No SAI number after 3 weeks of submitting FAFSA - where to check or who to call?

You definitely need to log into your studentaid.gov account. Your SAI (Student Aid Index) score won't come by email - you have to check your online account to see your FAFSA status. Once you login, go to the dashboard and look for your application status. If it says 'processing' that's normal at the 3-week mark, but if it shows 'action required' or 'rejected' you'll need to address whatever issues they've found. You can also check if your FAFSA was actually successfully submitted - sometimes people think they've completed it when they've actually just saved a draft.

same happened to me. waited like 5 weeks and nothing. checked my account and turns out i hadn't actually submitted it LOL. just saved as draft. double check ur actually submitted it

Processing times for the 2025-2026 FAFSA have been significantly longer than previous years due to the new FAFSA Simplification Act changes. While it used to take 3-5 days to process, many students are now waiting 3-4 weeks for their Student Aid Index (SAI) calculation to be completed. You should continue monitoring your studentaid.gov account dashboard regularly. If your application status has been 'processing' for more than 4 weeks, or if your school's deadline is approaching and you need your SAI urgently, you should contact Federal Student Aid directly at 1-800-433-3243. Be prepared with your FSA ID and Social Security Number when you call. They can verify if there are any issues with your application that might be causing delays.

Ugh the FAFSA system is THE WORST!!! I went through the exact same thing last month. Called them like 8 times and kept getting disconnected or had to hang up after being on hold forever. The government needs to fix this disaster!! When I finally got through they told me my application had some kind of flag on it that needed manual review but NOBODY BOTHERED TO TELL ME. Check your account for any notices or messages!!

I recently used a service called Claimyr to get through to a FAFSA agent after struggling with the same issue. They hold your place in line and call you back when an agent is available. Saved me literally hours of waiting on hold. Their website is claimyr.com and they have a demo video at https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ that shows how it works. The agent was able to tell me exactly what was causing my delay (turned out there was a discrepancy between my reported income and what they had on file).

My daughter had the same problem with her FAFSA application this year. What nobody tells you is that if ANY information on your application requires verification or has discrepancies, your SAI calculation gets delayed. In our case, her father and I reported slightly different contribution amounts because we're divorced. We ended up having to provide additional documentation to prove our income. If your parents claimed you as a dependent on their taxes but you filed as independent on your FAFSA (or vice versa), this could also trigger a delay. Or if your reported income doesn't match what the IRS has on file. I'd recommend checking if your application is selected for verification - this would be indicated on your studentaid.gov account somewhere. Also, if either parent was required to complete the CSS Profile, check if they've done so, as some schools won't process your full aid package until both FAFSA and CSS Profile are completed.

Just wanted to follow up on this - processing times are significantly longer right now, but you should still have everything in time for your school's priority deadline if it's 4 weeks away. The good news is that many schools understand these FAFSA delays are happening nationwide and are being more flexible with their deadlines this year. If you're concerned, I recommend: 1. Email your school's financial aid office to let them know you've submitted your FAFSA and it's still processing 2. Ask if they have any provisional forms you can fill out while waiting for your official SAI 3. Check if they've extended their priority deadlines due to the known FAFSA processing delays Many schools have contingency plans in place specifically because of these delays. Don't panic just yet!

when i did my FAFSA last year i had the same problem but it was becuz i forgot to sign the digital signature at the end LOL. make sure u actually signed everything with ur FSA ID. sometimes people just click through without doing the actual signature part at the end.

UPDATE: I contacted my school's financial aid office and they were super understanding! They said they're seeing delays with almost everyone's FAFSA this year and have extended their priority deadline by 3 weeks. They also gave me a provisional form to fill out so they can start preparing my aid package even without the official SAI number. I also checked my studentaid.gov account more thoroughly and found a small notification about income verification that I completely missed before. I've submitted the requested documents now. Thanks everyone for your help!