FAFSA shows processed with SAI but university claims they never received it - help!

Same thing happened with my son last month! Took 3 weeks to resolve. Did you make sure to list that specific school on the FAFSA application? Sometimes they don't get it if the school wasn't included in the original submission.

This happens more than you'd think with the new FAFSA system. A few things to try: 1. Ask the school to search by your son's SSN rather than by name or student ID 2. Check if the school has a different FAFSA code than what you entered (some universities have multiple codes for different campuses) 3. Make sure your son's legal name on the FAFSA exactly matches what's in the school's system 4. Verify the school is actually participating in federal aid programs for 2025-2026 If none of that works, you'll need to speak with a FAFSA agent directly. They can manually verify transmission to the school.

hve you tried submtting a correction and re-adding the school? sometimes that triggers it to send again. worked for us!

I worked in a financial aid office for years. The problem might be with your son's DRN (Data Release Number). Ask the financial aid office if they tried to manually retrieve his FAFSA using his DRN and birthdate. If they haven't, suggest they try that method instead of waiting for the automatic transmission. The DRN is on your FAFSA confirmation page and SAI report.

Had literally the exact same issue. After weeks of frustration, I discovered that my daughter's FAFSA was processed but flagged for verification, which apparently prevents it from transmitting to schools sometimes. Check if there's a verification flag on your son's FAFSA - it would be on the SAI report or in the messages section of the studentaid.gov account. If it's flagged, you'll need to submit additional documentation before schools receive it.

After spending HOURS trying to get through to someone at Federal Student Aid about a similar issue, I finally found Claimyr. It's a service that basically waits on hold for you with FSA and then calls you when an actual agent is on the line. Saved me from literally losing my mind with the hold music. Their website is claimyr.com and they have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ. The agent I finally spoke with was able to manually check why the school wasn't receiving our FAFSA and fixed it on the spot.

OMG THE NEW FAFSA IS SUCH A DISASTER!!! My daughter's application has been "processed" for MONTHS but THREE of her schools claim they never got it! Called FSA 11 times - either disconnected or 3+ hour wait times. Finally got through last week and they said "system error" and that it "should" be fixed in 3-5 business days. STILL NOTHING! Her orientation is next week and she has NO FINANCIAL AID PACKAGE YET! This whole system is BROKEN.

Update us if any of these suggestions work! For others finding this thread later, here's a summary of potential solutions: 1. Check for name/SSN/DOB exact matches between FAFSA and school records 2. Verify correct school codes were used 3. Look for verification flags that might be holding processing 4. Submit a correction to re-add the school 5. Ask the school to manually retrieve using the DRN number 6. Contact Federal Student Aid directly (using Claimyr or other methods) 7. Ask if the school itself needs to request a "manual ISIR correction" The 2025-2026 FAFSA has had significant transmission issues between the Federal Student Aid system and some schools' financial aid management systems.

Did you check if your son's FSA ID is fully verified? Sometimes that can cause issues with transmission even if the application shows as processed.

Another thing to try - ask the financial aid office specifically which FAFSA year they're looking for. With the academic calendar crossing years, sometimes they look at the wrong aid year. Make sure they're checking for the 2025-2026 FAFSA and not 2024-2025.

just went thru this nightmare!! turns out my sons social security number was entered with a typo on his college application but correct on fafsa. school couldn't match them up. worth checking if any info is slightly different between systems.