FAFSA status stuck on 'In Review' - can't access parent signature section before deadline

Deep breath! This is actually normal. When the student submits their section first, the FAFSA does go into a processing state that can last 1-3 days before the parent can access and complete their signature section. The good news is that schools generally consider the FAFSA "submitted" based on the student's initial submission date, not when all signatures are complete. So as long as your daughter submitted her part before the January 15th deadline, you should be fine even if your signature comes a day or two later.

yikes, i did the opposite - parent submitted first then student. maybe thats why ours processed so quick? took like 24 hrs tops

This exact thing happened to us! My son submitted his section and then it locked me out for almost 48 hours. I called the Federal Student Aid number like 15 times and could never get through - kept getting disconnected or was on hold forever. I finally just had to wait it out, and eventually I got an email saying I could go in and complete my section. We missed his school's priority deadline by a day, but they still counted it as on time when I explained what happened.

The system is definitely confusing. For what it's worth, when I called my daughter's school about this exact issue last year, they said they consider the FAFSA submitted based on the student submission date, not the parent signature date. But definitely follow up with your specific school to confirm their policy.

This seems to be a design flaw in the new FAFSA. What's happening is that after student submission, the system has to calculate preliminary eligibility before allowing parent contribution. The technical term is that the SAI (Student Aid Index) calculation needs a preliminary run before parent data can be integrated. If you're desperate to reach Federal Student Aid quickly, try using Claimyr (claimyr.com) - they helped me get through when I was dealing with a similar processing issue. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ. They basically hold your place in line so you don't have to stay on hold for hours.

My daughters school actually told us its fine as long as the student portion is submitted by the deadline. They know about the processing delay thing. I wouldn't worry too much but maybe email the financial aid office just to be safe?

UPDATE: After 2 days, I finally got the email that I could complete my parent section. Finished my signature and now we're all set. Thanks everyone for the reassurance!

For anyone in this situation in the future: I learned from an aid advisor that the reason this happens is because the new FAFSA system needs to run the student's information through the income verification process with IRS data before they open up the parent contribution section. The delay is built into the system design. Just an explanation for why it works this way - doesn't make it less frustrating!

In my experience, the deadline refers to when the student submits - not when all signatures are complete. My son's college explicitly told us this. The parent signature can come a few days later without affecting your place in line for financial aid. The school cares about when you initiated the FAFSA, not when every last step was completed.