Hey Eric,
The biggest delay with FAFSA is not ERAU, but the Fed. Waiting for you reply is like waiting for your tax return. Expect at least 3-4 weeks for your Student Aid Report (SAR) which tells you what your Expected Family Contribution (EFC) is.
ERAU will get that info about a day before you do via computer. They'll plug the numbers from that report into their system and print out an award letter. You should get the award letter within a week of when you get your SAR. Once you accept the loans they've given you, the university will send you the applications you need to fill out. I have no idea how quickly the Fed processes those.
Once approved the funds are sent electronically to the University for credit to your student aid account. If the Fed doesn't take too long to approve you, and you don't slack on submitting paperwork, the school should have the $$$ before you start your term.
This is all assuming, of course, that you're planning on attending this Fall. Just a little warning....your award letter may not be too much. Since you're applying late in the application season, a lot of the financial aid has been awarded already. Don't count on getting any scholarships from the university. Those funds are probably already gone. And the loan funds are probably starting to get low. So, complete everything you get and send it out the same day to prevent any further delay.
Oh yeah, one more thing, don't expect any delays with your student aid bills. The fed is quite on top of that part of the process.
