One school missing from FAFSA submission - can't reach FSA for help!

This happens more than you'd think! First, double-check the school code for UT Austin (003658) on your confirmation page to make sure it matches. Sometimes similar school codes get mixed up. Second, data transmission can take 3-5 business days, but since you mentioned it's been 3 weeks, something definitely went wrong.\n\nHave you tried using the FAFSA correction option to remove and then re-add UT Austin? That sometimes triggers a new transmission. Also, ask UT Austin's financial aid office if they'll accept a screenshot of your FAFSA confirmation page showing they were selected while you sort this out.

Thanks for the advice! I just double-checked and we definitely have the right school code. I'll try the remove/re-add trick tonight. The financial aid officer at UT did say they could make a note on her file, but they still need the official SAI calculation to process any aid package. So stressful!

OMG the exact same thing happened with my son's application!!! We had 5 schools listed and somehow Purdue never got it even though it showed up on our confirmation!!!! The financial aid system is COMPLETELY BROKEN and nobody at FSA cares enough to fix it. We ended up having to drive to Purdue's financial aid office in person (4 hour drive!!!) to get someone to help us. Turns out there was some stupid system glitch where schools with certain codes weren't receiving the data. RIDICULOUS!!!!

That's crazy you had to drive all that way! Not everyone can just drop everything for a road trip to fix FAFSA's mistakes. The whole system needs an overhaul.

I had this issue last year with my FAFSA. Try logging in, going to the \

This is super helpful - I'm going to try this tonight. I was afraid making any changes might reset the whole application or something. Do you know if this affects the original submission date? Really hoping it doesn't push us back in line for aid consideration.

No worries - it won't change your original submission date for aid consideration purposes. The correction date will show up on the new SAR (Student Aid Report), but schools use the original submission date for determining aid eligibility and priority. I'd also email UT Austin's financial aid office with your FAFSA confirmation number so they know it's coming.

we had this happen to my sons application our school never got it even tho it was on the fafsa thing. we just printed out the confirmation page and took it to the financial aid office and they manually entered something? idk but it worked fine after that. the lady said it happens alot

I tried reaching FAFSA for weeks about a similar issue and was going crazy with the wait times. Someone on Reddit told me about this service called Claimyr that gets you through to a FAFSA agent usually within 15-20 minutes instead of hours. It worked surprisingly well! I was skeptical but checked out their video demo (https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ) and gave it a shot. Got connected to a really helpful FSA agent who manually triggered a re-transmission to my daughter's missing school. The website is claimyr.com if you want to check it out. Saved me tons of frustration!

Wow, never heard of this before. I'm getting desperate enough to try anything at this point. Did they explain why the school wasn't receiving the info in the first place?

The agent I spoke with said it was a known issue with their transmission system. Apparently some batches of school code submissions get stuck in a queue and never complete processing. She couldn't tell me exactly why it happens, but said it's more common when you select schools with very different processing systems (like selecting both state schools and private universities together).

I work in a financial aid office (not at UT) and see this problem ALL the time. Here's what's happening behind the scenes: each school has different FAFSA data retrieval schedules. Some pull data daily, others weekly. If a school's pull happens during system maintenance or exactly when your FAFSA is being processed, your file can get missed in that cycle.\n\nThe fastest solution is actually two-pronged:\n\n1. Do the correction method others mentioned (remove/re-add the school)\n2. Ask UT Austin if they can manually initiate a data pull request for your specific FAFSA ID\n\nMost schools can do a manual pull if you provide your FAFSA confirmation number and DRN (Data Retrieval Number) from your SAR. That way you're not just waiting and hoping the next automatic cycle picks you up.

Thank you for the insider perspective! I didn't know schools could manually pull the data. I'll call UT Austin tomorrow and see if they can do that. Where exactly do I find the DRN number? Is that different from the confirmation number?

Yes, they're different numbers. The DRN (Data Retrieval Number) is usually in the top right corner of your SAR (Student Aid Report). You can access your SAR by logging into studentaid.gov, going to

this happened to my cousin and she ended up getting no financial aid because the deadline passed before she could fix it… the whole system is rigged against students imo

That's exactly what I'm afraid of! Did she ever figure out what went wrong or why the school didn't get her info?

nope, fafsa people just said

Just wanted to add one more tip: while you're working on the technical fix, email UT Austin's financial aid office with:\n\n1. Student's name and any ID numbers they've assigned\n2. A screenshot of your FAFSA confirmation showing they were selected\n3. Your FAFSA ID (not the password, just the username)\n4. The date you originally submitted\n\nMany schools will put a hold on your file to prevent it from being marked late while technical issues are resolved. The key is documenting that you submitted everything correctly and on time, which protects your priority status for aid consideration.

That's really smart - I'll send that email right now with all the documentation. Thank you!