No FAFSA confirmation email from some colleges - should I remove and add different schools?

most schools don't send confirmation emails lol, ur fine

You can actually verify which schools have received your FAFSA data by logging into your studentaid.gov account and checking your FAFSA status. Under the 'My FAFSA' section, you should be able to see which schools have downloaded your information. Remember that schools process FAFSA data at different speeds - some are very quick while others might take 4-6 weeks to process during peak periods. If you need to add more schools and you're already at your 10-school limit, you can remove schools that have already downloaded your data to make room for new ones. The schools that have already downloaded your information will still have access to it even if you remove them from your current list.

DID YOU CHECK YOUR SCHOOL PORTALS?? A lot of schools don't email but they update your student portal with the FAFSA receipt status. That's how 5 of my 8 schools communicated with me. The financial aid office won't email you directly, the notification just appears in the portal. Try logging into each school's admitted student/applicant portal to check!

You're definitely not overthinking it - the FAFSA process is stressful! I had the same issue last year and ended up spending HOURS trying to call each financial aid office. Most put you on hold forever or never answer. I finally found this service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that gets you through to FAFSA agents quickly instead of waiting on hold. They have a demo video at https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ that shows how it works. I used it to confirm which schools had my info, and it turned out most had received it but just don't send confirmations. Saved me from removing schools unnecessarily!

I work in a financial aid office, and I can tell you that we are DROWNING in FAFSA applications right now. With the new FAFSA simplification this year, many schools are behind in processing due to all the system changes. Some schools have automated email systems, others update portals, and some frankly don't communicate at all until they've processed your full financial aid package. As others mentioned, you can confirm receipt on studentaid.gov, but even if it shows a school hasn't downloaded it yet, that doesn't mean they won't. Schools typically download FAFSA data in batches every 1-2 weeks. I would recommend waiting at least 4-6 weeks before assuming a school hasn't received your information. If you're approaching deadlines for certain schools and want to make sure they have what they need, that's when I'd recommend contacting them directly.

this whole fafsa thing is a mess!! i submitted mine 2 months ago and half my schools still say "awaiting financial information" on their portals but my SAI score shows up in my studentaid account?? make it make sense lol

To answer your original question about removing and adding schools: You can have up to 10 schools on your FAFSA at one time. If you've already reached that limit and want to add more, you can safely remove schools that have already downloaded your information (which you can verify on studentaid.gov as mentioned earlier). If you haven't reached the 10-school limit yet, you can simply add the additional schools without removing any. And remember that this year's FAFSA is specifically for the 2025-2026 academic year, so make sure you're planning for the right timeframe.