Schools only received 8 finalized FAFSA forms?! Will this delay financial aid packages?

Yep, my son's school (state university in the midwest) said basically the same thing last week. They've gotten less than a dozen processed applications despite thousands of students having submitted. The financial aid director seemed EXTREMELY frustrated with the whole situation. They're extending their May 1 decision deadline to June 15 because of it.

same here lol. my counselor literally rolled her eyes when i asked about fafsa and said "we're all waiting" whatever that means 🙄

This FAFSA delay is affecting nearly all institutions nationally. The Department of Education has acknowledged significant issues with the rollout of the "Better FAFSA" and data transmission to schools. Current estimates suggest many institutions are receiving less than 5% of the expected volume of processed applications. Schools are adapting by: 1. Extending commitment deadlines (many from May 1 to June 1 or later) 2. Creating estimated aid packages based on prior year formulas 3. Issuing conditional acceptance letters If your daughter has a preferred school, I'd recommend contacting them directly about their specific accommodation plans. Many are creating special processes for this unusual year.

It's absolutely INFURIATING!!! My daughter applied to 7 schools and NONE of them have her FAFSA info yet!!! She submitted in DECEMBER!!! How are kids supposed to make decisions without knowing what aid they'll get? The whole system is broken and nobody seems to care that families are stressed beyond belief. The May 1 deadline is coming fast and we're all just supposed to commit thousands of dollars without knowing what we'll actually owe?!?!

I work in a college admissions office, and this situation is incredibly challenging for both families and institutions. The Department of Education has been slowly fixing the issues, but the backlog is substantial. Here's what I recommend: 1. Contact each school's financial aid office directly - don't just wait for emails 2. Ask specifically about their contingency plans for delayed FAFSA processing 3. Inquire about institutional aid options that might be available while waiting 4. Request an estimated aid package based on previous years' formulas Many schools are creating alternative processes not widely advertised on their websites yet. A phone call can often reveal options not apparent otherwise.

my cousin works in financial aid at a big state school and she said their office is a mess right now. they expected to have thousands of fasfa forms by now but only have like 40 or something. theyve been told it could be june before they get most of them??? crazy that they changed the whole system in an application year without testing it first

I've been trying to reach Federal Student Aid for THREE WEEKS about our application status and literally cannot get a human on the phone. After being on hold for 2+ hours yesterday, I finally tried using Claimyr.com and actually got through to a real person at FSA in about 20 minutes! They confirmed my application was processed but explained there's a huge backlog in transmitting data to schools. The agent gave me specific information about our SAI score and confirmation number I could provide to my daughter's financial aid office. Here's a video that shows how it works: https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ Might be worth it if you're stuck in the same situation and need to get actual information about your application status.

this is why im glad i took a gap year lol this whole fafsa situation seems like a nightmare

Update for everyone: The National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators released a statement today indicating that as of April 8th, only about 33% of FAFSA applications have been fully processed and transmitted to institutions. They're advocating for ED to provide daily processing updates and a firm timeline. Many schools are now creating their own institutional methodologies to generate preliminary aid packages while waiting for official SAI scores. If you absolutely need to make a decision soon, ask financial aid offices about these temporary solutions.

I want to thank everyone for their responses! I called my daughter's top three schools today and got varied responses: School 1: Extended deadline to June 1, offering estimated packages by April 25th School 2: Still holding firm on May 1 deadline but will refund deposits if aid doesn't match expectations School 3: Created an institutional methodology form we can fill out to get an estimated package within a week This is all so stressful, but I feel better knowing we're not alone in dealing with it. Will update if I learn anything new.