Completed FAFSA beta in October - Do we need to resubmit for 2025-2026?
My daughter and I completed the FAFSA beta version back in October when it first launched. We got our SAI score about 2 weeks later. Now I'm seeing posts about the "official" FAFSA being available, and I'm confused. Do we need to submit a whole new application? Or make changes to the one we already did? Will colleges get the information from our beta submission automatically? I don't want to mess anything up since this is her senior year and we're waiting on financial aid offers from 5 schools. Sorry if this is a stupid question, but the whole FAFSA overhaul has been really confusing!
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Elijah Brown
You don't need to resubmit! If you completed the FAFSA during the beta (soft launch) period and received your SAI calculation, your application is valid for the 2025-2026 school year. The Department of Education confirmed that all beta submissions are being processed and sent to schools. You can log into studentaid.gov to verify your application status and make sure your daughter's schools are listed correctly in the "Colleges" section.
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Zoe Walker
•Oh thank goodness! I was worried we'd have to start all over. I'll log in and double-check her college list. Do you know if we should have received any kind of confirmation email from the schools that they got her FAFSA info?
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Maria Gonzalez
i did the beta 2 and they said its the same thing. but check ur schools got it my sons school said they didnt get his fafsa even tho we did it in october!!
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Zoe Walker
•Really? That's exactly what I'm worried about! How did you find out they didn't receive it? Did you just call the financial aid office?
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Natalie Chen
The FAFSA beta version IS the official version for 2025-2026. There's no separate "official" application. What happened is that they did a soft launch (the beta) starting in October, and now they're just announcing it's fully launched. Your October submission is being processed and counts as your official FAFSA. However, you should verify a few things: 1. Log into studentaid.gov and check that your application status shows "Processed" not just "Submitted" 2. Verify all schools are correctly listed 3. If you got your SAI (Student Aid Index), that means processing was completed 4. If needed, you can make corrections to your existing application Many schools are still working through FAFSA data this year due to the delayed rollout.
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Zoe Walker
•Thanks for the detailed explanation! I just checked and it does say "Processed" with our SAI score showing. All 5 schools are listed correctly. I guess we just need to be patient and wait for the schools to work through everything.
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Santiago Martinez
We did the beta too and thought we were good but then my daughter's top choice school said they never got her FAFSA info! So frustrating! We had to contact FSA directly.
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Samantha Johnson
•This happened to me too! I spent HOURS trying to get through to someone at Federal Student Aid. I finally used Claimyr (claimyr.com) to connect with an agent without the endless hold times. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ The FSA agent confirmed our FAFSA was processed correctly and gave me a case number to provide to the school's financial aid office. Apparently there's been a delay in schools receiving the data even when it shows as processed on our end.
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Nick Kravitz
UGH THE FAFSA SYSTEM IS SUCH A MESS THIS YEAR!!! 😡 I completed ours in October too and my kid's college STILL says they don't have it! Meanwhile the deadline for their institutional scholarships is next week!! Beta, official, whatever they want to call it - the whole system is broken!
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Natalie Chen
•Contact the school's financial aid office directly and let them know your FAFSA is complete. Many schools are creating exceptions to their institutional deadlines because of the FAFSA delays. Take screenshots of your completed FAFSA showing the "Processed" status and your SAI calculation as proof if needed.
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Hannah White
From my experience working with students this year, your October beta submission is your official FAFSA for 2025-2026. However, there have been significant delays in the data transmission to schools. I recommend three things: 1. Print or save a PDF copy of your processed FAFSA with the confirmation number and SAI score 2. Contact each school's financial aid office directly to confirm they've received your data 3. If any school says they don't have it, offer to email them the PDF confirmation Many schools are creating alternative processes because of the FAFSA delays. Some will accept screenshots or PDFs as temporary proof while waiting for the official data transmission.
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Zoe Walker
•This is really helpful, thank you! I didn't know you could save a PDF of the processed application. I'll do that right away and then contact the schools to confirm they have everything they need.
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Maria Gonzalez
my nephew did the beta and got rejected for pell grant but my sister said he should of qualified, they had to redo the whole thing and now hes getting the full pell grant. might be worth checking if your SAI looks right
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Hannah White
•This is an important point. If your SAI seems incorrect based on your financial situation, you should consider submitting a correction. Common errors in the beta period included: - Income reporting issues - Incorrectly counting retirement assets - Errors in household size reporting - Missing eligible siblings in college You can make corrections to your existing FAFSA rather than submitting a new one.
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Elijah Brown
Just to clarify for anyone reading this thread: if you completed the FAFSA during the beta/soft launch period (October-December) and received your SAI calculation, your application IS valid and you do NOT need to resubmit. However, you should: 1. Verify your application status shows "Processed" 2. Check that all selected schools are correctly listed 3. Contact schools to confirm they received your data 4. Make corrections if needed (without starting a new application) If schools say they don't have your data, contact Federal Student Aid directly for assistance.
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Maria Gonzalez
•trying to call FSA is impossible!! i was on hold for 3 hours yesterday and got disconnected!!!
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