Just an FYI - my wife and I retired last year and went through this whole process. Here's what to expect: 1. The FAFSA itself has NO mechanism to report income changes. None. You must use your tax return data from 2023. 2. Most schools had us fill out a "Special Circumstances" form plus provide documentation of our retirement and new income level. 3. Timeline-wise, we submitted the FAFSA in October, immediately contacted schools about the income change, submitted all documentation by December, and most schools adjusted our daughter's aid packages before the regular April decision letters went out. A couple schools made us wait until May for adjusted packages. 4. One school refused to adjust at all, claiming our retirement assets offset the income reduction (completely unfair, but they wouldn't budge). 5. Start gathering: last pay stubs, retirement letter, pension statements, Social Security estimates, current bank/investment statements. Good luck! It's a frustrating process but worth fighting for.

One thing I haven't seen mentioned yet - if you're retiring in 3 months, you might want to consider delaying your FAFSA submission until early 2025 if possible. While the "prior-prior year" rule means you'll still use 2023 tax data, being able to show you're already retired when you submit might strengthen your appeal case with financial aid officers. Also, document EVERYTHING about your retirement transition - separation agreements, final pay dates, benefit election forms, etc. I've heard some schools are more receptive to appeals when they can see the retirement was planned/structured rather than just a sudden decision. The more official documentation you have, the better your chances of getting approved quickly. Start reaching out to financial aid offices at your daughter's target schools NOW to ask about their specific appeal processes and timelines. Some schools are way more generous with professional judgment than others, and this could actually influence where she applies or chooses to attend.

UPDATE: I called my daughter's school this morning and they were super helpful! They said they're seeing this issue with about 30% of applications and have a process to flag it with the Department of Education. They also assured me they won't penalize students for FAFSA processing delays as long as the initial submission was before their priority deadline. Such a relief! For anyone having the same problem, definitely call your school's financial aid office first.

I'm so glad I found this thread! I'm dealing with the exact same issue right now - my daughter submitted her FAFSA two weeks ago without my contributor signature and it's been stuck "In Review" ever since. Reading everyone's experiences here has been really helpful, especially knowing that most schools are being understanding about these delays. I'm going to call her financial aid office tomorrow morning with all the info ready (confirmation number, submission date, etc.) like Haley suggested. It's frustrating that the new system allows incomplete submissions, but at least there seems to be a path forward. Thanks everyone for sharing your stories - makes me feel less alone in this mess!

I'm new to this community but wanted to jump in here because we're experiencing the exact same frustrating situation! My daughter submitted her FAFSA on January 6th and it's still showing "In Review" - I was getting really anxious about whether we had made some kind of error. This thread has been incredibly reassuring! I had no idea that 4-6 weeks was the new normal, and I definitely didn't know about checking the student account versus the parent portal. That seems like such a basic thing they should have explained better in the new system. We're going to have her log in tonight to verify her school selections, and I'm planning to reach out to her university's financial aid office tomorrow just to give them a heads up that we've submitted but are still waiting on processing. It's comforting to know so many schools are being flexible with deadlines given these widespread delays. Thanks to everyone for sharing your experiences and practical advice - it's so helpful to have this community support during what feels like a really chaotic rollout of the new FAFSA system!

I'm new to this community but wanted to share that we're going through the exact same thing! My son's FAFSA has been stuck "In Review" since January 10th and I was getting really worried about merit scholarship deadlines at his school. Reading through all these responses has been such a huge relief - I had no idea that 4-6 week processing times were the new normal with this system overhaul. The Department of Education really should have communicated these delays more clearly upfront! The tip about checking the student account instead of the parent portal to verify school selections was incredibly helpful. We checked last night and thankfully his university was properly listed. I also called their financial aid office today and they confirmed they're being flexible with FAFSA deadlines due to the widespread processing delays. It's frustrating that we're all dealing with this, but I'm so grateful for this community and everyone sharing their experiences. At least we know we're not alone in this mess!

Just went through this exact same frustrating experience! After reading through all these helpful responses, I wanted to share what finally worked for me. Like many others here, I couldn't find any print option after submitting my FAFSA earlier this week. I tried the Firefox browser switch and disabled my ad blocker (uBlock Origin), but the real game-changer was waiting the full 72 hours for processing like @Nasira Ibanez mentioned. Once that time passed, the "View Student Aid Report" option magically appeared on my dashboard, and the print icon was right there in the top right corner. One thing I'd add that I haven't seen mentioned yet - make sure you're clicking on the correct application year (2025-2026) if you have multiple FAFSAs in your account. I initially was looking at my old 2024-2025 application by mistake and couldn't figure out why nothing was working! For anyone still waiting, definitely call your school's financial aid office like @NeonNova suggested. Mine confirmed they'll accept the confirmation number temporarily while the technical issues get sorted out. The new FAFSA system is definitely a pain, but this community has been incredibly helpful in figuring out the workarounds. Hang in there everyone! 💪

I'm going through this exact same issue right now! Just submitted my FAFSA two days ago and have been frantically searching for a print option. This thread has been such a lifesaver - I had no idea about the 72-hour processing time or that different browsers could cause issues. I'm currently using Chrome with several extensions including AdBlock Plus, so I'm definitely going to try the Firefox approach that so many people mentioned. It's incredible how something as simple as printing has become this complicated with the new system! @Javier Mendoza thank you for explaining the difference between the confirmation page and the SAR - that cleared up so much confusion for me. And @NeonNova, your insight about schools being flexible with deadlines due to technical issues is such a relief. I was stressed about missing my school's deadline but knowing the confirmation number might be sufficient while waiting gives me peace of mind. Going to try the browser switch today and then wait patiently for the full 72 hours. Will definitely update if I discover any other helpful tips! Thanks everyone for sharing your experiences - this community is amazing! 🙏

I'm going through the exact same thing right now! My daughter and I submitted our FAFSA two weeks ago and it's been stuck "In Review" ever since. I've been checking the portal obsessively every day hoping for an update. Reading through these responses is both helpful and terrifying - the idea that it could take 6-10 weeks is making me panic about missing deadlines too. Has anyone found that calling FSA multiple times gets you different answers? I'm wondering if some agents are more helpful than others, or if they're all just giving the same standard "wait and see" response. Also, for those who eventually got through processing - did you get an email notification when your status changed, or did you have to keep checking the portal manually?

I'm a newcomer here dealing with the same exact situation! My son just signed his portion last week and we're also stuck at "In Review" status. Reading through everyone's experiences here has been both reassuring and nerve-wracking - it's good to know we're not alone, but those 6-10 week timelines are scary with deadlines approaching. I really appreciate all the practical advice everyone has shared. I'm definitely going to: 1. Contact each of his schools with our confirmation email 2. Double-check that both our email addresses are verified in the portal 3. Mark my calendar to follow up with FSA if we hit the 4-week mark One question for those who've been through this - when you contacted the schools directly, did you call or email? And did they ask for any specific documentation beyond the confirmation email? I want to make sure I approach them the right way since this is all new territory for our family. Thanks to everyone for sharing your experiences - this community has been incredibly helpful for a stressed parent trying to navigate this process!