How to verify if your FAFSA application is actually submitted and complete?

this happened to me too! i pressed submit and the page froze. when i logged back in it said "application in progress" for like 3 days. keep checking ur email, they'll eventually send u a confirmation. u can also check the "My FAFSA" page to see if it says processing or submitted

There are a few ways to confirm your FAFSA is fully submitted: 1. Check your Student Aid Report (SAR) - This is the official confirmation document. You can access it by logging into studentaid.gov, clicking on "My FAFSA," and then "View SAR." If you can see this, your application is definitely submitted. 2. Look for a confirmation number - On the "My FAFSA" page, you should see a confirmation number for a submitted application. 3. Check your email - You should receive an email within 3-5 days confirming submission and providing your SAI (Student Aid Index). If you don't see any of these, I'd recommend checking the "My FAFSA" status page. If it says "Processing" rather than "Started" or "In Progress," that means it was submitted but is still being processed.

If it says "Processing" then ur good! That means they got it. It takes like 3-5 days to process then you'll get an email with your SAI (they dont call it EFC anymore, now its Student Aid Index). Just make sure all ur school codes are on there too

UGH the FAFSA site is THE WORST. I submitted mine THREE TIMES because it kept saying "in progress" and I thought it didn't go through. Then I got THREE confirmation emails!! Now I have to call them to fix it because apparently submitting multiple times can flag your application for verification. The whole system is garbage.

A few technical tips that might help: 1. The "Processing" status definitively means your FAFSA was submitted successfully. 2. You can also verify by checking if you received a confirmation number. Go to studentaid.gov > Log in > My FAFSA > 2025-2026 Application > Confirmation 3. Check your FSA ID dashboard, which will show all submitted applications by year. 4. If you still can't confirm, try logging out completely, clearing your browser cache, and logging back in. The system often takes 3-7 business days to generate the Student Aid Report (SAR) with your Student Aid Index (SAI). If it's been more than a week and you still don't see these, that's when you should contact Federal Student Aid directly.

Thanks everyone for the help! I found the My FAFSA page and it does say "Processing" so it sounds like it did go through. I'm going to give it another couple days for the SAR to show up. If it doesn't appear by the end of the week, I'll try contacting them. Really appreciate all your advice!

If anyone is still having trouble getting confirmation after checking all these suggestions, I'd recommend taking screenshots of your "Processing" status page. When I was having similar issues last year, I took screenshots as evidence of submission in case anything went wrong. Also, don't forget that most college financial aid offices can verify if they've received your FAFSA in their system, even if the studentaid.gov website isn't giving you clear confirmation. They can often see it in their systems before you get official confirmation.

one time i had to wait almost 2 WEEKS to get my confirmation email cuz of some system backlog. but my application was still processed fine and i got my aid. sometimes the system is just slow especially in busy months. as long as u see "processing" ur probably ok!!

Another way to double-check is to look at your email settings in your FSA account. Go to studentaid.gov > My Account > Settings > Communication Preferences and make sure your email is correct and notifications are turned on. I've seen people miss confirmation emails because they had old email addresses or notifications were disabled. Also, if you used a parent's info on your FAFSA, sometimes the confirmation emails go to the parent contributor's email instead of yours, so check with them too!

Just wanted to add another quick tip that helped me - if you're still unsure after checking all the status pages, you can also call your college's financial aid office directly. They can usually see in their system whether they've received your FAFSA data, even before you get official confirmation from the federal site. When I had similar confusion with mine, my school's aid counselor was able to confirm within minutes that they had received it and it was being processed. Sometimes that peace of mind is worth the phone call, especially if you're getting close to any school-specific deadlines!

I went through this exact same stressful situation last month! The FAFSA site is notorious for being glitchy during peak times. Since you're seeing "Processing" status, that's actually the best confirmation you can get that it went through successfully. Here's what I learned: the "continue" button you're seeing is normal - it doesn't mean your application is incomplete, it's just how their system is set up. The real indicators to look for are: 1) "Processing" status (which you have!), 2) your Student Aid Report becoming available in 3-7 days, and 3) the confirmation email (though this can take up to a week sometimes). Pro tip: bookmark your "My FAFSA" page and check it daily. Once processing is complete, you'll see your SAI (Student Aid Index) number and be able to download your official SAR. Don't panic if it takes the full week - the system is just overwhelmed this time of year. You're on track!

I'm dealing with this exact situation right now! Submitted mine last week and the website crashed right after I hit submit. Like everyone said, if you see "Processing" status you should be good. One thing that helped me was also checking the "View Details" or "Summary" section on the My FAFSA page - it shows all the information you submitted, which gave me confidence that everything actually went through even though I never got that initial confirmation screen. The waiting is the worst part though! Fingers crossed we both get our SARs soon.

I'm going through the same anxiety right now! Just submitted my FAFSA yesterday and the site was acting up too. Reading through all these responses is super helpful - sounds like the "Processing" status is the key thing to look for. I didn't even know about the Student Aid Report or that they changed EFC to SAI! Going to check my communication preferences now too since someone mentioned confirmation emails might be turned off. This whole process is so stressful but it's reassuring to know the technical glitches are common and don't mean our applications didn't go through. Thanks everyone for sharing your experiences!

I had almost the exact same experience last year! The website froze during my submission and I panicked thinking I'd have to start over. Here's what I learned - if you see "Processing" status anywhere on your My FAFSA page, your application definitely went through successfully. The system is just really bad at giving clear confirmation when there are technical glitches. A few things that helped me verify everything was submitted: - Check your FSA ID dashboard - it shows all applications by year - Look for your DRN (Data Release Number) on the My FAFSA page - Make sure your school codes are still listed correctly The Student Aid Report usually shows up within 3-5 business days, and that's your official confirmation. If you're still worried, your school's financial aid office can also confirm they received your data even before the federal site updates. The whole process is anxiety-inducing but sounds like you're all set! The "continue" button is misleading - it doesn't mean your app is incomplete.