FAFSA finally accepted my signature after months of processing - what's next for review stage?
I've been stuck in FAFSA limbo since October! After THREE attempts to submit my signature (the website kept giving me error code E-4089), I was finally able to successfully add my electronic signature this morning. Now my application status shows 'In Review' instead of 'Action Required' but doesn't give any timeline. For anyone who's recently gone through this - how long did the review stage take? I'm freaking out because my college's priority deadline was in February, and I'm worried I'll miss out on aid. Will they even still consider my application since it's so late? The whole system is absolutely ridiculous.
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Paolo Bianchi
Congrats on getting past the signature issue! The review stage typically takes 3-7 business days, though it can be longer during peak periods. Since you started the application in October (before the official deadline), most schools will still consider your application complete once the SAI calculation is processed. Be sure to contact your school's financial aid office to let them know about the delay - they can often make accommodations for technical issues beyond your control.
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Keisha Thompson
•Thanks for the timeline!! I'll email my financial aid office right now. Do you think I should mention the specific error code that kept preventing my signature from going through? Or just say there were 'technical difficulties'?
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Yara Assad
omg the exact same thing happened to me!!!!! the signature part was IMPOSSIBLE to get working. took me like 5 weeks to fix and then another 3 weeks in review. but i still got my aid package eventually so dont give up
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Keisha Thompson
•3 WEEKS in review??? That's going to push me so far past all the deadlines. Did your school give you any trouble about it being late?
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Yara Assad
•nah my school was fine with it. they said lots of ppl had this problem this year. just make sure u email them explaining whats up
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Olivia Clark
I had this EXACT problem with the signature and error codes back in December! Their whole system is totally broken this year. When I called FSA, they said the review stage shouldn't take more than 10 days, but mine took 23 days to process. Make sure you check your email daily - they sent me a request for additional verification halfway through with a tiny deadline window. I almost missed it!
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Keisha Thompson
•23 days?! That's insane. I don't understand why they redesigned the entire system if it was just going to be this broken. Did you have to submit any additional documents or was it just waiting after the signature went through?
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Olivia Clark
•They asked for my parents' 2023 tax return even though I uploaded it twice already. The new system keeps losing documents. Just be prepared for them to potentially ask for things you've already submitted. It's frustrating but eventually gets resolved if you stay on top of it.
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Javier Morales
After my signature was approved it took exactly 12 days for my SAI score to appear in my account. But then another weird thing happened - the colleges couldn't see my FAFSA even though it was complete on my end! Had to call FSA again to fix that. What a mess this year has been.
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Natasha Petrov
•If you need to reach someone at FSA, I recommend using Claimyr (claimyr.com) - I was having the same issues with signatures and processing, spent hours trying to get through on the phone with no luck. Used their service and got connected to a rep in under 10 minutes who fixed everything. They have a video demo here: https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ I was seriously about to give up on my application until I found this.
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Connor O'Brien
School financial aid counselor here - please contact your school's financial aid office immediately. Many schools are aware of the FAFSA signature issues this year and have processes in place to accommodate affected students. At our institution, we're still processing aid for students who experienced delays with the new FAFSA system. Bring documentation of your original submission date from October if possible, as this can help establish that you attempted to meet deadlines.
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Keisha Thompson
•This is really reassuring to hear. I just sent an email to my financial aid office with screenshots of my previous attempts and error messages. Should I follow up with a phone call too?
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Connor O'Brien
•Yes, definitely follow up with a phone call in 2-3 business days if you don't hear back. Ask specifically about their process for students affected by FAFSA system delays and whether they need any additional documentation from you. Most schools are being flexible this year, but being proactive helps ensure your case doesn't fall through the cracks.
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Amina Diallo
i dont get why everyones having so many problems with fafsa this year lol. mine went through in like a week with no issues 🤷♂️
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Olivia Clark
•Consider yourself extremely lucky then. The Department of Education has publicly acknowledged major system-wide issues with the new FAFSA rollout. Just because it worked for you doesn't mean the problems aren't real for thousands of others.
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Paolo Bianchi
Quick update on processing times - I just checked the FSA website and they're currently reporting an average of 14 business days for applications in review status. That's significantly longer than previous years. Make sure you're checking both your email and your studentaid.gov account messages regularly, as they sometimes send requests for additional information through the message center that don't come through email.
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Keisha Thompson
•Thanks for checking! I'll make sure to log in daily to check for messages. The 14 business days is frustrating but at least now I have a realistic timeline to work with.
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