How soon should I receive my financial aid after I receive my SAR?

What does it mean when your school doesn t receive your financial aid but the financial aid place receive your Fafasa?

• what does it mean when your school does not receive your financial aid but the financial aid place receive your Fafasa?

• Answer:

  When you submit a FAFSA, it is sent to the federal Central Processing System. While there, they use the information you reported on the application to calculate an EFC (Expected Family Contribution) number. They also conduct several data matches, such as confirming that your name, date of birth and social security # are correct, that you are a U.S. citizen or eligible non-citizen, that you are registered with Selective Service if you are a male, etc. Once those things are done, the FAFSA is sent to the schools whose codes you put on the application. You will usually get an email confirmation from the CPS saying that your FAFSA has been received within a few minutes of submitting it, but your school may not receive it for 3-5 days after that. If they haven't received it within a week or so, the reason is usually because you didn't put their school code on it. If that's the case, go back to your FAFSA application and correct it to include the school code. There is a search function on the FAFSA application that can help you find the school code, or you can simply call the school and ask what it is.