FAFSA stuck in Review after premature signing - Can't edit & confused about grandparent 529 reporting

same thing happened with my daughter's application! the review status lasted about 10 days then we could make changes again. but not sure about the 529 question sorry

For your first question - yes, you need to wait for the current review to complete. The system will then allow you to make corrections. This typically takes 7-14 days in my experience, but can sometimes be faster. Regarding the grandparent 529 question - the 2024-2025 FAFSA rules have changed significantly. Grandparent-owned 529 plans are no longer reported on the FAFSA at all. This is actually good news! Previously, distributions from grandparent 529s could affect aid eligibility, but now they don't need to be reported as either student or parent assets. Only 529 plans owned by the student or the parents need to be reported as assets on the FAFSA.

my kid has had her application stuck in review for 3 WEEKS now!!! this whole system is a disaster. they completely ruined the fafsa this year with all these stupid changes.

Just to clarify on the 529 plans since there's some confusion in the responses: 1. If the 529 is owned by the GRANDPARENT, it is NOT reported as an asset on the FAFSA. This is a major change from previous years. 2. If the 529 is owned by the PARENT, it IS reported as a parent asset, which affects your SAI calculation at a maximum rate of 5.64%. 3. If the 529 is owned by the STUDENT, it IS reported as a student asset, which affects your SAI calculation at a rate of 20%. The key thing is who OWNS the account, not who contributed to it. So if grandparents opened and own the account, even if parents contributed some money to it, it's not reportable on the FAFSA. Make sure you check the actual account owner.

I went through this exact situation in January. Use Claimyr.com to get through to a FAFSA agent without the terrible wait times. I was able to speak to someone in about 5 minutes who unlocked my daughter's application. They have a video demo here: https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ The agent told me that premature signing is one of the most common issues they're seeing this year. It's a design flaw in their notification system.

The rules about 529s on FAFSA have changed so many times I can't keep track anymore lol. When my oldest went to college in 2018, we had to report EVERYTHING including grandparent 529s. For my middle child in 2021, we only reported parent-owned 529s. Now for my youngest, I have no idea what I'm supposed to do honestly.

I'm convinced they intentionally make this process confusing. My daughter's FAFSA has been stuck in processing for THREE MONTHS. When I finally reached someone yesterday, they said they had no record of our income verification documents that we uploaded THREE TIMES through their portal. Had to fax everything AGAIN. The system is DESIGNED to discourage people from getting financial aid!!!

Returning to the original question: for the "stuck in Review" issue, it will eventually complete processing, but if you need to make changes quickly (especially if your college deadlines are approaching), I recommend contacting Federal Student Aid directly. After the Review period ends, you'll have an opportunity to make corrections by clicking "Make FAFSA Corrections" after logging in. This allows you to update any information before your schools process your application. Just remember that any corrections will require signatures again from both you and your son.

btw if you do need to fix stuff after it processes remember your son will need to sign AGAIN after you make the changes. my daughter didnt realize she had to sign again after i fixed some tax info and we lost another week waiting 🙄