FAFSA response time - how long until I hear back? Parents or student email?

normally like 3-5 days for the SAI score to show up but can be longer now with all the FAFSA changes. they send everything to the student email only, not parents. your school will get it too but that might take longer

The normal processing time for FAFSA is 3-5 business days for the Student Aid Index (SAI) calculation to appear in your studentaid.gov account, but with the recent system changes, many students are experiencing delays of 2-3 weeks. All official communications are sent to the student's email address, not the parent's, even though both emails are collected during the application process. Your school won't receive your FAFSA information until your SAI calculation is complete. Once your SAI is processed, you should log into studentaid.gov to check your status rather than just waiting for an email, as sometimes notifications can go to spam folders.

mines been "processing" for FIVE WEEKS now!!! no one answers the phone at fsa and the website is useless. this whole system is broken af

I was in this exact situation last month - FAFSA took 23 days to process my application. What finally worked was using Claimyr to get through to an actual FSA agent (claimyr.com). I was skeptical but their service actually connected me with a real person at the Federal Student Aid office in about 10 minutes versus the hours I spent getting disconnected on the regular line. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ The agent I spoke with found that my application had a verification flag that wasn't showing up on the website, which was causing the delay. Once they fixed it, my SAI calculation came through in 2 days.

I think my daughter's FAFSA took about 10 days to process last fall, but I've heard processing times are all over the place this year. And yes, much to my frustration, they only send notifications to the student email, not the parent email! My daughter never checks her email and missed an important verification request, which delayed her getting a scholarship. Make sure to set up email forwarding or give your parents your login, especially if you're not good about checking regularly.

I work in a college financial aid office, and we're seeing EXTREMELY variable processing times right now. Some students get their SAI in 3-4 days, others are waiting 3-4 weeks. Here's what affects processing time: 1. Complete vs. Incomplete applications (missing signatures will delay it) 2. If you're selected for verification (about 30% of applicants are) 3. System volume - applications submitted on weekends or holidays take longer 4. Complex financial situations (business owners, multiple properties, etc.) As others have said, communications go ONLY to the student email, which is a common point of confusion. Many students don't realize this and miss important notices. The parent email is collected for contact purposes only, not for official communications. If it's been more than 3 weeks, I'd recommend contacting FSA directly to check if there are any issues with your application that aren't showing up in your online account.

my fafsa took like 4 days last month but my roommates took 3 weeks for no reason lol its totally random

btw if youre waiting for your SAI dont just check email, log into studentaid.gov every day cuz sometimes the emails go to spam or dont even send

I submitted my FAFSA on October 8th and got my SAI calculation on October 30th!! Almost 3 weeks and I had to call them twice to figure out what was happening. Apparently I got randomly selected for verification even though all my info was correct. The most annoying part was they never emailed me about the verification - I only found out when I called! Definitely don't just wait for emails, be proactive and call if it's taking a long time.

Update: My SAI finally showed up this morning! Took exactly 17 days from submission to get processed. For anyone else waiting - hang in there, and definitely check your studentaid.gov account daily since I never did get an email notification. Thanks everyone for the advice!

Congratulations on getting your SAI! That's such a relief after waiting 17 days. I'm a newcomer here and currently in the same boat - submitted my FAFSA about 10 days ago and still waiting. Your post gives me hope that it'll come through soon! I've been checking studentaid.gov daily like everyone suggested. Question for the group - once schools receive the FAFSA info, do they automatically send you an estimated aid package or do you need to request it? This is my first time going through this process and want to make sure I don't miss any steps.

Hey everyone! I'm new to this community and really appreciate all the detailed information shared here. I just submitted my FAFSA yesterday and reading through this thread has been incredibly helpful - especially learning that notifications only go to the student email (I had no idea!). I'm going to set up email forwarding to my parents right away like @Grace Thomas mentioned, and I'll make sure to check studentaid.gov daily rather than just waiting for emails. It's reassuring to see that processing times are variable but most people do eventually get their SAI. Thanks for creating such a supportive space for navigating this stressful process!

Hi everyone! I'm brand new to this community and this whole FAFSA process. I just submitted my application last week and I'm already getting anxious about the wait time after reading everyone's experiences here. It's really helpful to see the range of processing times - from 4 days to 5 weeks! I had no idea that only student emails get the notifications, so I'm definitely going to set up forwarding to my mom's email like several people suggested. Quick question for the group: if I need to make corrections to my FAFSA after it's already submitted, does that reset the processing clock completely or do they just process the changes? Thanks for all the great advice in this thread - feeling much more prepared now!

Hi everyone! I'm completely new to this community and the FAFSA process - just found this thread while frantically googling "FAFSA processing time" at 2am! I submitted my application 6 days ago and I'm already checking studentaid.gov obsessively multiple times per day. Reading through all your experiences has been both reassuring and terrifying at the same time - it's good to know the wide range of processing times is normal, but wow, 5 weeks sounds awful! I had no clue about the student-email-only thing, so I'm immediately setting up forwarding to my dad's email. One quick question - should I be worried that my application status just says "Submitted" instead of "Processing"? Or is that normal for the first week? Thanks for being such a welcoming and informative community!