Can my son correct a FAFSA 2025-2026 mistake after submission? Application in review status!
I'm in a complete panic right now! My son submitted his FAFSA for the 2025-2026 year last week, but he accidentally answered one of the questions wrong because I never received the parent contribution email. When I logged into my FSA ID account, I can only see his previous 2024-2025 application, nothing for the new year. His current application shows "in review" status when he logs in. Will the system eventually let him back in to fix the error? Or are we just stuck with the wrong information? This is for his sophomore year and I'm worried this mistake might affect his aid package!
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Anastasia Smirnova
same thing happened with my daughter's application!! such a nightmare. we had to wait till it got processed then make corrections
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Diego Chavez
•How long did you have to wait before you could make corrections? We really can't afford to lose any financial aid because of this mistake.
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Sean O'Brien
Don't panic! Yes, you'll be able to make corrections after the application has been processed. Once his SAI (Student Aid Index) is calculated, the system will allow you to go back in and make changes. Keep in mind you might need to provide documentation to support the correction depending on what question was answered incorrectly. What specifically did he answer wrong? That might affect the process.
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Diego Chavez
•He accidentally marked that he was an independent student when he's still dependent on us. We're worried this will completely mess up the aid calculation because our income won't be factored in (which ironically might give him MORE aid, but it's not honest and I don't want to risk getting in trouble).
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Zara Shah
That's actually a pretty serious error that will significantly impact his SAI calculation. If he incorrectly claimed independent status, the system won't have requested your parent information at all. Here's what you need to do: 1. Wait for the application to process completely (status will change from "in review") 2. Once processed, he can log in and select "Make FAFSA Corrections" 3. Change the dependency status question 4. This will then trigger the parent information section 5. You'll need your FSA ID to complete that section Keep in mind that verification is more common when dependency status changes, so be prepared to submit documentation to prove dependent status.
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Diego Chavez
•Thank you so much for the detailed steps! Do you know if this will delay his financial aid or potentially reduce what he might get? His first year package was pretty good but I'm worried this mistake will hurt us.
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Luca Bianchi
I work in a college financial aid office, and I see this ALL the time. Yes, you can definitely fix this, but do it ASAP! Here's why: many schools have priority deadlines for maximum aid consideration. If your corrected FAFSA doesn't process before those deadlines, your son could miss out on institutional aid (grants/scholarships from the college itself). The Federal processors are extremely backed up this year with the new FAFSA changes, so corrections are taking longer than usual. Sometimes 3-4 weeks just for the correction to process.
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GalacticGuardian
•wait 3-4 WEEKS?? that's insane! my son's application has been "processing" for almost a month already and we haven't even got to the correction part! what happens if you miss the school's priority deadlines??? do you just lose all aid???
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Luca Bianchi
•You wouldn't lose ALL aid - federal aid like Pell Grants and Direct Loans would still be available. But many schools award their own grants and scholarships from limited funds on a first-come, first-served basis. Once those funds are gone, they're gone, even if you later qualify. That's why I recommend being proactive with the financial aid office at each school your son applied to. Let them know about the correction in process.
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Nia Harris
mine took 6 weeks to process last yr so good luck... the whole fafsa system is garbage tbh. u should call the fafsa ppl directly and tell them to fix it now instead of waiting.
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Diego Chavez
•I tried calling the Federal Student Aid number already but got stuck on hold for over an hour before I had to hang up for a work meeting. Is there any better way to reach them?
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Mateo Gonzalez
I had the exact same issue trying to reach FSA for my daughter's verification issues. After wasting HOURS on hold, I found this service called Claimyr that got me through to an actual FSA agent in about 10 minutes. They basically hold your place in line and call you when an agent is available. Saved me so much frustration! Their website is claimyr.com and they have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ Once I got through to FSA, they were able to tell me exactly what was happening with my daughter's application and gave me specific instructions for fixing it.
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Diego Chavez
•Thank you for sharing this! I'll check it out because I really need to talk to someone directly. Hoping they can tell us exactly when we'll be able to make the correction.
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Anastasia Smirnova
just fyi - the schools can sometimes override stuff in their systems even if fafsa is slow so make sure u email financial aid at EVERY school he applied to!!!! tell them what happened!!
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Aisha Ali
This happened to me when I was applying on my own without my parents' help. In my case, I had to submit a paper correction form because the online system kept glitching. I would ask about that option if the online corrections don't work after processing.
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Diego Chavez
•I didn't know paper corrections were an option! That's good to have as a backup plan. Did that take longer to process than online corrections would have?
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Aisha Ali
•Yeah it took forever... like almost 2 months from when I mailed it. But at least it eventually worked. The online system just kept giving me error messages.
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Sean O'Brien
Just to follow up on your situation - once the correction goes through, there's another important step: contact each college's financial aid office directly (as others have mentioned). Let them know about the correction and ask if they need any additional documentation. Some schools might ask for a Dependency Override Appeal form, even though in your case you're actually confirming his dependent status, not trying to override it. Be prepared with tax documents showing you claim him as a dependent.
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Diego Chavez
•Update: We finally got through to someone at Federal Student Aid! The application just changed from "in review" to "processed" this morning, and my son can now access the correction section. We're fixing the dependency status right now, and I've already contacted his school's financial aid office to explain the situation. They said as long as we get the correction processed within the next two weeks, it shouldn't impact his aid package. Thank you everyone for your help!
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Emma Johnson
That's fantastic news! So glad you were able to get through to FSA and that the correction option is now available. Two weeks should be plenty of time for the correction to process, especially since you caught it early. Just a heads up - keep checking the status regularly after you submit the correction because sometimes there can be additional verification requests that pop up. And definitely save screenshots of everything throughout this process in case you need to reference it later with the school. Hope everything works out smoothly for your son's sophomore year aid package!
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