Accidentally reported 401k as investment on FAFSA - now section is greyed out! Did I ruin aid chances?

Take a deep breath. You haven't destroyed his chances for aid. When the FAFSA is processed, it calculates your Student Aid Index (SAI), and including your 401k definitely made that number higher than it should be. But you have options: 1. Submit a correction request through the portal - while you can't edit directly, there's a correction submission form 2. Contact each school's financial aid office once your son decides where to attend. They can make professional judgment adjustments when presented with documentation that your 401k shouldn't count as an investment 3. Appeal your SAI calculation with proper documentation The most important thing is to document everything - screenshots of your 401k statements showing it's a retirement account, copies of your correction requests, etc.

this happnd to my daughter last yr... we put our 403b (similar to 401k) on investments section by accident. called school financial aid office after she got accepted they fixed it for us. her aid package went up by almost 5k after correction

Not to scare u but my nephew had similar issue last year and his first aid offer was TERRIBLE bc they thought family had way more assets than reality... got fixed eventually but took weeks of phone calls. Retirement accounts def shouldn't count on FAFSA

This is a common mistake, and there's a specific process for handling it. Here's what you need to do: 1. Since the correction cannot be made online (the greyed-out section is locked once submitted), you'll need to contact each school's financial aid office directly. 2. Prepare documentation: statement showing the account is a qualified retirement account (401k), your most recent account statement, and a written explanation of the error. 3. When your son decides on a school, immediately schedule an appointment with their financial aid office and explain the situation. 4. Request a "professional judgment review" based on the incorrect reporting of retirement assets. The school has authority to make these adjustments, and retirement accounts are specifically excluded from FAFSA asset calculations. Don't panic - this happens frequently and has an established resolution process.

FAFSA IS THE WORST!!! I made a similar mistake last year and it took FOREVER to fix. The whole system is designed to confuse parents and then punish us for mistakes. The fact that they grey out sections after submission without any warning is ridiculous. And don't get me started on trying to reach anyone on their phone line...

Don't most schools have a verification process anyway? When they check your tax returns won't they see the 401k isn't supposed to be counted? Seems like it would get fixed automatically.

I had the EXACT same issue last year with my daughter's FAFSA! Could not get through to anyone at Federal Student Aid for weeks. I finally used a service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that got me connected to an agent in about 20 minutes instead of waiting for hours. They have a video demo on how it works: https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ The agent was able to submit an internal correction request for me. Still had to follow up with the schools, but having that correction request number from FSA was really helpful when talking to financial aid offices.

u might be ok if ur son hasn't selected skools yet... once he does select them try calling right away to fix it before they make aid decisions

To answer your follow-up question - I would recommend contacting the financial aid offices at his top 3-5 schools now, rather than waiting. Explain the situation briefly by email first, then follow up with a call. Having the documentation ready is key. Most schools are making aid decisions soon, and being proactive could make a difference. For the rest of the schools, you can wait until he narrows down his choices.

Everyone keeps saying to contact the financial aid office, but my experience was that they barely have time to talk to you in March/April when they're swamped with thousands of aid packages. Start calling EARLY in the morning when they first open - that's the only way I ever got through.

One more important point: make sure your son understands that his initial aid offers might be lower than they should be because of this error. He shouldn't make his college decision based on those initial packages if the 401k issue hasn't been addressed. Also, keep detailed records of every conversation - who you spoke with, date/time, what was discussed, and any case numbers or follow-up instructions. This paper trail will be crucial if you need to escalate the issue later.

I went through something similar with my daughter's FAFSA two years ago! The key thing to remember is that this mistake actually happens more often than you'd think - financial aid officers have seen it before and know how to handle it. Here's what worked for us: I created a simple one-page document explaining the error, included a screenshot of the 401k account statement showing it's a qualified retirement plan, and emailed it to the financial aid offices at her top 3 schools before she even got her acceptance letters. Most of them responded within a few days acknowledging the issue and confirming they'd note it in her file. When the aid packages came out, two schools had already adjusted them correctly, and the third fixed it within a week after I called. Don't let this stress consume you - it's fixable, and your son's aid chances aren't ruined!