Do FAFSA parent corrections automatically update for twins? No Pell Grant awarded
I recently completed the FAFSA for my twins (first time college students for fall 2025) but noticed neither of them received any Pell Grant eligibility in their aid offers. I think I might have accidentally overstated our family income or assets somewhere. If I submit a correction to my parent section on studentaid.gov, will it automatically update both of their applications? Or do I need to submit separate corrections for each of them? Our household income is around $62,000 which I thought should qualify for at least some Pell Grant money. Really confused about why they didn't qualify and worried about making things worse if I submit corrections incorrectly.
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Ava Hernandez
Unfortunately, corrections made to the parent section don't automatically update across multiple student applications, even for twins. You'll need to submit the same correction separately for each child's FAFSA. Be careful to make identical changes to ensure consistency - any discrepancies between the applications could trigger verification.
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Noah Lee
•Oh no, that's frustrating! I was hoping it would be simpler since they're twins with identical household information. Do you know if there's a way to see exactly why they didn't qualify for Pell Grants? I'm wondering if I made an error or if we're just above the cutoff.
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Isabella Martin
my twins didnt get pell either even tho we make like $59k. turns out i put our retirement accounts as assets which you dont have to do!!! also check if you accidently counted child support twice, thats another common mistake
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Ava Hernandez
•Great point about retirement accounts. The FAFSA doesn't count retirement savings (401k, IRA, etc.) as assets for the SAI formula. And yes, double-counting income is a frequent error that can significantly impact your SAI score and Pell eligibility.
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Noah Lee
•Omg I think I did exactly that with our retirement accounts! I included our 401k balances as assets. That might explain everything. I'll need to submit corrections right away. Thank you!!!
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Elijah Jackson
You can check their Student Aid Index (SAI) on each of their FAFSA confirmations. For 2025-2026, Pell eligibility typically requires an SAI below 6000. What SAI did they get?
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Noah Lee
•Their SAI shows 6206, which I guess means we're just barely over the threshold for Pell Grants. That's so frustrating to be just a little bit over the limit. The corrections about our retirement accounts should hopefully bring that number down.
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Sophia Miller
When you file the corrections, make sure you're using the Data Retrieval Tool if possible! It automatically pulls your tax info from the IRS and reduces the chance of making income reporting errors. Also, keep in mind that even small corrections can sometimes trigger verification, which can delay processing, so be prepared for that possibility.
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Mason Davis
•Data Retrieval Tool has been down half the time for me, such a pain!!
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Mia Rodriguez
I've been through this with my triplets last year. Something else to check - did you include your home equity as an asset? That's another common mistake that can push you over the Pell threshold. The current FAFSA doesn't count your primary residence as an asset. Honestly the whole system is designed to trip parents up IMO.
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Noah Lee
•I did include our home equity! I had no idea that wasn't supposed to be counted. Between that and the retirement accounts, no wonder we didn't qualify. Thank you so much for pointing this out!
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Elijah Jackson
One more thing - after you submit the corrections for both twins, email their financial aid offices to let them know you've made FAFSA corrections. Sometimes schools don't automatically reprocess aid packages unless you notify them of the changes.
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Noah Lee
•That's a great tip, thank you! I definitely want to make sure their financial aid packages get updated after these corrections.
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Mason Davis
lol everyone talks bout the data retrevial tool but i couldn't get it to work AT ALL for my kids fafsa. ended up just typing everything manually. good luck with the twins!
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Isabella Martin
•same here!!! the whole system is broken tbh
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Jacob Lewis
After correcting the FAFSA for both twins, expect a 3-5 business day processing time for the changes to reflect in their SAI calculation. Once processed, their schools' financial aid offices will be notified automatically, but as someone mentioned, it's good practice to contact them directly. For your income level of $62k with accurate asset reporting, your twins should likely qualify for some Pell Grant money for the 2025-2026 academic year, especially after removing retirement accounts and home equity from your assets.
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Noah Lee
•Thank you for the clear timeline! I'm going to make those corrections today and then follow up with their schools next week. I really appreciate everyone's help - this forum has been more useful than hours on the FAFSA website trying to figure things out!
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