FAFSA Summary showing blank sections for family size and savings - did I miss something?

omg SAME!! my summary had like 3 blank sections. family size was there but my parents income section was totally blank even tho they def entered it during the application. i freaked out and called the hotline but got disconnected twice 🙄

This is actually normal with the new FAFSA. The summary page doesn't show every piece of information that was collected or calculated in the background. The simplified FAFSA uses data directly from your tax returns through the IRS DRT (Data Retrieval Tool), so some information that used to be manually entered is now pulled automatically. For family size, they're using a combination of tax return dependents plus the additional household members you may have indicated during the application. The asset questions have been simplified for many filers - if you fall below certain income thresholds, you might qualify for the Student Aid Index (SAI) simplified formula and won't need to report assets like savings and checking accounts.

Hi there! I work in a financial aid office and can confirm this is completely normal with the new FAFSA. The redesigned form is much more streamlined than previous versions. Many applicants who qualify for the simplified needs test or auto-zero EFC won't see questions about assets at all. The system is using your tax return data to determine your family size and financial information. If you used the IRS Data Retrieval Tool, the system automatically counted your tax dependents plus any additional household members you indicated. The summary page is not comprehensive - it's just highlighting certain key elements. Your application is likely complete if you received a confirmation number at submission. You can verify by checking your Student Aid Index (SAI) once it's calculated - that will tell you if everything processed correctly.

Yes, that confirmation number format is correct! Your SAI should be calculated within 3-5 business days typically, though during peak periods it can take up to 2 weeks. You'll receive an email notification when your Student Aid Report (SAR) is ready, which will include your SAI. If it's been more than 2 weeks, I'd recommend trying to contact Federal Student Aid.

I had the EXACT same issue with getting disconnected when calling about my blank sections. After wasting half a day trying to get through, I finally used Claimyr (claimyr.com) to connect with a FAFSA agent. They have this service where they wait on hold for you and call you back when an actual human picks up. Saved me hours of frustration. They have a video demo showing how it works here: https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ The agent confirmed what others have said - the blank sections are normal with the simplified form. They use your tax info for most calculations now, even if it doesn't show explicitly on the summary.

It worked great for me! Instead of getting disconnected after 30 minutes on hold, I just entered my phone number and they called me when an agent was ready. The FAFSA agent confirmed my application was completely processed despite those blank sections.

My son's FAFSA had those same blank sections and we got his final SAI calculation last week - it was totally fine! The form is just weird this year. Our aid package was actually better than we expected so don't stress too much about those blank parts.

btw did anyone notice that the old EFC is now called SAI? my older brother applied 2 years ago and everything was different. i don't even know what a "good" SAI number is supposed to be lol

Just to add a bit more information about the timeline - the Department of Education announced some delays this year with processing, so don't panic if your SAI takes a bit longer than expected. Also, once schools receive your FAFSA information, they might request additional verification documents before finalizing your aid package. This is routine for many applicants and doesn't mean you did anything wrong on your FAFSA.

Hi Leslie! I'm a newcomer here but wanted to share that I just went through the exact same panic last month. My FAFSA summary also had blank sections for family size and assets, and I was convinced I had somehow broken the application. After reading through all these helpful responses, I feel so much better knowing this is normal with the new simplified form. The key thing that helped me was realizing that the summary isn't meant to show everything - it's just highlighting certain elements while the system uses your tax data behind the scenes. I got my SAI calculation about 10 days after submission and everything worked out fine. Hang in there - sounds like you did everything correctly!

As a newcomer to this community, I want to thank everyone for sharing their experiences! I'm currently going through the FAFSA process for the first time with my twins applying to college, and seeing those blank sections on the summary had me absolutely terrified that I'd somehow ruined their chances for financial aid. Reading through this thread has been incredibly reassuring - especially hearing from Amy who works in financial aid and from other parents who've been through this successfully. It's frustrating that the Department of Education doesn't make it clearer that these blank sections are normal, but I'm grateful for communities like this where we can support each other through these stressful processes. Now I feel much more confident waiting for our SAI calculations to come through!

Hi Leslie! As a newcomer to this community, I wanted to jump in and share that I experienced the exact same terror when I saw those blank sections on my FAFSA summary! I submitted mine about 3 weeks ago and had completely empty fields for family size and assets, even though I was certain I had provided that information. After reading through all the incredibly helpful responses here (especially from Amy who works in financial aid), I feel so much better understanding that this is actually normal with the redesigned FAFSA. I ended up getting my SAI calculation after about 12 days, and everything processed correctly despite those scary blank sections. The new system really is confusing compared to what I expected, but it sounds like you're in good hands! Hang in there - based on everyone's experiences here, it seems like the blank sections are just a quirk of how the summary displays information, not an indication that anything went wrong with your application.

