FAFSA 2025-2026 still processing after 6 weeks - submitted in early January

same thing happening to me!! applied jan 5 and still nothing. My brother applied last week and already got his SAI!! makes NO sense

This is unfortunately very common with the new FAFSA system this year. The Department of Education announced processing delays due to the FAFSA Simplification Act changes. Early applications are taking 4-6 weeks minimum, with many taking 8+ weeks. However, I recommend you contact your college financial aid offices ASAP to explain the situation - most schools are aware of the delays and have extended their priority deadlines or will mark your file as "FAFSA pending" if you can show you've submitted it. Take screenshots of your submission confirmation as evidence.

I work in financial aid at a university, and we're seeing this across the board. The FSA promised faster processing with the new FAFSA, but the reality is many early filers are waiting longer than those who filed later. Your best approach is to: 1. Contact each school's financial aid office to notify them of your situation 2. Check if they have internal forms you can complete while waiting 3. Ask about provisional aid packages based on previous year data 4. Document every attempt to resolve this (screenshots, call logs, etc.) Schools know this is happening and most are being flexible with deadlines for circumstances beyond student control.

This happend to my daughter too but hers just went through yesterday after almost 7 weeks!!! the wierd thing was she didnt get any email about it, she just happened to check her account and saw the SAI was finally there. Maybe check your account even if you havent gotten a notification?

After dealing with the same thing for nearly 7 weeks, I finally reached a live person at Federal Student Aid who told me my application had an error flag that wasn't showing up in my online account. They fixed it in 5 minutes and my SAI showed up 2 days later. Problem was trying to reach someone - I spent hours getting disconnected. I finally used a service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that holds your place in the phone queue and calls you when an agent is ready. Saved me hours of time and got my problem fixed. They have a video demo at https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ that shows how it works. Might be worth trying since you're on a deadline.

I was skeptical too at first, but it worked for me. They just need your phone number to call you back when an agent is available. You don't give them any FAFSA info or anything sensitive. Definitely better than being on hold for hours and getting disconnected repeatedly.

the whole fafsa system is a JOKE!!! I applied Dec 30 (literally the day it opened) and STILL processing. Meanwhile my roommate applied feb 1 and got her SAI in 10 days. HOW DOES THAT MAKE ANY SENSE?? The dept of education is completely incompetent and doesn't care that they're ruining students' futures. I've called 9 TIMES and can't get through to anyone. This is my last chance at affording college and they're screwing me over.

Final update for anyone finding this thread later: My SAI finally came through this morning! Total processing time was 6 weeks and 5 days from submission. For those still waiting - try calling FSA directly as there might be hidden issues with your application that don't show up online. And definitely notify your schools about the delay - mine were all understanding and said they're seeing this with lots of students.