FAFSA says 'Processed' but shows '4 days remaining to submit' warning - Is my daughter's application at risk?

Dont worry, its a stupid glitch in the system. My son had the EXACT same thing happen in February. The countdown timer doesnt go away even after processing. Its confusing and caused me a heart attack too lol

This is a known issue with the studentaid.gov portal. When you first log in to start the FAFSA, a 45-day countdown begins regardless of whether you submit. So even though your daughter successfully submitted and had her application processed, that countdown timer from her initial login is still running in the background. It's purely a technical glitch - your daughter's FAFSA is fine. The Department of Education is aware of this issue but hasn't fixed it yet.

Wait I'm confused - does that mean her FAFSA is definitely going to expire in 4 days? My sister's application had a similar warning and then I couldn't see any of her information after the countdown ended. We had to call FSA and they made her verify her identity again. The process took WEEKS. Maybe call them just to be safe????

This is definitely a known issue with the new FAFSA system. I've been helping several families through the process this year and at least 3-4 have reported this exact same thing. The countdown timer starts when you first log in to begin your FAFSA, giving you 45 days to complete it. The problem is that the system doesn't stop the countdown after you submit! As long as your status says "processed" and you can see the SAI calculation, you're 100% fine. The countdown means nothing at this point. Your daughter's FAFSA is submitted, processed, and being sent to her schools. No need to resubmit or worry about the timer.

I dealt with this exact issue when trying to reach someone at Federal Student Aid about my son's FAFSA glitches. Wait times were ridiculous - over 2 hours! I ended up using Claimyr (claimyr.com) to get through to an actual person. They have this service that handles the waiting for you and calls you when an agent is ready. Saved me hours of waiting. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ The FSA agent confirmed that once your FAFSA shows 'processed', the countdown timer is meaningless. It's just a bug they haven't fixed in the new system.

my daughters said the SAME THING!!! the new FASFA system is a DISASTER!! her SAI came back $42,000 higher than last year even though our income went down?? makes no sense. the whole system is broken.

it happened 2 me also...I honestly just ignored it & nothing bad happened. My daughters still got her aid package from 2 colleges already so i think its fine

Just to clarify for everyone: The "days remaining" countdown is ONLY relevant for applications that haven't been submitted yet. Once the FAFSA shows as "processed" in the system, the application is complete and has been successfully transmitted to schools. The Department of Education is aware of this confusing UI issue but with all the other problems in the new system, fixing the countdown timer hasn't been their priority. As long as you can see your SAI calculation and the status shows "processed," you can safely ignore the countdown.

I'm filling out my first FAFSA now and I'm terrified I'll mess something up... how long did it take after your daughter submitted for the SAI calculation to show up? Mine's been pending for almost a month!