FAFSA submitted in November but schools claim they haven't received it - what am I missing?

This is actually a super common issue this year with the new FAFSA rollout! The Department of Education has been experiencing significant delays in transmitting FAFSA data to schools. Even though you submitted in November (which was smart!), many schools still haven't received student information. You can verify that your FAFSA was properly submitted by logging into studentaid.gov and checking your dashboard. If it shows "Processed" with your SAI score, you've done everything correctly on your end. If you want to be proactive, I recommend emailing each school's financial aid office with: 1. Your daughter's name and ID number 2. Confirmation that FAFSA was submitted (with approximate date) 3. Ask if they've started receiving FAFSA data from the Dept of Education yet Most schools are well aware of the situation and are extending financial aid deadlines accordingly.

the same thing happened to my son last yr!! the schools all sent those automated emails even tho they actually DID have his fafsa info. check ur daughters student portal at each school carefully, sometimes theres a separate financial aid section that might show different status

I work in college admissions and can confirm there are MASSIVE delays in FAFSA processing this year. The Department of Education completely redesigned the FAFSA for 2024-2025, and schools are receiving data much later than usual. A few important points: 1. Many schools' email systems automatically send FAFSA reminders to ALL applicants, even if your FAFSA is actually in process 2. Your November submission puts you ahead of most students 3. Many schools are just now starting to receive FAFSA data even from early filers 4. Financial aid packages will likely be delayed at most institutions this year I suggest contacting each school's financial aid office directly by phone to confirm your status. Most will be able to tell you if they've received your data or when they expect to process it.

FAFSA is a MESS this year!!!! My daughter submitted in December and NONE of her schools have the info either. Called student aid and they just put me on hold for 2 HOURS before disconnecting me!!!! This is ridiculous when our kids' futures depend on this!

If you need to contact Federal Student Aid by phone, I'd recommend using Claimyr (claimyr.com). I was in your exact situation with my son's FAFSA, and after getting disconnected twice while on hold, I found this service. They hold your place in line and call you back when an agent is actually available. Saved me hours of frustration! They have a quick video demo at https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ that shows how it works. FSA confirmed for me that our application was processed correctly and schools should receive it soon.

The delay in FAFSA processing is affecting millions of students this year. The Education Department completely overhauled the system and they're experiencing significant technical difficulties. A few things to understand: 1. Schools generally send automated reminders to submit FAFSA regardless of status 2. Just because your SAI was calculated doesn't mean schools have received your data 3. There's a multi-step process: submission → processing → school transmission I suggest checking your FAFSA status on studentaid.gov under "My Documents" to see if it shows "Processed Successfully" and that all schools are listed correctly. If that looks right, call ONE school's financial aid office and ask if they're receiving FAFSA data yet. If they say no, it's likely a systemic delay affecting all schools.

DONT PANIC!!!! My daughter is a sophomore in college now & I remember freaking out about the exact same thing her senior year! The FAFSA system and the college systems don't always talk to each other right away. For us, the schools had the info even though they kept sending those automated emails. Everything worked out fine!

Has anyone looked at the FAFSA help section on this issue? It specifically states: "FAFSA information is sent to schools within 3-5 business days after processing, but schools may take additional time to load this information into their systems." From my experience counseling students through this process, I recommend: 1. Print your SAI confirmation page 2. Email each financial aid office with this documentation 3. Follow up with a phone call if you don't hear back within a week 4. Request written confirmation that they've received your FAFSA Remember that many schools won't prepare financial aid packages until closer to their decision release dates, even if they have your FAFSA information.

Just wanted to provide a quick update for those following this thread - the Department of Education announced yesterday that they're still working through a backlog of FAFSA applications. Schools are now receiving data in batches, with priority given to early filers (like you who submitted in November). They expect all November/December submissions to be transmitted to schools by mid-February. Your financial aid packages might be delayed, but schools are aware of the situation and are adjusting their timelines accordingly. Most are extending their May 1 decision deadlines to accommodate these delays.

Have you checked that all 6 schools are still listed on your FAFSA? Sometimes students accidentally remove schools when making updates. Log into studentaid.gov, go to your FAFSA application, and verify all schools are listed under the "Schools to Receive your FAFSA Information" section. If any are missing, you'll need to add them. Also, verify that the correct school codes were entered. Some schools have similar codes, and it's easy to select the wrong campus (especially in state university systems).

I'm going through the exact same thing with my son! We submitted in early December and have been getting those "Submit your FAFSA" emails from all his schools too. It's so stressful when you know you did everything right but the systems aren't communicating properly. One thing that helped ease my anxiety was creating a simple spreadsheet to track each school's FAFSA status. I'm noting down when I contact each financial aid office and what they tell me. That way I'm not constantly wondering if I've checked with everyone or forgetting what each school said. From reading all these responses, it sounds like we just need to be patient and stay on top of following up with the schools directly. Thanks everyone for sharing your experiences - it really helps to know we're not alone in this!

I'm a parent going through this exact situation with my daughter too! We submitted in early December and I've been panicking seeing all those "Submit your FAFSA now!" emails from her schools. After reading through all these helpful responses, I feel so much better knowing this is a widespread issue with the new FAFSA system and not something we did wrong. I especially appreciate the tip about checking studentaid.gov to confirm it shows "Processed" - mine does too, which is reassuring. I'm planning to call each of her schools' financial aid offices this week to get a direct status update rather than relying on those automated emails. The spreadsheet idea from Jackie is genius too - I'm definitely going to start tracking all our communications that way. Thanks to everyone for sharing their experiences and advice. It's such a relief to know we're all in the same boat with these delays!

I'm a newcomer to this whole FAFSA process with my oldest heading to college next year, and this thread has been incredibly reassuring! We submitted our FAFSA in late November and have been getting those same automated "Submit your FAFSA now!" emails from every single school on her list. As a first-time parent, I was convinced we'd missed some crucial step or done something wrong. But seeing that even families who submitted early are experiencing the exact same delays makes me feel so much better. I just logged into studentaid.gov and confirmed ours shows "Processed" with our SAI, so at least I know we're in the system correctly. I love the spreadsheet idea for tracking communications with each school - that's definitely going on my to-do list for this weekend. And I feel much more confident about calling the financial aid offices directly now that I understand this is a known system-wide issue rather than something specific to our application. Thank you to everyone who shared their experiences and expertise here. This community is such a lifesaver for those of us navigating this process for the first time!

I'm a newcomer to this community and this whole FAFSA process with my first child heading to college! This thread has been such a lifeline - we submitted our FAFSA in early December and I've been absolutely panicking seeing those "Submit your FAFSA now!" emails flooding in from every single school on my son's list. Reading through everyone's experiences here has given me so much peace of mind. I was convinced we'd somehow messed up a critical step, but now I understand this is a widespread issue with the new FAFSA system rollout. Just checked studentaid.gov and ours shows "Processed" with our SAI, which is reassuring to know we're in the system correctly. I'm definitely implementing that spreadsheet tracking system this weekend to stay organized with all the school communications, and I feel much more confident about calling each financial aid office directly now that I know this is a known system-wide delay rather than user error. Thank you to everyone who's shared their knowledge and experiences here - it's incredibly helpful for us first-time parents trying to navigate this confusing process!