FAFSA data received by UW System school but 2025-2026 financial aid award still blank - progress?
Has anyone else noticed their kid's university portal finally showing a 2025-2026 Financial Aid Award section? My daughter's UW-Milwaukee account just updated with a clickable link for next year's awards, but when we click it, everything's still blank. At least it's progress after months of nothing! The FAFSA was submitted back in January (what a nightmare that was), and we received our SAI score about 3 weeks ago. I'm assuming this means her FAFSA data has finally made it to the school's system? I'm trying not to get too excited since there's no actual award info yet, but it feels like we're finally moving forward. Anyone else with kids in the UW System seeing the same thing? Or better yet, has anyone's award amounts actually populated yet?
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Liam Sullivan
Yes! My son at UW-Madison just got the same thing yesterday - the 2025-2026 award section appeared but it's empty. Our financial aid officer confirmed this means the FAFSA data has been received and is being processed, but actual awards won't be finalized for another 2-3 weeks. They're processing in batches based on when FAFSA data arrived. The good news is we're in the system now!
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Mei Wong
•That's so helpful to know, thank you! Did they mention if we need to do anything else while waiting for the award amounts to populate? I'm paranoid about missing some hidden requirement.
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Amara Okafor
same here!!! my twins both at uw-la crosse got the link too. one has the actual aid package now (just showed up this morning) and the other one still has the blank page. weird how they process things differently even for siblings at same school?
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Giovanni Colombo
•Financial aid processing is never consistent! When my kids were in college (graduated now, thank goodness), one would get everything processed weeks before the other. I think it depends on how complex your financial situation is and if they flag anything for verification. Congrats on seeing progress though!
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Fatima Al-Qasimi
This is actually normal and expected! I work in college advising, and schools typically process FAFSA data in this exact sequence: 1) Portal shows a new aid year link (but blank) 2) Initial award package appears ~2 weeks later 3) Final package with institutional scholarships 1-2 months after that. The blank page IS progress! For UW System specifically, they're running about 3-4 weeks behind normal schedule due to all the FAFSA delays this year. The fact you're seeing the link now means your student will likely have initial packages by late May, which is actually better than I expected with all the FAFSA chaos this year.
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Mei Wong
•Thank you for explaining the timeline! That helps set my expectations. So we should see something by end of May then? My daughter's trying to decide between two schools and the financial aid package will be the deciding factor.
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StarStrider
Am I the only one STILL waiting for the stupid link to even show up?? My daughter's UW-Green Bay account has absolutely nothing for 2025-2026 financial aid. We submitted our FAFSA in December and got our SAI score in January. This is ridiculous! Everyone else is moving forward but we're stuck with no progress at all. I've called the financial aid office 8 times and either get voicemail or they say "just keep checking the portal" 😡
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Dylan Campbell
•I was in the same situation last week with my son's UW-Stout account. After multiple failed attempts to reach someone, I used Claimyr (claimyr.com) to get through to the Federal Student Aid helpline. They confirmed my son's FAFSA data had been sent to the school, but there was a flag on our application causing the delay. Got it resolved in one phone call! They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ - saved me hours of frustration and our link appeared two days later.
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Sofia Torres
lol is anyone else just greatful that SOMETHING is happening after this entire fafsa disaster??? my kid at uw-whitewater got the link yesterday too. blank page gang unite 😂
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Mei Wong
•Haha yes! I literally took a screenshot of the blank page to commemorate the momentous occasion. After months of nothing, even an empty page feels like winning the lottery!
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Fatima Al-Qasimi
Quick update for everyone in this thread: Just got official word from a UW System financial aid director that all initial packages for continuing students should be released by May 25th, with new incoming student packages coming by May 18th. They're prioritizing new students since they have enrollment deposit deadlines. So if your student is a returning sophomore/junior/senior, the wait might be a bit longer than for freshmen. But the appearance of the link is definitely confirmation that you're in the queue!
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Amara Okafor
•thx for the update!! that explains why one of my twins got her package (shes an incoming freshman) but the other hasnt (hes going to be a junior). makes sense they do new students first
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Mei Wong
Just wanted to share a happy update - our daughter's financial aid package populated this morning! About 5 days after the link first appeared. Got a decent Pell Grant amount and some work-study. Still waiting on the Wisconsin Grant amount to show up, but the big federal pieces are there. For anyone still waiting, hang in there!
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Fatima Al-Qasimi
•That's fantastic news! Yes, state grants often come in a separate wave. The Wisconsin Grant typically shows up 7-10 days after the federal aid components. Glad to hear things are moving along for your family!
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Giovanni Colombo
My nephew had the same thing at UW-Parkside, blank link for two weeks then suddenly the full aid package appeared. He had to accept each part individually tho and almost missed the deadline because the email went to spam! Tell your kids to check spam folders for anything from the financial aid office!
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Mei Wong
•Oh that's a great reminder! I'll have her check her spam folder right now.
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