One important thing to note is that after making any corrections, there will be a processing period before your updated SAI is calculated. This typically takes 3-5 business days, though it can sometimes take longer during peak periods. Since you mentioned scholarship deadlines, make sure you plan for this processing time. Also, for future reference, if you're making multiple corrections, it's best to make them all at once rather than submitting several separate correction requests, as each new submission restarts the processing clock.

Thank you everyone for the helpful responses! We successfully made the correction through my son's student account yesterday. He was able to access both his own income section and could have changed our parent information too if needed. We both had to re-sign with our FSA IDs after making the change. Now we're just waiting for the updated SAI calculation. Fingers crossed it processes quickly since one of his scholarship applications needs the updated info by next Friday!

this is so confusing why does FAFSA have to make everything so complicated?? the whole point of early decision is that ur committing to that school so why would you even need to add more??

Thank you all SO much for the helpful answers! I feel much better now about adding all my potential schools to my FAFSA. I'm going to go ahead and add all 8 backups while I wait for my early decision result. Nice to know the 20 school limit gives me plenty of room and that schools can't see the others or my ranking order. This takes a huge weight off my shoulders!

Thanks everyone for the helpful info! I just called the culinary school, and they ARE on the TOPS eligible list (it's connected to a community college). The financial aid office also confirmed their priority deadline is February 15, 2025. So our plan now is: 1. Complete FAFSA as soon as it opens December 1 2. Set up the Louisiana Award System account 3. Verify with her high school that they'll submit all TOPS requirements 4. Double-check everything for accuracy to avoid verification delays Am I missing anything else?

My nephew did the TOPS thing and it was a DISASTER. They kept changing requirements and he lost funding after freshman year. Don't count on it staying consistent for all 4 years. Make sure you have a backup plan!!!

Have you tried using Claimyr to get through to an actual FSA agent? I was dealing with a similar contributor issue last month and was dreading the hours-long wait times. Someone here recommended claimyr.com and it was a game-changer. You can see how it works in their video demo: https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ They got me connected to a real FSA agent in about 15 minutes who fixed our contributor problem on the spot. Saved me literally hours of frustration.

Did you ever get this resolved? I'm curious if any of the suggestions worked for you. This is becoming one of the most common issues with the new FAFSA system, and I'd like to know what's actually working for people.

btw if ur fixing tax stuff do u know which form they need? my daughters corrction was for the w2 vs tax return numbers not matching and we had to figure out which one they wanted us to use

UPDATE: I logged in with my parent FSA ID and was able to access the correction screen! It showed exactly what needed to be fixed - just a transposed number in our AGI. I corrected it and submitted the changes. The site said it would take 3-5 days to process, but we actually got a confirmation email the next day saying the corrections were accepted. Thanks everyone for your help!