FAFSA status keeps flipping between 'processed' and 'missing information' - what's going on?

Unfortunately, this is becoming way too common with the new FAFSA system. The same thing happened to me - got the "processed" notification, celebrated for 48 hours, then boom - "missing information" email with zero details about what's actually missing. In my case, it turned out that their system hadn't properly registered my parent contribution section even though we completed it. When I called FSA, they explained that there's a synchronization issue between the notification system and the actual processing system. Sometimes the "processed" email goes out prematurely before all verification checks are complete. I recommend logging directly into studentaid.gov and checking the "To Do" section - sometimes it will specify what's missing there even when the email doesn't tell you.

same thing happend to me lol. got 5 different emails saying differnt things. first processed then rejected then processed again then missing info. its like they dont know what there doing over there

This is a known issue with the new FAFSA processing system. I work in a college financial aid office, and we're seeing this frequently. Here's what's happening: 1. The "processed" notification gets triggered when your application passes the initial submission check 2. Then your application moves to a secondary verification system that runs deeper checks on the data 3. If that secondary system finds issues, it triggers a "missing information" notice The most common things triggering these secondary flags right now: - Contributor information that doesn't match tax records - SSN/birthdate mismatches between application and government records - Multiple household members with conflicting information - Electronic signature timing issues (where the signature was done, but not properly linked to the submission) I recommend calling FSA directly to ask exactly what's missing. Unfortunately, their online system often doesn't display the specific issue.

I've been trying to call the Federal Student Aid helpline for FOUR DAYS about a similar issue! The system is completely overwhelmed right now. After getting disconnected multiple times, I found a service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that helped me actually get through to a real person. They have a video demo showing how it works: https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ When I finally talked to the FSA agent, they explained that the "missing information" error I was getting was actually because they needed additional verification of my parent's contribution information, even though we had already submitted it. The agent was able to see exactly what was missing and help me fix it on the spot. Worth trying since you're not getting clear information from the emails or website.

THE WHOLE SYSTEM IS BROKEN!!! They're just making it impossible to get financial aid this year. I bet they're doing it on purpose to reduce how much aid they have to give out. My sister works in college admissions and she says applications for aid are down 22% because of all these "technical problems." WAKE UP PEOPLE!

Have you checked if the issue might be with a parent/contributor section? My daughter's FAFSA had the exact same problem - approved then suddenly missing info. Turns out my ex-husband (who's a contributor) hadn't actually completed his section even though we thought he had. The system let us proceed anyway and even said it was processed, then later flagged it. The most confusing part was that the missing info notification went to my daughter's email, but the actual problem was in her dad's portion. We only figured it out when he logged into his FSA ID account separately and saw uncompleted sections.

i had this happen my SAI score changed 3 times!!! first it was 2400 then they said something was missing then it was 3700 then back to missing info again and finally ended up at 3100. nobody could explain why it kept changing but we still got financial aid eventually. just keep checking and eventually it will go through. the whole thing is a mess this year

Here's an update: I spoke to a financial aid administrator yesterday who explained that there are actually THREE different processing steps happening now: 1. The initial submission verification (which generates the first "processed" email) 2. The data matching verification (where they compare your information with IRS and other systems) 3. The final SAI calculation (which is when your application is truly complete) She said at least 40% of applications are getting stuck between steps 2 and 3 right now. The good news is that colleges are aware of these issues and many are extending their priority financial aid deadlines. You might want to check with your daughter's school to see if they've announced any extensions due to the FAFSA delays.

UPDATE: Finally got through to FSA this morning! The problem was that my husband's social security number had an incorrect digit in the system, even though we entered it correctly on our form. They said their OCR system sometimes misreads numbers during processing. The agent fixed it immediately and said our application should be fully processed within 3-5 business days. Thank you everyone for your help and suggestions! This forum saved my sanity.