FAFSA application FINALLY processed after 2-month wait - is this normal timing?

congrats!! my daughters took 8 wks too, submitted jan 15 processed march 10. heard their having massive backlogs this year. definitely email the schools financial aid office like ASAP so they know your not missing the deadline on purpose

Thanks! Just sent emails to all his schools this morning. I'm so stressed about missing those priority deadlines. Did your daughter lose any aid because of the processing delays?

This is actually faster than many people are experiencing with the 2025-2026 FAFSA. The Department of Education has acknowledged significant delays with the new FAFSA form. Two months is unfortunately quite normal this cycle. \n\nRegarding priority deadlines: most schools are aware of the systemic FAFSA delays and have adjusted their internal processes accordingly. However, you should absolutely contact each financial aid office to confirm they'll still consider him for full institutional aid despite the delay. Be sure to provide your confirmation number and processing date when you contact them.

Thank you for this information! That's somewhat reassuring. We did save the confirmation email from January, so I'll make sure to include that information when contacting the schools.

My son's took THREE months so you actually got lucky lol. But yeah call all the schools ASAP. Most are being flexible but some smaller private colleges might be stricter with their deadlines so don't wait!!

Three months?? Wow, that's even worse! I'm calling his top choice school today, then emailing the rest. Fingers crossed they'll be understanding about the situation.

The FAFSA system is COMPLETELY BROKEN this year!!! I've been working in college counseling for 15 years and have NEVER seen such a disaster. The Department of Education rolled out a \

Oh no, this is what I was afraid of. Should I try to schedule actual meetings with the financial aid officers? I'm worried about my son losing out on aid packages because of these delays that were completely out of our control.

YES - schedule actual meetings if possible. At minimum, call AND email every school. The squeaky wheel gets the grease in this situation. Some schools have set aside emergency funds specifically because of the FAFSA delays, but you have to explicitly ASK about them. They won't volunteer this information.

I work in a university financial aid office, and I can assure you that most institutions are well aware of the FAFSA processing delays this year. The 2025-2026 FAFSA rollout has been challenging for everyone involved.\n\nHere's what you should do:\n\n1. Contact each school's financial aid office via both email and phone\n2. Provide your FAFSA confirmation number and processing date\n3. Ask specifically about their adjusted priority deadlines for this cycle\n4. Request written confirmation that your student will still be considered for all institutional aid\n\nYour processing time of two months is actually on the faster end of what we're seeing. Many students are experiencing 10-12 week processing times.

not at my sons school!! they are being TOTALLY rigid about their march 15 deadline even with all the fafsa problems. he might loose his scholarship because the SAI wasnt available in time. its completly unfair!!

That's extremely concerning. If your son's school is enforcing strict deadlines despite the known FAFSA processing issues, you should file a formal complaint with both the school's financial aid director and the Department of Education. Many schools received specific guidance from the Department to adjust deadlines this cycle.

I was in the same situation last month trying to reach the Federal Student Aid office to check on my daughter's delayed FAFSA. After getting disconnected multiple times and waiting on hold for hours, I found this service called Claimyr that connects you with a live FAFSA agent without the wait. Just went to claimyr.com and watched their demo (https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ) to see how it works. Got through to an agent in about 10 minutes who could actually give me a specific update on her application status. Way better than waiting on hold for hours only to get disconnected!

does that actually work?? I've been trying to get through to someone at FSA for WEEKS about my son's verification issue and keep getting disconnected

It worked for me! The agent I spoke with was able to see exactly where my daughter's application was in the process and why it was delayed. For verification issues specifically, they can usually tell you exactly what documents are still needed or what's holding things up.

Thanks for sharing this. I might need this service if I can't get clear answers from the schools about how they're handling the delays. Did the FSA agent tell you anything helpful about the processing backlog?

my kids fasfa took 9 weeks so yours is pretty normal. all this fafsa stuff gives me such a headache every year!! wish they would just make college free lol

Free college would solve so many problems! But until then, we're stuck with this broken FAFSA system that seems designed to prevent students from getting the aid they deserve. The entire process needs a complete overhaul.

Just to follow up on the priority deadline concerns: I can confirm that almost all colleges have implemented special procedures for the 2025-2026 aid year due to the FAFSA delays. Some schools have pushed their priority deadlines back by 30-60 days, while others are flagging applications with delayed FAFSA processing for special review.\n\nThe key is communication. When you contact each school, ask specifically about:\n\n1. Their adjusted priority deadline policy for this year\n2. How they're handling institutional aid decisions for students affected by FAFSA delays\n3. If there's any additional documentation you can provide to strengthen your son's file while waiting for the SAI\n\nCongratulations on getting processed - that's actually good news given the current circumstances!

Thank you so much for this detailed advice! I've contacted three schools so far today, and they've all been understanding about the situation. Two have already confirmed in writing that they'll still consider him for full institutional aid despite the delay. One even mentioned they've pushed their internal deadline back to May 1st because of all the FAFSA issues. Such a relief!

That's fantastic news that the schools are being understanding! It really helps to hear some positive outcomes from this whole FAFSA mess. I'm a newcomer here but have been following all the FAFSA delay stories with growing anxiety about my own daughter's application. She submitted in January and we're still waiting for processing. Hearing that you got confirmation in writing from the schools gives me hope that when her FAFSA finally processes, we won't be completely shut out of aid opportunities. Thanks for sharing your experience and congrats on getting through this stressful process!