Submitted January 3rd. Got SAI# in student email same day. I have no idea why we got the SAI# and others did not. It is really a mess!
Edit to add- we got our FSA IDs in October and verified our emails and phone numbers in October too. Maybe that’s why we received the SAI number. Just a guess.
Does anyone know if you can find your SAI online? We never had it emailed to us. I don’t think we qualify for any aid, but I still feel like I should be able to find it. Dashboard just shows submitted Jan 3 and in review. Cannot open form.
Also, every time either my D or I logs into the website we have to re verify contact Information to continue. That triggers a “you have updated FSA ID” email. Is that normal? I’m wondering if that’s part of the problem.
We created our FAFSA IDs in early January, full match came through the next week (there was no notification of this but the form was different), and D24 got an SAI.
I’ve been wondering the same thing. We submitted everything Jan 2nd and have been sitting on the ‘in review’ ever since. I have been checking status every day, getting the same results as you. I stopped checking my status three days ago in fear that it keeps resetting the application to the end of the queue.
Same. And we have had her FSA ID since September. Parent FSA ID has been in use for 7 years.
Sorry you are stuck too but glad I’m not alone, maybe it’s a system wide glitch.
The email that my S24 got from FAFSA on Jan 3 after I was invited as parent to fill out form and submitted on Jan 3 said: Estimated Student Aid Index (SAI) = Cannot Calculate because form was missing signature.
I decided to at least connect with Federal Student Aid Information Center (FSAIC) per Contact Page
1st - I tried calling the help line but never reached a live person. Instead I got the message that says call back later.
2nd - The live chat was pretty unhelpful as well with response being “check back later to see if it is processed.”
3rd - I clicked on the email icon detailing issue and received a case ID #.
My understanding is that once you are in review, it’s just going to sit there until they run the batch processing of all the applications submitted up to that point, and that processing will not happen until the end of January. So even if there are things you need to add or correct, nothing can be done until that point.
That was my understanding as well … until I saw this thread and read that others have had their submission status change to processed and a confirmation e-mail received. We have received e-mails confirming that our FAFSA has been received and accepted, but not processed. It has been on an ‘in review’ status since we submitted it on January 2nd. If others have indeed been processed, then our collective understanding of why we are waiting is incorrect.
I don’t think any forms have been processed. I think people have successfully submitted, and for some students, their confirmation email gave them an estimated or preliminary SAI, but those students still have to wait for the third step (processing) to complete at which point they will receive an actual “FAFSA Submission Summary” confirming the SAI and allowing then to make corrections to the form if necessary.
I could be wrong but I don’t that final step and accompanying summary has happened for anyone. Or at least that is what I was told when I used the FAFSA help line. I need to fix an error, and they said that I would not be able to until forms are processed at the end of the month though my daughter submitted during the first week of January. This was particularly frustrating since the confirmation email stated:
We can’t calculate your SAI
Review the reasons listed here. You can make corrections once your FAFSA® form finishes processing in one to three days.
1-3 days apparently means 3-4 weeks!
Thank you for your reply. It’s good to compare notes and see that at the end of the day, it appears that we are all waiting for the same thing. Perhaps a few have just misused, or I have misinterpreted, some key terminology. As bad as students and their parents have it, can you imagine working in a college financial aid office over the next few months? No thank you.
Waiting patiently for January 31st …
I think the vast majority of students are getting their SAI regardless of graduation year. I have seen some people report not getting it but most seem to be getting the email immediately.
Now, to be fair, even if one got an SAI, I still think there could be some issues with a submission.
My 2024 student got his right away and on our high school parent page there have been no reports of not getting it. But again, I think the entire system is having issues.
I don’t think anyone’s FAFSA has been processed. Ours was submitted 1/2 and 1/3 and still in review.
It certainly would be logical for FAFSA to start processing the millions already submitted but logic seems to be off the table at this point.
I agree that regardless of the fact that many have received an estimated SAI, none of the FAFSAs have been processed. That is the final step prior to making the forms available to colleges, and it *should * happen in the next couple weeks. The estimated SAI might change between now and that time, or it might not. Those without an SAI will be able to log in and make necessary updates once processing has occurred. Those changes should be processed and transmitted to schools in the more typical timeline of a couple days.
Looks like the inflation adjustment error is going to get fixed in this cycle. The DOE estimates the mistake would cost students $1.8B in aid, so they really have no choice.
Education Dept. will fix FAFSA mistake, opening $1.8 billion in student aid : NPR
I expect FAFSAs will not be sent to schools by the end of January now. Who knows the timing, but one school I know of has internally told their FA peeps best case is mid Feb. This school is going to also extend their FAFSA deadline which currently stands at the end of Jan.
That is really good news.
Tulane posted on their Fin Aid “news” that they do not expect a transmittal from FAFSA until Mid-Feb.
I do wonder the cascading impact of this and how it might impact waitlists. Kids that can’t commit to a school until they know the FA picture are likely to know later than past cycles so deposits aren’t rolling in at the rate they normally might.
This is our dilemma
Yea, this. I’m wondering if the May 1 commitment date may be impacted, sounds like there are even more issues that need to be resolved at the govt level. FA awards that should have come in February and March may not arrive until March or April. .The Feb admitted students events are likely lower attendance, and as a result everyone pushes back a few weeks…
I doubt many schools will extend the May 1 deadline, at least the relatively ‘popular’ schools that run the risk of overenrolling if they extend. I expect the ‘wealthier’ schools would just offer packages and deal with the feds (and states in some cases) later to get their money.
As an example, the Illinois owes Illinois State system schools billions of dollars for when the state reneged on MAP money for several years (because the state schools stepped in and kept the students whole).