FAFSA, it's mostly waiting, but that waiting is BRUTAL. The system is completely broken. We waited 6 weeks for the SAI score because of "processing delays" then another 3 weeks because they flagged us for verification for NO REASON. I spent HOURS trying to call Federal Student Aid to check our status and either got disconnected or was on hold forever. When I finally got through using Claimyr (claimyr.com), the agent told me our verification was complete but hadn't been properly logged in their system. If I hadn't called, we would have waited another month! I'd highly recommend checking out their service - you can see how it works in this video: https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ - saved me hours of frustration and potentially thousands in aid that was being held up.

One thing nobody mentioned - make sure your daughter's Social Security Number and name EXACTLY match her Social Security card on the FAFSA. Even a tiny mismatch can cause massive delays. My son's middle initial was included on FAFSA but not on his SS card and it took us 3 months to resolve the error!

To answer your original question more specifically: 1. Each school processes financial aid differently. Some will start working on your aid package immediately after receiving your FAFSA data, while others wait until after admission decisions. 2. You should receive your Student Aid Index (SAI) within a week. This is not your financial aid offer - it's just the number schools use to determine eligibility. 3. Financial aid award letters typically come with or shortly after acceptance letters, usually between February and April depending on the school. 4. If you don't receive your SAR within 2 weeks, contact Federal Student Aid immediately as something may be wrong with your application. 5. Check each school's financial aid page for any supplemental forms they might require beyond FAFSA (like the CSS Profile already mentioned). The next few months will involve a lot of waiting, but use this time to research and understand different types of aid so you can properly evaluate offers when they arrive.

I should also mention that the FAFSA is just one part of the financial aid process. For a complete picture of what your daughter might receive, you should: 1. Check for institutional aid forms specific to each college (many have their own forms beyond FAFSA/CSS) 2. Look into external scholarships - there are thousands available with deadlines throughout the year 3. Research each school's merit aid policies (aid based on academics/achievements rather than financial need) 4. Understand that public and private institutions handle aid very differently Many families focus solely on FAFSA and miss out on significant additional aid opportunities. The more complete your financial aid applications are, the better your daughter's total package might be.

also don't forget to check ur email spam folder daily!! my daughters aid notification went to spam and we almost missed a deadline to accept it!!

To answer your question about estimating aid from the SAI - it's complicated. Each school uses the SAI differently based on their funding formulas. Some schools meet 100% of demonstrated need, others only a portion. You can use each school's Net Price Calculator (required on every college website) to get a rough estimate. Just know that these calculators vary in accuracy. If you're trying to plan your budget, I'd recommend assuming the worst case (minimal aid) until you get official offers. Many families are shocked by how different the actual offers can be from school to school, even with the same SAI.