Did My FAFSA Get Submitted?

The new 2024-25 FAFSA is short. So short in fact, that you can come to the end of it without even realizing that you are all finished. The form's brevity is a good thing. But it can lead families to a nagging doubt that you actually haven't successfully completed and filed the form. Compounding this sense of uncertainty is the fact that, currently, the automatic confirmation that your FAFSA has been successfully filed and sent to your colleges isn't exactly working. Which creates even more doubt.

The rollout of the new, simplified FAFSA hasn't gone exactly according to plan. When the application process is running as normal, those who file the form should receive a confirmation email in a matter of days, with notification that the Department of Education's Federal Student Aid office has received your data. That email should also include an estimate of your Student Aid Index (SAI) (the number that colleges use to calculate your eligibility for financial aid and formerly know as EFC), your FAFSA Submission Summary (FSS), and an estimate of your federal student aid. In a normal FAFSA year you can also log back in to the application a few days after filing it, see the FAFSA data you actual submitted, and also make corrections to it.

But this year, many parts of the process aren't working according to schedule, or are delayed. Everyone who submits a FAFSA should still be getting a confirmation email, with at least an estimated SAI and notification that the FAFSA has been submitted. Some filers are receiving this, but some are not. Also, when logging back into the FAFSA, filers can't yet see their FAFSA data or make corrections to it. In addition, the colleges themselves won't actually be receiving FAFSA data until sometime in March, or later. So a college can't even confirm that your FAFSA has been sent.

So how can you determine if your FAFSA has actually been submitted? Have the student log in to the FAFSA online and check the FAFSA's status (to get there, go back to the FAFSA homepage and click on Access Existing Form and then log in). If your FAFSA says it's In Review, then the application has been submitted.

We recognize this status is confusing to many parents and students. What does "in review" mean? It essentially means that you have done everything you need to do. Colleges may request additional information from you once they receive your FAFSA data and get a chance to review it. But now, you can sit tight.

And in the meantime, Federal Student Aid is aware of the issue of missing confirmation emails, and knows that families are anxious to review their own data and make corrections to it. They are also working hard to get FAFSA data to colleges as soon as they can. For your part, look for that In Review status, and then, once you see it, sit back knowing that you've done everything you can right now.