FAFSA shows 'In Review' after student submitted - can't add parent signature before university deadline!
Help! My daughter completed her part of the FAFSA yesterday, and I was planning to review and sign the parent section today. But when I logged in to my FSA ID account, I see the application shows 'In Review' status and I can't access anything to add my signature! Her university's FAFSA deadline is January 15th (just days away) and everything I'm reading online says it takes 1-3 days for processing before we can edit or add signatures. Did we mess up the order? Should I have signed first? I'm freaking out that we'll miss her deadline and she'll lose financial aid opportunities. Has anyone experienced this? Is there a way to expedite the process or contact someone directly? Any advice would be greatly appreciated!
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Ezra Beard
same thing happened with me and my son last week. suuuper frustrating! we had to wait 2 days before i could sign. the whole system is messed up this year with the new FAFSA rollout honestly
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Tobias Lancaster
•Oh no, 2 days?? That cuts it way too close to her deadline. Did you call anyone or just wait it out?
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Statiia Aarssizan
Don't panic yet! This is actually a known issue with the new FAFSA system this year. The "In Review" status appears after the student submits their portion before the parent has signed. Here's what you need to know: 1. The 1-3 day processing time is accurate - the system needs to verify the student information before allowing parent access 2. Your daughter's application will be considered "submitted" based on the student submission date, not when you complete the parent signature 3. Many schools are being flexible with deadlines this year due to the FAFSA redesign issues 4. Once processing completes, you'll receive an email notification that you can now add your signature I recommend contacting the university's financial aid office to confirm they're aware of these system delays. Many schools are accepting documentation of your attempt to complete by the deadline.
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Tobias Lancaster
•Thank you so much for this detailed information! That's a huge relief to know her submission date is what counts. I'll contact the financial aid office first thing tomorrow morning to let them know our situation.
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Reginald Blackwell
This new FAFSA rollout is a DISASTER!!! 🤬 I've been trying for TWO WEEKS to get my parent part done for my twins and the system keeps glitching. Called FSA 14 TIMES and either got disconnected or was on hold for 2+ hours. They don't care that students are missing deadlines. Complete incompetence!
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Aria Khan
•OMG same!! So fed up with this whole process. My daughter might lose her scholarship because of these delays and it's not even our fault!
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Everett Tutum
I had this exact problem last week. Called FSA multiple times but couldn't get through (shocker). I tried claimyr.com to reach an agent and actually got through in about 20 minutes! They have a video showing how it works here: https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ The agent explained that the system is backlogged due to the new FAFSA changes, but confirmed our application would be marked as submitted based on my son's initial submission date. They also sent an email to our account documenting the issue in case we needed proof for the school.
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Tobias Lancaster
•Thank you for the suggestion! I'll check that out if I can't get through tomorrow. Did the FSA agent give you any estimate on how long the review would take?
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Everett Tutum
•The agent told me 2-3 days in our case, but said some were processing faster. They did mention that if you explain the time-sensitive deadline, they can flag it for faster processing in some cases.
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Sunny Wang
Hi there! As a financial aid counselor, I want to clarify a few things: 1. Your daughter did things in the correct order - students should submit first, then contributors (parents) add their information and signature. 2. The "In Review" status is normal and part of the new FAFSA process. The Department of Education implemented additional verification steps this year. 3. For the January 15th deadline: Most schools are concerned with the initial student submission date, not when all signatures are completed. The timestamp of your daughter's submission is what matters. 4. Recommendation: Email the financial aid office with your student's name, ID number, and a screenshot showing the "In Review" status. This creates a paper trail showing you attempted to complete by the deadline. 5. The SAI (Student Aid Index) calculation can't be completed until all required signatures are in, but your place in line for aid consideration is based on the initial submission.
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Tobias Lancaster
•This is incredibly helpful information, thank you! I'll definitely email the financial aid office with the screenshot. One question - once I'm able to sign, will we be able to make any corrections if needed, or is it completely locked after my signature?
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Sunny Wang
•Yes, you'll still be able to make corrections after signing! Once processing completes and all signatures are in, you can make corrections by logging in to studentaid.gov and selecting "Make FAFSA Corrections." Just note that each round of corrections will trigger another processing period (typically shorter than the initial one). Also, check if your daughter listed the school's email on her FAFSA. If so, the school can already see that she's submitted her portion and is just waiting for parent information.
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Hugh Intensity
this happened 2 me too!! i waited 2 days and still couldnt sign. ended up having 2 start all over with a brand new fafsa which SUCKED. the new fafsa is garbage lol
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Ezra Beard
•You had to start over completely??? That's insane! Did you lose all the info or were you able to copy it somehow?
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Hugh Intensity
•yeah had 2 do everything again from scratch 😩 but tbh it was faster the second time since i knew what info they needed. still took like 2 hours tho
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Reginald Blackwell
UPDATE: My situation finally resolved after 4 days. The "In Review" status changed to "Action Required" and I was able to add my signature. The most frustrating part is that there was NO EMAIL notification - I just had to keep checking the portal several times a day. Make sure you're logging in regularly to check status!
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Tobias Lancaster
•Thank you so much for the update! That's really good to know about the lack of email notification. I'll start checking multiple times daily.
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Statiia Aarssizan
Quick update on deadlines: The Department of Education just announced that schools should be flexible with FAFSA deadlines this year due to the processing delays. Many universities are extending their priority deadlines by 2-3 weeks. Definitely worth checking with your specific school!
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Tobias Lancaster
•That's amazing news! I just checked our university's financial aid page and you're right - they've extended their priority deadline to February 1st! Such a relief!
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Elijah Knight
I'm so glad I found this thread! I'm a new parent going through this process for the first time and was completely panicking when I saw the "In Review" status. Reading everyone's experiences here has been incredibly reassuring. It sounds like this is just part of the new system design rather than something we did wrong. I'm going to follow the advice about contacting the financial aid office and checking the portal regularly for status changes. Thank you all for sharing your experiences - it really helps to know we're not alone in dealing with these FAFSA issues!
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