FAFSA 'In Review' status taking forever - normal wait times?
I submitted my FAFSA about 10 days ago and my status changed to 'In Review' on the StudentAid.gov dashboard. It's been sitting there for a week with no movement. Is this normal? How long should I expect to wait before it moves to the next step? I'm getting anxious because my college needs my SAI score by March 15th for their scholarship consideration. Anyone gone through this recently with the new system?
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Amara Adeyemi
mine was stuck for like 3 weeks lol
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Liam O'Connor
•3 WEEKS?? Did you have to call them or anything to get it moving?
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Giovanni Gallo
The 'In Review' status can last anywhere from 3-6 weeks with the new system, especially during peak filing season (January-March). This is normal, but if you're concerned about your college's March 15th deadline, I'd recommend reaching out to both your school's financial aid office to let them know about the potential delay, and possibly contacting Federal Student Aid directly to check if there are any specific issues with your application.
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Liam O'Connor
•Thank you so much for the detailed response. I'll definitely reach out to my school. Do you know the best way to contact FSA directly? Every time I call I get stuck on hold forever.
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Fatima Al-Mazrouei
I had this same issue last month and discovered Claimyr.com which helped me reach an actual FSA agent without the insane hold times. They have a video demo at https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ that shows how it works. The agent told me my application was flagged for income verification which was why it was stuck in review. Once I knew that, I could upload the documentation they needed and it processed within 3 days after that.
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Liam O'Connor
•That's really helpful, thank you! I'll check it out. Did they say why your application was flagged for verification?
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Fatima Al-Mazrouei
•Apparently it was because my dad's reported income on the FAFSA didn't exactly match what was on his tax return (he had forgotten about some dividend income). The agent was able to tell me exactly what documents I needed to upload to fix it.
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Dylan Wright
The whole FAFSA system is GARBAGE this year!!!! My daughter's application has been "in review" for OVER A MONTH despite us submitting EVERYTHING correctly the first time! We've called a dozen times and get disconnected or wait for 2+ hours. Meanwhile scholarship deadlines are passing and they don't care!!! This is RIDICULOUS and nobody at the Department of Education is held accountable!!!
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NebulaKnight
•^^^ this. My son's has been stuck too. The whole thing is a mess.
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Sofia Ramirez
•While there have been significant delays this cycle, it's important to document all your contact attempts. Contact your school's financial aid office and explain the situation - many are making accommodations for FAFSA delays this year. Also, when calling FSA, try early morning (8:01am ET) on Tuesday or Wednesday when call volumes are typically lower.
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Dmitry Popov
my cousins fafsa was in review for 2 weeks but then it changed to processed and she got her sai the next day. did u check if u have any incomplete sections? sometimes theres a thing where they need more info but they dont tell u
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Liam O'Connor
•I just double-checked and everything shows complete with green checkmarks. No missing info that I can see.
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NebulaKnight
I went thru this same thing back when I applied in January. In my case they were doing verification on my parents tax info and I didn't know until I finally got through to someone. My status just said "in review" the whole time with no explanation. I wish they had better status indicators!
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Liam O'Connor
•That's what I'm worried about! That there's some issue that needs addressing but I have no way of knowing what it is.
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Sofia Ramirez
Based on the 2025-2026 FAFSA processing guidelines, 'In Review' status can vary widely in duration: • Standard processing: 3-4 weeks • Peak season processing (February-March): 4-6 weeks • Applications selected for verification: 5-8 weeks For your March 15th scholarship deadline, I'd recommend: 1. Contact your school's financial aid office immediately and ask about provisional consideration pending FAFSA completion 2. Check for any "Action Required" items on StudentAid.gov (sometimes these appear without notification) 3. If your school offers institutional scholarships, inquire about alternate documentation you can provide in the interim The new FAFSA system has extended processing times compared to previous years, but schools are generally aware and making accommodations.
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Liam O'Connor
•This is super detailed, thank you. I'll contact my school tomorrow. I didn't know about the "Action Required" items - I'll check for those right now.
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Giovanni Gallo
Just to update you - if your application moves from "In Review" to "Processing" that's actually good news and means it's in the final stages. You should receive your SAI within 3-5 days after it reaches that status. Keep checking your dashboard daily.
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Liam O'Connor
•Thank you! I'll watch for that status change. Fingers crossed it happens soon!
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Dmitry Popov
i just remembered. my step sister had this same thing happen and she ended up having to upload images of her w-2 forms even tho they did the data transfer thing from the irs. sometimes they want to double check stuff i guess?
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Amara Adeyemi
•ya my roommate had to do that 2. the system is bugged this year
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Liam O'Connor
UPDATE: I took everyone's advice and contacted my school. They said they've been seeing 4-5 week wait times on average, but they're extending their scholarship deadline to April 5th to accommodate FAFSA delays. I also used Claimyr to reach FSA and found out my application actually IS undergoing verification (parent income) which is why it's taking longer. They're sending me an email with the specific documents needed. Thank you all for your help!!
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Sofia Ramirez
•Excellent update! Make sure to upload the requested verification documents as soon as possible. Income verification typically adds 2-3 weeks to processing time, but since you now know what's needed, you can expedite the process. Most importantly, your school's deadline extension gives you adequate time to complete everything.
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Giovanni Gallo
•Great news about the deadline extension! Remember to keep copies of all verification documents you submit, as schools sometimes request the same information for their own verification processes.
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Luca Russo
That's such a relief that you got answers! I'm in a similar situation - my FAFSA has been "In Review" for 2 weeks now and I was starting to panic. Your post inspired me to be more proactive instead of just waiting. I'm going to contact my school's financial aid office tomorrow and also try using Claimyr to see if there's verification holding up my application. It's frustrating that the system doesn't clearly communicate when verification is needed, but at least there are ways to find out. Thanks for sharing your update - it gives me hope that mine will move along once I know what's actually happening with it!
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