Thanks @Mamelot However, Step one currently reads “We have NOT received your FAFSA…” So, I’m thinking once this happens, a check mark appears AND the wording changes to “We have received your FAFSA”? If so, that is a really confusing way of doing it. The check mark makes it confusing. Normally, you check things off when they are completed. You don’t check it off and change the wording. Just have a list of steps. Step 1: FAFSA received. If there is no check mark, then it seems clear they didn’t receive it. When it states “FAFSA not received” and there is no check mark, it’s like a double negative (and you could interpret that they received it).
I guess we will call. It appears that UW-Madison also shows that they have not received the FAFSA form. I’m having a hard time understanding, in this day and age of electronic delivery, why it takes so long to acknowledge receipt of the FAFSA. Iowa State posted an acknowledgement within a week after it was submitted.
@BrewCrew82 yeah you are right - that IS confusing! Definitely give them a call.
Edit/Update: I’m not surprised that ISU posted so soon - don’t they also accept w/in a week or so? They just have a different processing timeline than the two other schools.
I do know that not one school has ever acknowledged a FAFSA for my kids unless/until they are accepted, if that helps. We’ve been doing this for two years straight now and have applied to 14 schools in all LOL - with another 5-6 this fall
Thanks @Mamelot, very good to know. I wonder why they wait until acceptance? Does that mean they will always allow you to submit a FAFSA after you have been accepted? We will give them a call, but my concern obviously is that you think the FAFSA was submitted, but there was a screw up that you are unaware of. Then you are admitted, the school states they never received the FAFSA, and the school deadline has passed for submitting the FAFSA.
One other question (since you have all that experience!), its very likely that my son will only be eligible for a $5,500 non-subsidized loan. My understanding is that the federal loans offered generally increase each year of school. If that is correct, do you know what kind of increase there is each year? We have saved money for our son’s college since he was born, but depending on where he goes, he will probably still have to take out some loan money to pay for college (especially if he does not graduate in 4 years). I’m just trying to figure out if it will be worth it to take the $5,500 the first year, or if the loan offers will increase enough over the next 3 or 4 years to cover what he will need.
@BrewCrew82 I was going to send you to one of the numerous websites that shows you how much the Stafford increases but you seem to have found it. My big task this year is to talk to D1’s FA advisor and let him know she does NOT want the full $6500. Not sure how one goes about declining part of a student loan but I’m bound to find out.
I think the timing of acceptance vs. FAFSA submission really depends on the school’s particular deadlines. Anyone who has been accepted in the fall for the next fall obviously can’t file the relevant FAFSA till after the new year begins. But lots of applicants to other schools are right now awaiting mid-March notifications on both acceptance AND financial aid so obviously they will have needed to have their FAFSA’s filed well before that time. Usually in that case applications are due Jan. 1 and FAFSA shortly thereafter, or they require the College Board’s CSS form which can be filed anytime after October 1 for the next year, or they have their own forms that supplement FAFSA. So it can be all over the board. It’s always a good idea to know the particular school’s deadlines for application and financial aid, what forms need to be filed for the latter, etc. In the case of a straightforward form such as FAFSA, it’s easy to complete and it’s free no matter how many schools you include so there’s no reason NOT to file it early on, even if you haven’t been accepted yet. You can always estimate and then update with the real numbers once the taxes are filed.
(BTW, like the Pirate Code, the FA deadlines are more of what you call “guidelines” than actual rules. There can be flexibility depending on the particular circumstances. The only thing to realize is that if the FAFSA isn’t filed “on time” they reserve the right to tell you they’ve run out of all available financial aid).
@BrewCrew82 I haven’t submitted my FAFSA yet because we just got our tax info back. Plan to finish it tonight. How long does it take for them to receive the FAFSA?
@UniversityGeek, I did not get an indication from Minnesota that they did receive it, or at the very best it was not clear that they received it (see my discussion above). My son was waitlisted. @Mamelot stated that their experience has been that FAFSA receipts are not confirmed until the student is admitted. My son was admitted at Iowa State and got a confirmation from them (about a week after he submitted the form). However, UW Madison and Minnesota, where he was postponed and waitlisted have not confirmed (he submitted it about two weeks ago).
@sonicboy if you submitted your app by 12/15, then you should have received a decision by now in your app tracker. If you were waitlisted (which, again, you could see in your app tracker) you won’t get an update on your decision until April. Here is an email my son got from Minnesota admissions on Monday.
I submitted it in October and I have been checking my app tracker every other day. I’m hoping I find out today.
Do you think I should contact the admissions office and ask them whether I will get a decision today?
I think maybe you should call them and tell them that someone told you that they received an email that stated that everyone who submitted their application by 12/15 has received a decision by now and that you are wondering if you should be concerned that your app tracker has not updated yet.
Just to confirm, does your app tracker still say something like “we have received your application by the priority deadline etc etc” ?
Hmm…maybe try sending them an email (admissions@umn.edu) and copying and pasting some of the language (at least the first paragraph) from the email that I posted in post #529?
@herewelearn They only require a final transcript. I’m guessing they don’t want to be bogged down by extra paperwork from students who don’t end up deciding to attend. Here’s more info:
