Still waiting for Cal State financial aid offers after FAFSA processed in May - normal?

same boat! submitted in march, shows processed but radio silence from all CSU schools. super annoying not knowing what to plan for :/

This is actually pretty normal for Cal State schools. They typically release their aid packages in waves, with priority going to students who submitted before the March 2nd priority deadline. Since you submitted in April, you're in the second or third wave. Most CSUs don't finalize aid packages until June-July, especially for later FAFSA submissions. The May 15th processing date is recent, so allow 3-4 weeks from that date for schools to receive and process your information.

I would just call the financial aid office directly. they can tell u if they even got ur FAFSA info. sometimes there's glitches in the system and the schools never get it

Something similar happened with my son this year. We submitted in February and could see the SAI in the portal, but nothing from his schools. After WEEKS of trying to get through to someone at the financial aid office (constant busy signals, disconnects, being on hold for hours), I found this service called Claimyr that got me connected to a real person in minutes. Their website is claimyr.com and they have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ Turns out there was a flag on our application that needed verification documents, but we never got the email notification! Once we submitted those docs, the aid packages came through about 10 days later. Might be worth checking if you have any pending requirements.

Cal State is THE WORST at communicating!!! My daughter got her aid package from UC Davis in MARCH but we're still waiting on San Jose State and it's almost JUNE!!! The whole system is ridiculous. They expect us to commit to a school without even knowing what aid we'll get?? Complete garbage.

It's definitely still normal to be waiting on Cal State aid packages in late May, especially if your FAFSA was only fully processed on May 15th. Here's what I recommend: 1) Have your daughter log into her student portals for each Cal State school (not just the FAFSA portal) 2) Check for any "To Do" items or required documents sections 3) Verify all contact information is correct - sometimes notifications go to old email addresses 4) If there's nothing showing as pending, call the financial aid office directly Also worth noting that the system-generated correction on 5/15 might have reset your place in line somewhat. Schools can't generate packages until they have final FAFSA data. Most students should receive their Cal State aid packages by mid-June, with transfers and later applicants sometimes waiting until July.

I work at a community college financial aid office (not a CSU), but I can tell you that this year has been exceptionally slow for all schools processing financial aid. The 2024-2025 FAFSA had major changes, and many schools are running behind their normal timelines. A few things to know: 1. The SAI (Student Aid Index) replaced the old EFC this year 2. System-generated corrections often trigger verification requirements 3. Each individual school must review your FAFSA before creating an aid package 4. Schools are processing applications in chronological order based on when they were COMPLETED (not just submitted) I strongly recommend checking each school's student portal for verification requirements. With the May 2nd completion date, I'd expect packages to start arriving in mid-June at the earliest.

UPDATE: You all were right! I checked my daughter's student portal for Northridge and there was a verification request from May 17th sitting there that we never knew about! They needed copies of our 2022 tax transcripts and her birth certificate. Just uploaded everything. Thanks everyone for your help!