FAFSA application rejected by college - reprocessing due to technical error?

This is happening to A LOT of people right now. My son's application was flagged for reprocessing two weeks ago. The 2025-2026 FAFSA rollout has been a complete disaster. From what I've gathered, there was a calculation error in how they were determining SAI scores, and they're having to recalculate thousands of applications. Unfortunately, there's not much you can do except wait. In our case, the financial aid office told us they're accepting preliminary aid packages based on the information submitted, and they'll adjust once the corrected FAFSA comes through.

same here!!! my twin's fasfa got rejected too but mine didn't?? makes no sense since we have exact same financial info. college said something about system errors but idk what to do now???

The new FAFSA system is COMPLETELY BROKEN! This is my third kid going through college applications and I've never seen such a disaster. My daughter's application was rejected after showing "processing" for 6 weeks, then suddenly rejected with no explanation. Called FSA - waited 3 HOURS only to be disconnected. Called college - they said they're seeing this with about 40% of applications! This is BEYOND ridiculous. Meanwhile deadlines for scholarships are passing. How are families supposed to make enrollment decisions without knowing financial aid packages?!?

Financial aid counselor here. This is indeed a widespread issue affecting many 2025-2026 FAFSA applications. The Department of Education identified technical errors in their processing system that affected SAI calculations and application transmission to colleges. What you can do right now: 1. Contact your daughter's school's financial aid office (which you've done - good!) 2. Ask if they can prepare a preliminary aid package based on the information you submitted 3. Check your StudentAid.gov account daily for updates 4. Look for an email from noreply@studentaid.gov with reprocessing updates Typically these reprocessing issues take 2-3 weeks to resolve. Most colleges are aware of the situation and are extending internal deadlines. However, if your housing deposit deadline is firm, ask the financial aid office if they can provide a preliminary aid letter to help with your decision-making.

I was stuck in the same situation last week and couldn't get through to anyone at Federal Student Aid. After getting disconnected four times and spending HOURS on hold, I tried using Claimyr.com to reach an agent. They got me connected to an FSA agent in about 20 minutes who explained exactly what was happening with my daughter's application and gave me a timeframe for when it would be fixed. They have a video demo showing how it works: https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ The agent told me the system flagged about 30% of all applications for reprocessing due to calculation errors in the new formula. In our case, they said it would take about 10 business days to reprocess. The agent added a note to our application to expedite it since we have scholarship deadlines approaching.

Just wanted to update that our reprocessed FAFSA finally went through yesterday - took exactly 18 days from when we were notified about the issue. The college received the updated info automatically. Our SAI changed by about $1,200 (lower, thankfully), which affected the aid package slightly. The financial aid office was accommodating since this was clearly a system-wide issue.

It happened automatically - we didn't have to submit anything new. Just kept checking the StudentAid.gov portal daily. One day it changed from "Processing" to "Processed" and showed a new date. The college received the updated info the next day. I'd still recommend staying in contact with the financial aid office at your daughter's school though.

My nephew just went thru this last week! his fafsa got rejected cause apparently they miscalculated somethin with his moms income? took like 9 days to fix but then it was all good. the school told him to just chill and they would work with him on deadlines since its not his fault. maybe ask ur daughters school if they can extend the housing deposit deadline?

I'm going through the exact same thing right now! My son's FAFSA was rejected last week with zero explanation, and when I finally got through to someone at Federal Student Aid after waiting 2.5 hours, they just said "technical processing error" and that it would be "reprocessed soon." No timeline, no specifics. It's so frustrating because we completed everything correctly and on time, but now we're stuck waiting while other families are getting their aid packages and making decisions. The college financial aid office has been helpful though - they said they're seeing this with about 25% of applications and are trying to work with families on preliminary estimates. Definitely call your daughter's school ASAP to see what they can do while you wait for the reprocessing!