FAFSA shows 'processed' status but still waiting on SAI and award letters - normal timeline?

The processed status just means the FAFSA went through, but now each school has to do their own calculation with it. Some schools take foreverrr to send award letters. My son's FAFSA was processed in January and we just got his last aid package yesterday. It really depends on the schools.

Congratulations on getting through the FAFSA submission process! Once your FAFSA shows as 'processed,' the Department of Education has calculated your daughter's Student Aid Index (SAI, formerly EFC) and sent this information to the schools she listed on her application. Typical timeline: - 3-5 business days for schools to receive the processed FAFSA data - 2-4 weeks for schools to prepare financial aid packages - Some schools wait until after their application deadline to send all award letters at once You can actually see her SAI score by viewing the processed FAFSA and looking at the confirmation page or by downloading the Student Aid Report (SAR). This will give you some idea of what to expect while waiting for official offers.

After the FAFSA shows processed, you should check your daughter's colleges' student portals. Many schools now post financial aid packages there instead of sending physical letters. Each school has their own timeline, but most try to get packages out 4-6 weeks after receiving the FAFSA data. If May 1st is your decision deadline, I'd recommend contacting any schools that haven't sent packages by early April. They should at least be able to give you an estimate.

When my FAFSA said processed, I still had to wait like TWO MONTHS to get all my financial aid packages!!! It was so stressful because some schools sent them right away and others took forever. The worst part was one school didn't even send anything until I called them and then they were like "oh we've been waiting for additional verification documents" but they never told me!!! So definitely call if you don't hear anything in a couple of weeks.

I experienced the same frustration last year. The FAFSA showed processed but we still couldn't make decisions because the aid packages were delayed. After wasting hours on hold with various financial aid offices, I discovered Claimyr (claimyr.com) which helped me actually reach FSA agents to confirm our application status was properly transmitted to schools. Their video demo (https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ) shows exactly how it works. After confirming everything was properly submitted, I felt more confident following up with individual schools about their specific timelines.

Processed doesnt mean ACCEPTED btw. My daughter's fafsa was processed but then got selected for verification and that took another 6 weeks to clear up because they wanted like 5 different tax documents we had to hunt down. Make sure you check if she needs to submit anything else!!!!!

also schools have diff priorities for who they process first... some do early decision students first, some do by when u applied, some even do random order lol. if ur still waiting after a month i would def call the financial aid offices

Thank you everyone for the helpful responses! I feel much better knowing this timeline is normal. I checked and found her SAI score in the Student Aid Report as suggested. We'll monitor the school portals weekly and plan to follow up directly with any schools we haven't heard from by early April. It's definitely an emotional rollercoaster waiting for these financial details before making such a big decision!

My kid's FAFSA has been "processed" for 2 months now and one of her top choice schools STILL hasn't sent an award letter. Everyone says "be patient" but how are we supposed to make decisions without knowing costs??? The whole system is so broken.