FAFSA 'in review' since February but 'last updated' date changed to March - what's happening?

This is actually pretty normal and a good sign! When the 'last updated' date changes without you doing anything, it usually means someone at FSA is actively reviewing your application. They might be verifying information or comparing it against tax records. The processing times are much longer this year with the new FAFSA rollout, but the date change suggests your application is moving through the queue.

lol same thing happened to me. waited 7 weeks then suddenly the date changed. got my sai 4 days later. hang in there

THE FAFSA SYSTEM IS COMPLETELY BROKEN THIS YEAR!!! My daughter's application has been "in review" for NINE WEEKS with changing dates every few days. Called FSA six times and got SIX DIFFERENT ANSWERS!!! One agent said it was fine, another said there was a "verification flag" but couldn't tell me what documents they needed. How are families supposed to make college decisions like this?!?! It's CRIMINAL how they've handled this rollout.

Yo for what its worth my fafsa was 'in review' for nearly 3 months this year and the date kept changing like every 2 weeks. ended up getting approved last week with a decent SAI score. the system is just super backed up this year.

I had the same issue and finally got through to a Federal Student Aid agent who explained that the date changes when their system runs automated verification checks or when an agent reviews your application. They actually recommended using Claimyr (claimyr.com) to get through to someone faster - I was skeptical but it worked. You can see how it works in their video demo: https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ. The agent I spoke with was able to tell me exactly what was happening with my application and when I could expect the SAI score.

Another thing to keep in mind - many schools are being flexible with financial aid deadlines this year because of the FAFSA delays. I would definitely contact your daughter's college financial aid office directly and explain the situation. They might be able to give you a deadline extension or work with provisional information until your SAI comes through.

Financial aid advisor here - the changing date without you making changes is actually part of the normal review process. The FSA system updates the date when: 1. Their automated verification system checks your application 2. They pull IRS tax information to verify against your submission 3. A human reviewer looks at your application 4. System flags are added or resolved Given your timeline (Feb submission with March 20 update), I'd expect you to receive your SAI calculation within 1-3 weeks. The system is processing February applications now. Also, contact your college's financial aid office - most institutions have extended their internal deadlines this year due to the FAFSA delays.

This happened to my son's application too! Date kept changing every few weeks. Turns out they were running income verification against our tax records. We finally got his SAI score after about 8 weeks total. When we finally got through to someone on the phone, they said something about "processing batches" and that our application was in an active review batch. Not very helpful but at least we knew something was happening!

UPDATE: I took everyone's advice and 1) contacted the school's financial aid office, who said they're being flexible with deadlines this year, and 2) finally got through to FSA by calling right when they opened. The agent confirmed my application is in active review, no issues flagged, and said I should see the SAI calculation within 7-10 business days! Thank you all for the help and reassurance.

As a newcomer here, I just want to say how helpful this thread has been! I'm in a similar situation - submitted my FAFSA in early February and it's been "in review" with changing dates. Reading all your experiences makes me feel so much better about what's happening. The explanation from the financial aid advisor was especially helpful. I'm going to follow Sean's lead and contact my school's financial aid office tomorrow. It's reassuring to know that schools are being flexible with deadlines this year because of all the FAFSA processing delays. Thanks everyone for sharing your experiences!

Welcome to the community! I'm also new here and dealing with the exact same FAFSA nightmare. Submitted mine in late February and have been watching those dates change every couple weeks with no explanation. This thread is honestly a lifesaver - I had no idea the changing dates were actually a good sign! I was starting to panic thinking something was wrong with my application. Going to call my school's financial aid office first thing Monday morning after reading all this advice. It's so frustrating that they don't explain any of this in the actual FAFSA system - a simple "your application is being reviewed, date changes are normal" message would save so much stress!

Hi everyone! I'm new to this community and just wanted to say how incredibly helpful this entire thread has been. I'm dealing with the exact same situation - submitted our FAFSA in mid-February and have been watching those "last updated" dates change every few weeks with no clue what it meant. I was honestly starting to panic that we'd made some kind of error or that our application was stuck in limbo. Reading everyone's experiences here, especially the detailed explanation from Nia about what those date changes actually mean, has been such a relief! It's frustrating that the FAFSA system doesn't provide clearer status updates, but at least now I know the changing dates are actually progress indicators rather than something to worry about. I'm definitely going to follow the advice here and contact my daughter's school financial aid office this week to let them know about our situation. Thanks to everyone for sharing your experiences and creating such a supportive space for navigating this stressful process!