Hi Leslie! As a newcomer to this community, I completely understand your panic about those blank sections - I went through the exact same thing just a few weeks ago! My FAFSA summary showed blank fields for family size and assets too, and I was absolutely convinced I had somehow skipped crucial parts of the application. After reading all these incredibly helpful responses, especially from Amy who works in financial aid, I now realize this is totally normal with the new simplified FAFSA. The system pulls most information directly from your tax returns through the IRS Data Retrieval Tool, so even though it doesn't display everything on the summary, it's still using the correct data behind the scenes. I got my SAI calculation after about 9 days and everything was processed correctly despite those scary blank sections. Don't lose sleep over this like I did - it sounds like your application is perfectly fine! This community has been such a lifesaver for understanding these confusing changes to the FAFSA process.

Hi Leslie! As a newcomer to this community, I just wanted to chime in and say you're definitely not alone in this panic! I submitted my FAFSA about two weeks ago and had the exact same experience - completely blank sections for family size and assets that made me think I had somehow catastrophically failed at filling out the form. Reading through all these responses has been such a relief, especially hearing from Amy who works in financial aid that this is completely normal with the redesigned FAFSA. It's honestly frustrating that the Department of Education doesn't make this clearer on the summary page itself - a simple note explaining that blank sections are expected would save so many parents from unnecessary stress! I'm still waiting for my SAI calculation but feeling much more confident after seeing everyone's successful experiences here. Thank you for posting this question because it's helped so many of us newcomers understand that we didn't mess up our applications after all!

Hi Leslie! As a newcomer to this community, I completely understand your panic about those blank sections - I went through the exact same terrifying experience just last week! My FAFSA summary also showed completely empty fields for family size and assets, and I was absolutely convinced I had somehow skipped entire pages or broken the application. After reading through all these incredibly helpful responses, especially from Amy who works in financial aid, I now realize this is totally normal with the new simplified FAFSA system. The redesigned form pulls most information directly from your tax returns behind the scenes, so even though the summary doesn't display everything, the system is still using all the correct data for calculations. I just received my SAI calculation yesterday (took about 11 days) and everything processed perfectly despite those scary blank sections on the summary. Don't lose sleep over this like I did - your application sounds like it's in great shape! This community has been such a lifesaver for understanding these confusing changes to the FAFSA process and realizing we didn't mess up our kids' financial aid after all.

Hi Leslie! As a newcomer to this community, I wanted to reach out because I'm going through the exact same nerve-wracking experience right now! I submitted my FAFSA about a week ago and when I saw those completely blank sections for family size and assets on the summary, I honestly thought I had somehow destroyed my son's chances for financial aid. Reading through all these responses has been incredibly reassuring - especially hearing from Amy who works in financial aid that this is completely normal with the redesigned FAFSA system. It's really frustrating that the Department of Education doesn't explain this clearly on the summary page itself - they could save so many parents from sleepless nights with just a simple note that blank sections are expected! Based on everyone's experiences here, it sounds like the new system pulls data directly from our tax returns behind the scenes even when it doesn't display on the summary. I'm still waiting for my SAI calculation but feeling so much more confident after reading all these success stories. Thank you for posting this question - it's helping so many of us newcomers realize we didn't mess up our applications after all!

Hi Leslie! As a newcomer to this community, I completely relate to your panic about those blank sections - I just went through the exact same terrifying experience two weeks ago! My FAFSA summary also showed completely empty fields for family size and assets, and I was absolutely convinced I had somehow ruined my daughter's entire financial aid future. Reading through all these incredibly helpful responses, especially from Amy who works in financial aid, has been such a relief to understand that this is totally normal with the new simplified FAFSA system. The redesigned form really is confusing compared to what we might expect - it pulls information directly from your tax returns behind the scenes even when it doesn't show up on the summary page. I ended up getting my SAI calculation after about 10 days and everything processed perfectly despite those scary blank sections. It's so frustrating that the Department of Education doesn't include a simple explanation on the summary page about why sections appear blank - they could save so many parents from unnecessary stress! But I'm incredibly grateful for this supportive community where we can all share our experiences and reassure each other. Don't lose sleep over this like I did - based on everyone's success stories here, your application sounds like it's in great shape!