FAFSA asset correction date - use original filing date or correction date for SAI?
I totally messed up our asset reporting on the 2025-2026 FAFSA and now our SAI is ridiculously high! We included some retirement accounts that shouldn't have been counted. When corrections finally open up (anyone know when that will be??), I'm confused about what asset values to use. Do we report our current assets as of the correction date, or go back to what they were on the original filing date? Or is this something we need to handle directly with each college's financial aid office instead of through studentaid.gov? This isn't due to any change in our financial situation - we just made a calculation error. I've been on hold with FSA for hours and their website FAQ doesn't address this specific situation at all.
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CosmicCrusader
You need to use the asset values as of the date you originally submitted the FAFSA. The correction feature is only meant to fix errors in what you reported, not to update to current values. So if you filed on November 2, 2024, use the asset values from that date - not whatever they are when corrections become available. That's directly from the FSA handbook!
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Omar Zaki
•Thanks! That makes a lot of sense. Do you know when corrections will open up? I'm worried about missing priority deadlines for some schools.
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Chloe Robinson
i had this SAME ISSUE last year!! reported my 401k by mistake and it screwed up everything. my EFC (i know its SAI now lol) was like $30k higher than it should have been. each school wanted me to do it differently - some wanted me to wait for corrections and others had me fill out their own form
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Diego Flores
•That's so annoying! Did you end up getting it fixed in time? I'm stressing about scholarships getting assigned before they see my corrected SAI.
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Chloe Robinson
•yeah but it took FOREVER. like almost 3 months for some schools to adjust my packages. definitely contact each financial aid office directly!!!
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Anastasia Kozlov
Asset corrections are one of the most common FAFSA issues. Here's what you need to know: 1. For FAFSA corrections, you should use the asset values as of your original FAFSA filing date (not the current values when you make the correction). 2. Until the official correction period opens on studentaid.gov, the fastest solution is to contact each school's financial aid office directly. They have institutional correction procedures. 3. Provide documentation showing which assets should not have been included (retirement account statements with account type clearly indicated). 4. Request a professional judgment review based on the error. The Department of Education announced corrections should open in late March, but many schools can process this type of correction through their own systems now.
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Omar Zaki
•This is incredibly helpful, thank you! I'll start contacting each school tomorrow. Do you think I should still submit the correction through studentaid.gov when it becomes available, even if I've already worked with schools individually?
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Anastasia Kozlov
•Yes, absolutely still submit the official correction when it becomes available. This ensures your corrected SAI is on file with the Department of Education and all schools you listed on your FAFSA. The school-by-school approach just gets the process started faster.
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Sean Flanagan
If anyone is still having trouble getting through to FSA for corrections or questions, try Claimyr.com - it got me connected to an actual FAFSA agent in like 15 minutes after I'd been trying for days on my own. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ. Seriously saved my sanity when dealing with a similar correction issue.
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Diego Flores
•Does this actually work? I've been trying to reach someone at FSA for over a week with no luck.
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Sean Flanagan
•It definitely worked for me. The agent was able to tell me exactly what documentation I needed to provide for the correction and confirmed the schools could process it before the official correction period opened. Saved me weeks of stress.
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Zara Mirza
Everybody here is WRONG! I work in financial aid (not an official capacity just admin assistant) and we tell students to ALWAYS use the current values when submitting corrections. Why would you use old info when correcting?? Doesn't make sense. The whole point is to be ACCURATE at time of submission!!!!!
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CosmicCrusader
•That's actually incorrect. The Federal Student Aid Handbook specifically states that asset values reported on the FAFSA should reflect the values as of the date the FAFSA was filed, not the correction date. For corrections, you're fixing errors in what you originally reported, not updating to new values. Page AVG-15 of the 2024-2025 handbook covers this.
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Zara Mirza
•Well that's not how OUR office does it but whatever. Different schools have different policies I guess.
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Anastasia Kozlov
•This isn't a school-by-school policy issue. Federal guidelines are clear: FAFSA assets are reported as of the date of filing, and corrections fix errors in that original reporting. If there's been a significant change in financial circumstances since filing, that's handled through a professional judgment appeal, not a correction.
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NebulaNinja
I made almost this exact mistake last year for my son's FAFSA! I included a 403(b) by accident and our SAI was astronomical. What I ended up doing was: 1) contacting each school directly to explain the error, 2) sending documentation proving the account type, and 3) filing the official correction when it opened. Some schools adjusted his aid package right away based on the expected correction, others waited for the official correction. Either way, start with calling each school now rather than waiting.
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Omar Zaki
•Thank you for sharing your experience! Did you have any schools that were particularly difficult about processing the correction? Did your son end up getting appropriate aid after the correction was processed?
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NebulaNinja
•Two of the six schools were super helpful and adjusted his package immediately. Three waited for the official correction but then adjusted without any additional prompting. One was a complete nightmare and required multiple calls, emails, and eventually I had to escalate to the director of financial aid. But yes, his final aid packages all reflected the corrected SAI eventually - it just took persistence!
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Diego Flores
wait im confused... are we NOT supposed to include retirement accounts on fafsa?? i added my roth ira because its an asset we have... oh no
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Anastasia Kozlov
•Retirement accounts (401k, 403b, IRA, Roth IRA, pension plans, etc.) should NOT be included as assets on the FAFSA. They're explicitly excluded. You should submit a correction as soon as the correction period opens to remove these values from your asset reporting.
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Diego Flores
•omg thank you!! i had no idea. our SAI is like $12k and i was wondering why it was so high when we dont make that much. ugh this whole process is SO CONFUSING
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Luca Russo
my daughter just went thru this whole mess with her FAFSA... the schools all wanted different things... some wanted paper forms... others wanted us to wait... it was a disaster. my advice is call EVERY school and be super persistent. keep notes of who you talk to. follow up every call with an email summarizing what they told you.
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Omar Zaki
•Thanks for the tip about keeping records of all communications. I hadn't thought about that, but it makes a lot of sense given how complicated this process seems to be!
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CosmicCrusader
Quick update on corrections: The Department of Education just announced that the FAFSA correction functionality is scheduled to open on March 28th. They're implementing it in phases, with some students getting access earlier than others. If you've contacted the schools directly as others suggested, you should be in good shape, but mark that date on your calendar to submit the official correction as well.
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Omar Zaki
•Thank you for this update! I'll definitely mark my calendar and start checking the site regularly around that date. Meanwhile, I've started contacting the schools, and two have already said they can work with me directly.
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