FAFSA confusion - one child's app in review after SAI, other's showing 'not signed' - what's happening?
I'm completely baffled by what's happening with my kids' FAFSA applications. My daughter (junior in college) submitted her app back in December and received her SAI score about a month ago. Everything seemed fine. But yesterday, my high school senior son got an email saying either he or a contributor (me?) didn't sign his application. When I logged into my studentaid.gov account this morning, it's showing my DAUGHTER'S application is now 'in review' and my SON'S application has been 'processed' - which completely contradicts the email! I'm going to have both kids log into their accounts to see what shows up there, but has anyone dealt with this kind of flip-flopping status? Why would my daughter's application suddenly go into review after already getting an SAI? And why would my son's say processed when we just got the 'not signed' email? The whole system seems broken.
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Hugo Kass
omg the exact same thing happened with my twins! both applied same day, one got the SAI right away then suddenly went to review last week. the other one kept getting these weird emails about missing signatures even tho we definitely signed everything. so frustrating!
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Simon White
•Did you ever figure out what was happening? Did both eventually get processed correctly?
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Nasira Ibanez
I've seen this happen often this year. The FAFSA modernization has created a lot of system glitches. Here's what's probably happening: 1. For your daughter: The Department of Education is doing random verification reviews AFTER initial processing. This is new for the 2025-2026 cycle. About 25% of applications are being pulled for additional review even after getting an initial SAI. This doesn't necessarily mean anything is wrong. 2. For your son: There's likely a system lag between the email notification and the status update. The email about missing signatures was probably sent before the signature was processed, but by the time you checked the portal, the signature issue had been resolved. Have both children check their individual accounts, and look specifically in the "Messages" section, not just the dashboard status.
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Simon White
•Thank you for the detailed explanation! My daughter checked her account and there IS a message requesting verification documents we never saw. My son's account shows everything is fine despite that email. This makes so much more sense now.
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Khalil Urso
The FAFSA is such a NIGHTMARE this year!!! My daughter's application has been "processing" for TWO MONTHS!! Called the help line 14 TIMES and never got through to anyone. Its ridiculous they expect us to figure this out with zero support!!!
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Myles Regis
•I was having the same problem with getting through on the phone, but I recently discovered a service called Claimyr that got me connected to an actual FAFSA agent in about 15 minutes instead of waiting for hours. They have a demo video at https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ that shows how it works. It was a lifesaver when my daughter's application got stuck in verification limbo. The agent was able to tell me exactly what documents were missing even though the portal showed everything was submitted.
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Brian Downey
This is a normal part of the new FAFSA process, though it's poorly communicated to families. The Department of Education is using a two-phase verification approach for 2025-2026: 1. Initial processing with SAI calculation 2. Secondary review for selected applications The timing difference between your children's applications is causing the confusion. For households with multiple students, the system sometimes flags one application for additional review when it detects minor discrepancies in how information was reported. My recommendation: - Have each student download a PDF copy of their SAR (Student Aid Report) - Compare the contributor information sections to identify any differences - Submit any requested verification documents promptly through the portal - If your daughter's application has been selected for verification, they'll request specific tax documents or household information The good news is that initial SAI calculations rarely change significantly after review unless there's a major reporting error.
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Simon White
•Thank you for breaking this down. I had no idea about the two-phase approach. We'll download those SARs and compare them tonight. At least now I understand what's happening instead of feeling completely lost!
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Jacinda Yu
have u tried clearin ur browser cache? my sons fafsa kept showing weird statuses but it was just my browser cache being dumb. also make sure ur using chrome not safari, the fafsa site hates safari lol
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Simon White
•I haven't tried that! I'll clear the cache and try again in Chrome instead of Firefox. Thanks for the suggestion.
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Landon Flounder
I wish I could provide a solution, but I'm dealing with similar issues. My son's FAFSA seemed to process correctly, but then his SAI disappeared and was replaced with a message about contributor information needing verification. Meanwhile, I got an email congratulating him on completing the FAFSA successfully THE SAME DAY. It's so frustrating trying to navigate this system when the notifications contradict each other! I hope someone else has more helpful advice.
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Nasira Ibanez
•If you're seeing the contributor verification message, check if they need your tax transcript. The most common verification request this year involves confirming income through IRS documentation rather than the self-reported numbers. You can request your tax transcript directly from irs.gov and then upload it to studentaid.gov once you have it.
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Hugo Kass
my daughters counselor said like 30% of all fafsas r getting flagged for review this year bcuz of the new system. its normal but super annoying!!!
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Simon White
•That makes me feel better that it's not just us! Thanks for sharing what the counselor said.
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Brian Downey
Update on your situation: I've just learned from a financial aid conference call that the Department of Education is specifically reviewing applications with multiple students from the same household at a higher rate this year. This is because the new simplified FAFSA doesn't have as many cross-verification questions as previous versions. For families with students in different grade levels (like your junior and senior), they're looking to verify that household information is consistent across applications. Your daughter's application going into review after initially being processed is actually a normal part of this new protocol. As long as you reported consistent information for both students, everything should resolve itself within 2-3 weeks. Just make sure to respond to any document requests within the timeframe specified.
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Simon White
•This is incredibly helpful information! I had no idea they were specifically targeting multi-student households for review. Both applications should have identical household information since I helped both kids complete them, so hopefully we'll be okay. Thank you for sharing this insight from the conference call!
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