FAFSA shows 'expires in 3 days' error after already being processed - glitch?
I'm totally confused about my son's FAFSA status right now. He submitted his 2025-2026 FAFSA back on January 4th, and we got confirmation it was processed on March 22nd. The SAI calculation came through and everything looked fine. But when he logged in this morning, there's this weird warning saying he has only 3 DAYS LEFT to submit before his FAFSA application expires?? I double-checked with his university's financial aid portal, and it clearly shows they received his FAFSA data weeks ago. Has anyone else seen this glitch? Is this something we need to worry about, or is the studentaid.gov system just being buggy again? Should we call FSA or just ignore it since the school already has his information?
18 comments
Join the conversation
Lydia Santiago
same thing happened to me last week!! system is broken af. dont worry about it
0 coins
Melissa Lin
•So you just ignored it and everything was fine? I'm worried they'll cancel his financial aid package if we don't do something.
0 coins
Romeo Quest
This happened to my daughter too! The FAFSA website is COMPLETELY UNRELIABLE this year. It kept showing expired notices after we submitted, then randomly switching between saying "processing" and "action required" for weeks. Meanwhile she got her acceptance package FROM THE SCHOOL with all the financial aid included!!! The whole system is designed to stress us out and make us give up. DON'T TRUST what the website says - call the school's financial aid office directly to confirm they have everything they need.
0 coins
Val Rossi
•While I understand your frustration, I think it's important to clarify that these glitches aren't intentionally designed to stress anyone out. The FAFSA website has been experiencing technical issues since the rollout of the new FAFSA Simplification Act changes. If the school financial aid office confirms they've received the FAFSA data, that's definitely the most reliable verification. You can also screenshot the processed confirmation as backup documentation.
0 coins
Eve Freeman
I've seen this exact issue with multiple students I help with financial aid applications. It's a known bug in the system right now. Here's what you should do: 1. Take screenshots of both the "processed" confirmation AND the current warning 2. Check if your son's SAI (Student Aid Index) is visible in his student account 3. Contact his school's financial aid office to confirm they received the FAFSA data 4. If the school confirms receipt, you can ignore the warning The Department of Education is aware of these display issues but they haven't fixed all of them yet. As long as the school received his FAFSA data, you're good.
0 coins
Melissa Lin
•Thanks so much! I just checked again and his SAI is still visible, and the university confirmed they have everything. That's a huge relief. I'll take screenshots just to be safe.
0 coins
Clarissa Flair
My twins had thsi happen too but for one of them we actually DID have to resubmit becuz her form was incomplete!!! Make sure you call FSA to double check bc my daughters school had PART of her fasfa but not the correct SAI score and she almost lost her pell grant eligibility!!! The schools systems and the FAFSA system don't always sync right.
0 coins
Melissa Lin
•Oh no, that's concerning. I'll definitely call FSA to make sure. I'd hate for him to miss out on any grant money because of a system error. How long did it take you to get through to someone when you called?
0 coins
Caden Turner
I just went through this exact situation last week. After trying for THREE DAYS to get through to someone at Federal Student Aid (hours on hold only to get disconnected!), I found this service called Claimyr that got me connected to an FSA agent in about 10 minutes. The agent confirmed it was just a display glitch and that my daughter's FAFSA was fully processed and correctly sent to her schools. Saved me so much stress! You can see how it works at claimyr.com or check their demo video: https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ
0 coins
Lydia Santiago
•does this actually work? hate waiting on hold forever just to get hung up on
0 coins
Caden Turner
•Yeah it seriously worked for me. I was skeptical but was desperate after getting disconnected twice after 45+ minute holds. The FSA agent confirmed my daughter's application was fine despite the weird expiration warning.
0 coins
McKenzie Shade
This is definitely a display bug in the system. I work in a university financial aid office, and we've been seeing this issue frequently with the 2025-2026 FAFSA. Here's what's happening: the system is incorrectly displaying warnings for applications that are actually complete. The most reliable way to verify your FAFSA status is: 1. Check if your son's SAI (Student Aid Index) calculation appears on his FAFSA account 2. Confirm with each school's financial aid office that they received his FAFSA data If both of these check out, you can safely ignore the warning. The Department of Education is aware of these interface issues but prioritized fixing the processing delays over these display bugs. One technical note: make sure your son doesn't create a new FAFSA application in response to this warning - that would actually create problems where none currently exist.
0 coins
Melissa Lin
•Thank you for explaining this so clearly! Both the SAI and school confirmation check out, so we'll ignore the warning. And thanks for the tip about not creating a new application - that's exactly what he was considering doing!
0 coins
Harmony Love
My nephew had the same issue and we just ignored it bc his school said they had everything. But then he didn't get his full financial aid package and had to appeal!!! Turns out there WAS a problem with his FAFSA even though the school said they had it. Something about incomplete parent contribution info that didn't transfer right. So maybe double check everything to be safe?
0 coins
McKenzie Shade
•This is a good point. While the warning itself is likely a display bug, it's always wise to verify all parts of the application were received correctly. Specifically check that: 1. The SAI calculation is complete 2. All parent contribution sections show as completed 3. All schools on the list confirm they received the FULL data package Sometimes schools receive partial FAFSA data, which can cause issues later in the financial aid packaging process.
0 coins
Melissa Lin
Update: I finally got through to FSA after using that Claimyr service someone recommended (which actually worked surprisingly well). The agent confirmed it's definitely just a display glitch and our FAFSA is fully processed and properly transmitted to all schools. They said they're still working on fixing various UI bugs from the FAFSA Simplification rollout. For anyone else seeing this issue - if your SAI is calculated and your schools confirm receipt, you can ignore the expiration warning! Thanks everyone for your help!
0 coins
Eve Freeman
•Glad to hear you got confirmation! This is great information. The new FAFSA system is definitely still working through some growing pains. For future reference, always save confirmation numbers and screenshots of any "processed" status pages - they can be invaluable if questions come up later.
0 coins
Romeo Quest
•Thanks for updating us!! The whole system is SUCH a mess this year. My daughter's friend just got a completely different error saying her parents' tax info was missing when they definitely entered it. These glitches are giving everyone anxiety!!
0 coins