FAFSA transmission problem - one college missing my application data

check wit the financial aid office at Berkeley, schools have different processing timelines and sometmes they're just behind. My daughter had this same issue last year with Penn State, took them like 5 weeks to acknowledge they got it when the other schools all had it in 2 weeks

Thanks for the response! I did call Berkeley yesterday and they said they have no record of receiving it. The person I spoke with told me to contact FAFSA directly, which is why I thought it might be a transmission issue.

This is almost certainly a school issue rather than a FAFSA issue. When you submit your FAFSA, the data is transmitted to all schools at the same time. Since two schools received it, the transmission from FSA's side was successful.\n\nHere's what you should do:\n\n1. Log into your studentaid.gov account and verify that UC Berkeley's school code is correctly listed on your FAFSA.\n\n2. Contact Berkeley's financial aid office again, but ask specifically for their FAFSA processing department. Regular staff sometimes don't have visibility into the technical data transfer system.\n\n3. Ask Berkeley if they've had any known issues with their School Electronic Application Processing System (this is what receives FAFSA data).\n\n4. If Berkeley still can't find it, you can add them again to your FAFSA. On studentaid.gov, select \

Thank you so much for the detailed response. I'll try making the FAFSA correction today and specifically ask for their FAFSA processing department when I call back. I didn't know there was a specific technical team that handles this!

i had literally THE SAME ISSUE last year!!!! but with UCLA not Berkeley. turns out they had my SSN entered wrong in their system, so the FAFSA data came in but didn't match up with my application profile. call them again and ask them to check if there's a mismatch in your identifiers!!!

Oh wow, I hadn't even considered that! I'll definitely ask them to check for mismatches. That would be such a relief if it's just a data entry error.

Just to clarify some facts about how FAFSA processing works: when a FAFSA is submitted, the data is transmitted to your selected schools' financial aid management systems through an automated electronic process. The timing for when schools actually import this data into their systems varies widely - some do it daily, others weekly, and some only bi-weekly.\n\nIf two schools received it but Berkeley hasn't, there are a few possibilities:\n\n1. Berkeley processes less frequently than your other schools\n2. There's a technical issue with Berkeley's import system\n3. There was a school code error on your application\n4. There's a mismatch between identifiers (as another commenter mentioned)\n\nYou're right to be concerned with the deadline approaching. The fastest solution is to contact Berkeley's financial aid office and request to speak with their FAFSA data processing team. Many schools have technical staff specifically responsible for FAFSA data imports who can manually check the system for your information.

Not OP but this is really useful info! Question - if you add another school code later as a correction, does that reset your place in line for all schools or just send data to the new school?

Great question! Adding a school code through the correction process only sends your data to the newly added school without affecting your place in line for previously selected schools. The correction only updates the school list, not your entire application data.

If Berkeley is telling you they didn't get it, trust me, they didn't get it. The F.A. offices don't play games about this stuff. The whole FAFSA system is a MESS this year with all the changes. I've seen SO many transmission errors happening.

The FAFSA system is ALWAYS a mess!! I've worked in financial aid for 15 years and every single year they claim they've

Is there any way to check if I entered the school code correctly? I just looked at my FAFSA confirmation and Berkeley is definitely listed there, but maybe I made a typo in the actual code?

Have you tried using Claimyr to get through to a FAFSA agent? I was having similar issues (Columbia wasn't receiving my data) and spent DAYS trying to get someone on the phone. I found this service at claimyr.com that got me connected to an actual FSA agent in under 20 minutes. They were able to verify my transmission status and re-trigger the data send to Columbia. They even have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ\n\nMight be worth it with your deadline coming up so quickly!

I've never heard of this service before! Thanks for the recommendation - I'm going to check it out right now. At this point I just need to speak with someone who can help me fix this before my deadline passes.

is that service legit?? i'm skeptical of anything that asks for personal info and the FAFSA has all my financial data

It doesn't access your FAFSA info at all - it just connects you to the regular FAFSA phone line but skips the hold time. You still talk directly to the official FSA agents.

Listen, I deal with this situation CONSTANTLY at our financial aid office. Here's what's happening:\n\nWhen FSA transmits data to schools, they send it through what's called the \

Wow, thank you for the insider knowledge! I'll call Berkeley tomorrow morning and ask specifically for their ISIR processing specialist. I'll report back what happens for anyone else who might have this issue.

UPDATE: I wanted to thank everyone for their help! I called Berkeley this morning and asked specifically for their ISIR processing specialist like one of you suggested. They found my information in their unprocessed files - turns out there was a mismatch between my SSN on my admission application and my FAFSA! They fixed it on their end and said everything should be processed within 3-5 business days. Such a relief!

That's great news! This is a common issue that many students face. Glad you got it resolved before your deadline!

see!!! told you it might be an identifier mismatch! exact same thing that happened to me!!! glad it worked out!!!

You were exactly right! Thank you again for sharing your experience - it really helped me know what to ask about!