Will FAFSA automatically send to schools added after initial processing?
I'm in a slight panic. My son's FAFSA was processed about two weeks ago, but yesterday I realized we forgot 4 important schools! I deleted a couple schools from his list and added these 4 new ones (maxing out at 10 schools total) and hit save on the studentaid.gov site. But now I'm worried - will the system actually SEND his processed FAFSA data to these newly added schools automatically? Or was there some additional step I missed? Do I need to resubmit the entire application? The website didn't give me any clear confirmation about what happens with late-added schools. Anyone deal with this before?
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Nadia Zaldivar
ur fine, i added schools after processing last yr. the system automatically sends the info to the new schools u added, usually takes like 3-5 days to show up on their end. u dont need to do anything else
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Rajan Walker
•Oh thank goodness! Did you get any confirmation email or notification when the info was sent to the new schools? I haven't seen anything yet.
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Lukas Fitzgerald
The system will automatically transmit your son's FAFSA information to the newly added schools. When you add schools to a processed FAFSA, the Department of Education sends the information to those schools within 3-7 business days. There's no need to resubmit the entire application. However, I would recommend two things: 1) Check your son's Student Aid Report (SAR) in about a week to confirm the updated school list appears there, and 2) Contact each school's financial aid office in about 10 days to verify they received his FAFSA data. Schools have different internal processing timeframes, so it's good practice to confirm receipt.
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Rajan Walker
•Thank you for such a detailed explanation! I'll definitely check the SAR next week and follow up with the schools. Very helpful!
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Ev Luca
Omg I'm dealing with this exact same situation! I just realized yesterday my daughter's FAFSA is missing like 3 schools she's applying to. I was about to call student aid but have been on hold FOREVER. Anyone know if I should also be contacting the individual schools to let them know I'm adding them late?
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Avery Davis
•You don't need to contact the schools specifically about adding them late. However, if the schools have upcoming financial aid deadlines, I'd recommend emailing their financial aid offices to let them know you've just added them to the FAFSA. Some schools have priority deadlines for aid consideration, and a quick email can help ensure they don't penalize you for the late addition. Include your student's name and FAFSA ID in the email.
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Collins Angel
Ugh, the FAFSA system is such a headache. I tried calling their support line about a similar issue last month and was on hold for over 2 hours before getting disconnected. If you want to actually speak to someone at Federal Student Aid without the ridiculous wait, try using Claimyr (claimyr.com). They've got this system that holds your place in line and calls you back when an agent is available. Saved me hours of frustration. There's a video demo at https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ showing how it works. Worth it just for peace of mind to confirm they're sending your info to the new schools.
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Rajan Walker
•Thanks for the tip! I might try that if I don't see the schools updated on the SAR soon. The waiting on hold is absolutely brutal.
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Marcelle Drum
Just a heads up, make sure ur son's aid index (the SAI number) won't mess up at any of the new schools u added. My nephew added schools after his FAFSA was processed and all was good EXCEPT one of the schools had an earlier priority deadline that he missed. They still accepted the FAFSA but he got less aid than if he'd submitted earlier. Might wanna check if any of those 4 schools have passed their priority deadlines.
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Rajan Walker
•Oh no, I hadn't even thought about priority deadlines! I'll check right away. Really hope we haven't missed any important ones.
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Tate Jensen
YOU HAVE TO CALL THEM!!!! My daughter's FAFSA didn't get sent to 2 schools we added later even though the website said it would!!! Had to call and fight with them for WEEKS!!! Don't trust the system!!
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Lukas Fitzgerald
•While I understand your frustration, this is not typically the case. The vast majority of school additions process automatically without issues. However, there can occasionally be technical glitches. That's why I recommend verifying with the schools after 7-10 days rather than assuming there's a problem immediately. The Federal Student Aid system logs all transmission attempts, so if there is a rare failure, there will be a record of it that can be addressed.
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Avery Davis
One thing worth checking: When you added the new schools, did you see a confirmation page after hitting save? The system should have displayed a message saying your changes were saved successfully. Also, you can verify the current list of schools by viewing your Student Aid Report (SAR). Log into studentaid.gov, go to your FAFSA application, and look for the option to view your SAR. Page 8-9 typically shows the list of colleges that will receive your information.
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Rajan Walker
•There was a confirmation that the changes were saved, but nothing specifically about the schools being sent the info. I'll check the SAR as you suggested - thank you!
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Nadia Zaldivar
btw make sure u tell ur son to check his email from those new schools. sometimes they send important financial aid follow-up stuff right away and if u miss those emails it can mess up getting aid packages
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Rajan Walker
•Good point! I'll have him check his spam folder too just in case.
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Nasira Ibanez
Just wanted to add that you can also track the transmission status through your FSA ID account dashboard. There's a section that shows when your FAFSA data was last sent to each school and the transmission date. This gives you peace of mind that the system actually processed the school additions correctly. I found this really helpful when I was in a similar situation last year - it clearly showed the dates when each school received the updated information, which was about 4 days after I added them to the list.
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