FAFSA submitted 5 weeks ago but still no SAI score - is this normal?
I submitted my FAFSA for the 2025-2026 academic year over 5 weeks ago and my application status just says "processing" on studentaid.gov. No SAI score has been calculated yet. I was expecting this to be much faster based on what my college advisors told me. The priority deadline for my top choice school is coming up in 3 weeks and I'm getting really nervous. Has anyone actually received their SAI yet? Is there something wrong with my application or is everyone experiencing these delays? I triple-checked all my info before submitting so I don't think I made any mistakes. This waiting game is killing me!
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CaptainAwesome
mine took almost 7 weeks to get processed. just got my SAI last tuesday. the system is super backed up this year becuz of all the FAFSA simplification changes. hang in there!
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Amara Okafor
•7 weeks?! That's ridiculous. Did you have to contact anyone or did it just randomly update one day?
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Yuki Tanaka
I received my SAI after exactly 4 weeks and 3 days. The processing times are definitely longer this year with the FAFSA Simplification Act implementation. If you're concerned about your school's priority deadline, I recommend contacting your financial aid office directly. Many schools are aware of the processing delays and have adjusted their internal timelines accordingly. You can also try calling the Federal Student Aid Information Center at 1-800-433-3243 to check if there are any issues with your application that might be causing additional delays.
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Esmeralda Gómez
•Good luck getting through on that phone number! I tried calling 8 times last week and couldn't get a human. Either disconnected or 3+ hour wait times.
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Klaus Schmidt
I've been trying to reach someone at FSA for three days now about my missing SAI. The wait times are insane or I get disconnected. Finally used Claimyr.com to get through yesterday - they have this service that holds your place in line and calls you back when an agent is ready. Saved me hours of waiting. Their video demo (https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ) shows exactly how it works. The agent told me they're experiencing unprecedented volume and most applications are taking 5-7 weeks minimum to process.
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Amara Okafor
•Thank you for this tip! I'll check it out because I'm getting desperate to talk to someone. Did the agent tell you if there's anything we can do to speed things up?
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Klaus Schmidt
•Unfortunately no, they said it's just a waiting game at this point unless there's a specific error message on your application. The agent did confirm my application was "in the system" and didn't have any flags, which was somewhat reassuring.
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Aisha Patel
Financial aid administrator here. There are significant delays this year due to the new FAFSA system. Here's what you need to know: 1. Average processing time is currently 5-8 weeks (up from 3-5 weeks in previous years) 2. No need to resubmit unless you receive a specific error message 3. Most schools are aware of the delays and are adjusting their priority deadlines accordingly My recommendation: Email your school's financial aid office directly, explaining that you submitted over 5 weeks ago and are still waiting for your SAI. Request written confirmation that they'll honor the priority deadline given the processing delays. Most schools are being flexible this year, but it's good to have documentation.
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Amara Okafor
•This is incredibly helpful, thank you! I'll email my school's financial aid office today to get that confirmation in writing.
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LilMama23
•my daughters SAI took 9 weeks to come through and her CSS Profile still hasn't been processed it's all a mess this year
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Dmitri Volkov
THE WHOLE SYSTEM IS BROKEN!!!! i submitted in november and JUST got my sai last week. THATS OVER TWO MONTHS!! then when it finally came through my sai was COMPLETELY WRONG because they didnt count my dads income right (hes self employed) so now we have to do a whole appeal process that takes ANOTHER 30 DAYS!!! im so done with this garbage system
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Yuki Tanaka
•That's extremely frustrating. For self-employed parents, there's often confusion about how to report business income. Did you include Schedule C information? That's typically where the issues arise for self-employed contributors.
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Dmitri Volkov
•yeah we did everything right according to the instructions!!! the fafsa people just dont know what there doing with the new system. now we have to submit all these extra forms for the appeal and my fin aid might not be finalized before i have to decide where to go 🤬
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Esmeralda Gómez
has anybody gotten through to the FSA on the phone lately? i've been trying for days with no luck
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Klaus Schmidt
•Like I mentioned above, I used Claimyr.com after getting nowhere for days. It was the only way I could actually speak to someone. The regular phone system is completely overwhelmed right now.
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Esmeralda Gómez
•thx, might try that. getting desperate
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Amara Okafor
UPDATE: I just got my SAI this morning! Exactly 5 weeks and 4 days after submitting. For anyone else waiting - hang in there, it does eventually come through. I also emailed my school's financial aid office like someone suggested and they confirmed they're being flexible with the priority deadlines this year because of the FAFSA delays.
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CaptainAwesome
•congrats! was your SAI what you expected or was it way different? mine was higher than i thought it would be
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Amara Okafor
•It was actually lower than I expected, which is good news for aid eligibility! About $2,800 less than the estimate I got from the Federal Student Aid calculator. Not sure why there's a difference but I'm not complaining.
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LilMama23
My neighbor works in a financial aid office and she said they're telling students to expect 6-8 weeks for processing this year. Something about the new "FAFSA Simplification" actually making everything more complicated on the backend for now lol. Classic government program right? Make it "simpler" and it breaks everything
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Aisha Patel
•There is some truth to this. While the new FAFSA is simplified for students in many ways (fewer questions, more data directly imported from the IRS), the calculation changes and backend systems required significant overhauls. The Department of Education had to essentially rebuild their entire processing system. The growing pains are unfortunately affecting this year's applicants.
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