Will colleges automatically process my son's FAFSA after receiving SAI, or should he follow up?
My son got his FAFSA submitted last week and received his SAI number on 11/21. He's already added all his schools to the application. Now he's getting emails from several colleges where he's been accepted saying they received his FAFSA. I'm confused about next steps - will these schools automatically review his financial aid eligibility now, or does he need to contact their financial aid offices? This is our first time going through this process, and I don't want him to miss out on aid because we didn't follow up properly. Any advice from parents who've been through this recently?
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Kara Yoshida
Good news! Once schools have his FAFSA and are sending confirmation emails, they're already processing it. Your son doesn't need to do anything else regarding the FAFSA specifically. The schools will automatically use his SAI number to determine his aid eligibility and will eventually send him financial aid award letters. However, it's worth checking each school's financial aid portal (usually through their student portal) to see if they require any additional documentation. Some schools may request verification documents or have supplemental financial aid forms (like the CSS Profile for private schools). Each school's financial aid timeline varies, but most will start sending award letters after January.
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Mateusius Townsend
•Thank you so much for clearing that up! I was worried we might need to call each school individually. I'll have him check their portals this weekend to make sure nothing else is needed. Do you know roughly how long it typically takes schools to process everything and send out award letters?
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Philip Cowan
They ll review it automatically your fine. My daughter got all her packages about a month after they got her fafsa last year. just make sure he checks his email a lot cause sometimes they ask for extra stuff
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Mateusius Townsend
•Thanks for sharing your experience! That helps ease my mind. I'll make sure he keeps a close eye on his email.
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Caesar Grant
Just went through this with my daughter. Most schools will process automatically BUT some schools required her to complete a separate financial aid application on THEIR website too!!! We almost missed the deadline for one school because we thought the FAFSA was enough. Check each school's financial aid website to be 100% sure.
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Lena Schultz
•THIS!! My son almost lost $12,000 in institutional aid because he didn't complete some random form on the school's financial aid portal. The FAFSA isn't always enough!
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Gemma Andrews
Financial aid counselor here! Let me clarify a few things: 1. Yes, schools will automatically begin processing his FAFSA once they receive it 2. Most schools will not require any action from your son to begin this process 3. HOWEVER, about 20-25% of FAFSA filers get selected for verification, which requires submitting additional documentation 4. Some schools (especially private ones) require the CSS Profile in addition to FAFSA 5. Each school has its own timeline, but most start sending award letters between January-March I recommend your son: - Check each school's student portal weekly - Set up email forwarding so he doesn't miss important notices - Watch for verification requests (these have strict deadlines) - Contact financial aid offices directly if he hasn't received an award letter by March Don't hesitate to have him call a school's financial aid office if anything is unclear!
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Mateusius Townsend
•This is incredibly helpful information, thank you! I didn't realize so many students get selected for verification. He applied to two private schools, so I'll make sure he checks if they need the CSS Profile too. Thanks for the timeline info - that helps set our expectations.
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Pedro Sawyer
Honestly the whole FAFSA system is so confusing and nobody explains anything properly. My daughter had her FAFSA "processed" but then one school randomly selected her for verification and we had to submit like 20 more documents and it delayed her aid by 2 months. The whole system is designed to make you give up.
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Mae Bennett
•So true! When my son got selected for verification last year, I spent THREE WEEKS trying to get through to someone at Federal Student Aid. The phone lines were constantly busy and when I finally got through, I was on hold for 2+ hours! I finally found this service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that got me connected to an actual human at FSA in under 15 minutes. They have a video demo showing how it works: https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ Saved me so much frustration and we got the verification issues resolved that same day. Just a tip in case you run into verification problems later.
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Mateusius Townsend
Thank you all for the helpful advice! I've had my son check each school's portal and two of them actually do need additional information - one needs the CSS Profile and another has a school-specific form. We wouldn't have known to check without your suggestions! We'll keep an eye out for any verification requests too. I appreciate everyone's help navigating this confusing process.
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Kara Yoshida
•Glad we could help! That's exactly why it's so important to check each school individually. Good luck to your son with his financial aid packages!
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