When will my son get his FAFSA SAI after both parent and student sections completed?
I'm super confused about the FAFSA timeline this year! My son completed his portion of the 2025-2026 FAFSA application on Monday night, and I finished my parent contribution section Tuesday night. Now we're both wondering when we'll actually see the SAI number? The studentaid.gov site isn't clear about processing times. Does anyone know how long it usually takes once both parts are submitted? And yes, I'm assuming both the student AND parent sections need to be completed before they generate the SAI, right? This is our first time going through this process and we're hoping to compare financial aid packages from different schools ASAP.
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Kai Rivera
yep both parts gotta be done b4 anything happens. my daughter submitted last month. took like 4 days to get her SAI but ive seen ppl saying 2-3 weeks now bc of backup
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Lucas Turner
•4 days? Or 4 WEEKS? I'm getting different answers from everyone and the financial aid deadlines for some schools are coming up fast.
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Anna Stewart
The processing times have been all over the place this FAFSA cycle. To answer your questions: 1. Yes, both the student and parent sections MUST be completed before the SAI is calculated 2. Current processing time is approximately 7-10 business days after both sections are completed 3. You'll receive an email notification when the SAI is calculated Make sure you check the submission status on studentaid.gov to confirm both sections show as "Completed" and not just "In Progress." Some people think they've finished but actually have missing information.
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Lucas Turner
•Thank you! I just double-checked and both sections show "Completed" with green checkmarks. I guess we'll just have to wait. Do colleges automatically get the SAI information, or does my son need to do something else to make sure they receive it?
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Layla Sanders
OMG the FAFSA this year is a NIGHTMARE!!! I submitted both parts for my daughter THREE WEEKS AGO and still no SAI!!! Called FSA every day for a week straight and couldn't get through to anyone. The hold times are insane and then they just disconnect you!!! This new system is completely broken.
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Morgan Washington
•same!! waited 2 hrs yesterday and got hung up on right when someone finally answered
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Kaylee Cook
I went through this last month with my son. After both parts were submitted, the SAI took exactly 12 days to appear. But this was a few weeks ago - I've heard processing times are getting longer as more people submit. One tip: make sure the schools your son wants to attend are all listed on the FAFSA. You can add up to 10 schools initially, and they'll automatically receive the SAI when it's processed. If you need to add more schools later, you can remove some of the original ones and add new ones.
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Lucas Turner
•That's helpful to know about the schools - he only added 6 so far, but might need to add more depending on where he decides to apply. I'm hoping 12 days is still accurate, but I won't hold my breath.
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Oliver Alexander
When I worked in a college financial aid office last year, we saw SAI processing times vary from 3 days to 3 weeks. Here's what affects processing time: 1. Volume of applications (busier times = longer waits) 2. Whether your application gets flagged for verification 3. If there are any data inconsistencies that trigger manual review If you desperately need to reach someone at Federal Student Aid, I recently discovered a service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that helps you skip the phone queues. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ It saved me hours of frustration when I needed to resolve an issue with my daughter's application.
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Morgan Washington
•wait is this legit? the fsa phone system is horrible and i NEED to talk to someone
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Oliver Alexander
•Yes, it's legitimate. I was skeptical at first but it worked for me. It basically keeps dialing for you and then calls you when it gets through to an agent. Saved me from having to sit on hold for hours.
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Lara Woods
Maybe this is a stupid question but what exactly is the SAI and why is it so important? My daughter is filling out her FAFSA next week and I'm trying to understand this whole system. Is the SAI what determines how much aid she'll get?
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Anna Stewart
•The SAI (Student Aid Index) replaced the old EFC (Expected Family Contribution) in the 2024-2025 cycle. It's a number that colleges use to determine your financial need and eligibility for different types of aid. Lower SAI = more need-based aid eligibility Higher SAI = less need-based aid eligibility It's important because it's used by every college to create their financial aid packages. The SAI itself isn't the final amount you'll pay - each school uses it differently in their calculations.
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Lucas Turner
Update: We just got the SAI this morning - took exactly 9 days from when I completed the parent section. For anyone wondering, we received an email notification with a link to log in and view the SAI. Now my son has to make sure all his colleges receive it. Thanks everyone for your help!
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Kai Rivera
•nice! faster than i thought it would be honestly
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Anna Stewart
•Great news! As long as the schools were listed on his FAFSA, they'll automatically receive the information. If he needs to add more schools now, he can go back into the FAFSA and update the school list. The newly added schools should receive the information within a few days.
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