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Do we need to update bank balances on FAFSA if returning for signature correction?
My daughter's FAFSA application is flagged for what I think is just a missing signature (got an email about it last week). We originally submitted it about 5 weeks ago, and since then some of our financial information has naturally changed - especially our bank account balances. When we go back in to fix the signature issue, are we required to also update all the financial information that's changed since our initial submission? I'm stressed about potentially triggering an audit if the numbers suddenly change. Has anyone dealt with this situation before? Thanks!
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Social Security number already linked to FAFSA account my niece never created - help!
I'm helping my niece with her first FAFSA application for the 2025-2026 academic year, and we're completely stuck at the account creation stage. When she tries to create her studentaid.gov account, she keeps getting an error message saying her Social Security number is already associated with an existing account. The thing is, she's NEVER created an account before! She's a first-generation college student and I promised to help her through this process, but now we're completely stuck. We've triple-checked her SSN for typos, but that's definitely not the issue. Has anyone experienced something similar? Could someone have used her information without her knowledge? Or is this some kind of system glitch? Any advice on how to resolve this would be really appreciated!
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That's great news! Just as an FYI for your niece - make sure she completes the 2025-2026 FAFSA (not the 2024-2025 version). I've seen students accidentally fill out the wrong year's form, especially during this transition period with the new FAFSA rollout.
Congratulations on getting it resolved! This is such a helpful thread - I'm bookmarking it for future reference. As someone who volunteers with college-bound students, I see this issue come up ALL the time. The school counselor creating FSA IDs without telling students is becoming more common as schools try to increase FAFSA completion rates. It's well-intentioned but definitely causes confusion! For anyone else facing this issue, definitely check with your school counselor first before assuming the worst. And yes, double-check you're on the right year's FAFSA - the new simplified version can be confusing to navigate at first.
FAFSA 2025-26: How to report self-employment business value for mixed Schedule C and S Corp?
I'm totally confused about how to report our business values on the 2025-26 FAFSA. My husband and I both have self-employed businesses. For calculating business worth, is it just assets minus liabilities times ownership percentage? But here's where I'm stuck - do we use figures from our 2023 tax return or current values? And I've got another complication: my business was reported on Schedule C for 2023 but converted to an S Corp in 2024. So what value do I report now? Do I use the Schedule C value from 2023 or the S Corp value? The FSA website is so vague about this!
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Update: I found some helpful info on the FSA website. For the small business exclusion, it says if the business has fewer than 100 employees AND family members own more than 50%, it doesn't get reported. This applies to my S Corp situation perfectly! For my husband's Schedule C, I'll use assets minus debts. Thanks everyone for your help with this confusing topic!
Great research! Yes, your S Corp should qualify for the small business exclusion. For your husband's Schedule C business, using current assets minus debts is the right approach. Remember to keep documentation of how you arrived at these figures in case of verification. This is definitely one of the more confusing aspects of the FAFSA, so you're not alone in your frustration!
This thread has been super helpful! I'm dealing with a similar situation - my LLC elected S Corp tax treatment mid-2023, so I'm wondering if the same small business exclusion applies? Also, for those with Schedule C businesses, don't forget that if your business operates out of your home, you can't include the home office portion in the business valuation since that's already counted as part of your primary residence. The FAFSA instructions mention this but it's easy to miss!
FAFSA required for college but SAI score too high - how to explain to disappointed student?
Just finished the FAFSA nightmare only because my daughter's university requires it for enrollment, even though I suspected we wouldn't qualify for aid. Our SAI score came back yesterday at 28,750 which basically confirms what I already knew—we make 'too much' on paper. Now I'm stuck in this impossible middle ground where the government thinks we can afford $29K/year, but in reality, we're nowhere close to that after paying our mortgage, medical expenses, and helping my elderly parents. My daughter is devastated because she worked so hard to get into her dream school and now feels like it's slipping away. How do I explain that despite our 'high income,' we simply can't write a $29K check each year? Has anyone successfully appealed an SAI score based on circumstances not reflected in the FAFSA? Or found decent private loans that won't absolutely crush her future?
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btw has ur daughter checked if her school has any payment plans? my sons school let us split the payments into monthly chunks which made it waaaaay more managable than one huge bill
That's a good point. I know they offer a semester payment plan, but I need to check if they have a monthly option. Even spreading it out would help with cash flow management.
I'm going through almost the exact same situation with my son! Our SAI came back at 31,200 and I felt like crying when I saw it. What's helped us so far is creating a comprehensive appeal package - I made a spreadsheet showing our actual monthly expenses vs. what the FAFSA thinks we can afford, plus documentation for everything (medical bills, elder care costs, etc.). Also, don't overlook work-study opportunities at the school - they often have more flexibility with those positions than you'd think. My son's school increased his work-study award by $2,000 after we explained our situation. The financial aid counselor told me that persistence is key - keep following up politely but regularly. Hang in there, and don't let your daughter give up on her dream school yet!
FAFSA correction processing time - still stuck on 'pending' after 2 weeks
I submitted my initial FAFSA application about a month ago, but made a huge mistake reporting my parent's retirement account as student assets (yikes). I submitted corrections two weeks ago through studentaid.gov, but my status is still showing as 'pending review' with no updates. My college financial aid office is asking for my final SAI calculation by next Friday for scholarship consideration. Does anyone know how long these corrections typically take to process? I'm starting to panic that I'll miss out on aid opportunities because of this delay. Has anyone gone through a similar situation this year with the new FAFSA system?
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UPDATE: I called my school's financial aid office this morning and explained the situation. They were actually super understanding! They said they can use my corrected information for preliminary calculations while waiting for the official FAFSA to update. They also gave me a 2-week extension on the scholarship deadline. Thank you all for your advice - feeling much less stressed now!
That's excellent news! This is exactly why we always recommend proactive communication with your financial aid office. They have significant flexibility to work with students experiencing FAFSA processing delays. Make sure to follow up if you don't see the correction process within another week or so.
Great to hear! And for future reference (for anyone reading this thread), always make a note of exactly what you corrected and when. Screenshots of confirmation pages can be really helpful when working with your financial aid office on preliminary reviews.
As someone who went through FAFSA corrections last year, I can confirm that 2-3 weeks is pretty typical now with the new system. One thing that helped me was creating a simple timeline document showing when I submitted the original FAFSA, when I discovered the error, when I submitted corrections, and what I corrected. This was super useful when talking to my financial aid office because they could see I was being proactive about the process. Also, don't forget to check your studentaid.gov account every few days - sometimes the status updates without sending an email notification. Glad to see your school was understanding about the extension!
Keisha Thompson
In the 2025-2026 FAFSA, they've actually improved this process. The new system more clearly separates signature fixes from substantive corrections. When you go in to add the missing signature, you'll see it doesn't even let you access the financial sections unless you specifically choose to make other corrections. Just follow the prompts for signature only.
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Oliver Zimmermann
I went through this exact same situation last month! Just logged in, added the missing signature, and didn't touch any of the financial information. The whole process took maybe 5 minutes and my daughter's FAFSA was processed within a week after that. The key thing to remember is that you're certifying the information was accurate when you originally submitted it, not updating it to current values. Don't overthink it - just fix what they're asking for and move on!
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