College FAFSA processing delays - normal timeframe for 2025-2026 aid year?
I'm freaking out a bit because my daughter's FAFSA has been 'processed' for almost 3 weeks according to studentaid.gov, but NONE of her 5 colleges are showing they've received it! I logged into each school portal and they all just show 'FAFSA Not Received' or 'FAFSA Pending' status. Two schools specifically mentioned they won't get FAFSA data until late February. Is this normal?? Last year my son applied and schools had his info within days. I'm worried something went wrong with her application but when I check the FSA site it says everything is complete with a confirmed SAI score. Anyone else experiencing delays with colleges receiving FAFSA data this aid year?
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PixelWarrior
Yeah my son's colleges are showing the same thing. It's different from last year for sure. Two of his schools actually posted announcements saying they won't get ANY FAFSA information until end of February! Super frustrating but apparently normal for this aid year
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Liam Fitzgerald
•That's somewhat reassuring to hear it's not just us. Did your son's portal give any specific date for when they expect to receive the data?
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Amara Adebayo
This is completely normal for the 2025-2026 FAFSA. The Department of Education made significant changes to the FAFSA process this year, and they're releasing data to colleges in batches rather than continuously. Most schools won't receive their first batch of FAFSA data until approximately February 28th, with additional releases through March and April. As long as your daughter's studentaid.gov account shows her application as processed with an SAI score, she's in good shape. Schools are aware of this timeline and are adjusting their financial aid award schedules accordingly.
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Liam Fitzgerald
•Thank you so much for explaining! That helps calm my nerves. Do you know if this will delay financial aid award letters too? We were hoping to compare offers before the May 1 decision deadline.
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Amara Adebayo
•Yes, most schools will be sending financial aid packages later than in previous years. However, they're still committed to getting award letters out before the May 1 decision deadline. Some may push close to that date though, so be prepared for a shorter window to make comparisons.
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Giovanni Rossi
My daughter's FAFSA has been 'processing' for over a month and we STILL don't have an SAI score!! The website just says 'under review' with no explanation. I've called the Federal Student Aid office EIGHT TIMES and either got disconnected or waited on hold for 2+ hours before giving up. Meanwhile her friends who applied in January already have processed applications. This whole system is a JOKE!! >:
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Fatima Al-Mansour
•That sounds incredibly frustrating! Since you're stuck in the processing stage (not just waiting for colleges to receive it), you might want to try using Claimyr to get through to an actual FSA agent. I was in a similar situation and was about to give up after multiple disconnected calls. A friend recommended claimyr.com and their service got me connected to an agent in about 15 minutes instead of hours on hold. They have a video demo at https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ that shows how it works. The agent was able to tell me exactly why my son's application was stuck and what documents we needed to submit to move forward.
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Giovanni Rossi
•I'll check that out - ANYTHING is better than what I've been doing. Did they tell you how long it would take after you submitted the additional documents?
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Fatima Al-Mansour
•They told me it would take about 3-5 business days to process the additional documents. It actually took 7 days, but at least we got it resolved. Without speaking to the agent, we would have been waiting indefinitely without knowing what was wrong.
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Dylan Evans
chill out everyone lol... the schools literally can't do anything until they get the FAFSA info. my brothers in college and says this happens every year, they just wait till last minute to send out financial aid packages
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Sofia Gomez
•Uhh no, this year IS different. My oldest is in her junior year of college and we've never experienced these kinds of delays before. The FAFSA was completely redesigned for 2025-2026 which is causing all these issues.
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StormChaser
I work in a college financial aid office and can confirm what others have said - this is a nationwide situation affecting ALL colleges for the 2025-2026 FAFSA. Here's what's happening: 1. The Dept of Education completely overhauled the FAFSA form and SAI calculation formulas 2. They're releasing FAFSA data to schools in batches starting Feb 28 3. Some applications may have verification flags requiring additional documentation 4. Most schools won't send aid packages until early-to-mid April Please be patient with your school's financial aid office - we're equally frustrated but have no control over when we receive your FAFSA data. The good news is that most schools are extending their deposit deadlines to accommodate these delays.
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Liam Fitzgerald
•Thank you for the insider perspective! Can I ask - will this likely continue next year too or is this just because it's the first year with the new system?
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StormChaser
•Great question. We're being told that next year should be much smoother as the Department of Education works through these initial implementation challenges. The long-term goal is actually to make the process faster and more streamlined, but this transition year is particularly challenging.
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Dmitry Petrov
Wait isn't it easier to just fill out the FAFSA on paper and mail it in? That's what i did for my kid back in December and we got the SAI score in like 2 weeks
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PixelWarrior
•The paper form option was discontinued for 2025-2026. Everything has to be submitted electronically through studentaid.gov now. You might be thinking of last year's application.
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Dmitry Petrov
•Oh wow didnt know that, thanks for letting me know! guess I'll have to figure out the online system for my younger son next year
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Sofia Gomez
One tip - don't just assume everything is fine because the FSA website says "processed." My daughter's application said that, but when we finally got through to someone on the phone, they said there was actually a verification flag on her account that wasn't showing up on the dashboard. We had to submit her tax return transcripts and my ex-husband's W-2 forms. Better to double-check than find out later you're missing a deadline!
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Liam Fitzgerald
•That's really helpful advice! Did you get an email notification about the verification or did you only find out when you called?
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Sofia Gomez
•We got NO notification at all! The only reason we called was because it was taking so long. Definitely worth checking directly with Federal Student Aid if it's been more than 3-4 weeks since submission.
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Zara Ahmed
Thanks everyone for sharing your experiences! This is really helpful. I'm a new member here and going through this exact same situation with my son's FAFSA. It's been "processed" for about 2 weeks but none of his colleges show they've received it yet. Reading through all these responses makes me feel so much better knowing this is normal for this year. I was starting to panic that we'd missed some deadline or made an error. Sounds like we just need to be patient and wait for the colleges to get their data batches at the end of February. Really appreciate this community for providing such clear explanations about what's actually happening behind the scenes!
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