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Sofia Ramirez

FAFSA correction date vs original submission - will April 17 correction affect my aid after March 15 application?

I submitted my FAFSA on March 15, but had to make a correction on April 17 because I realized I entered my parent's retirement account incorrectly. The correction lowered our assets by about $18,000. Now I'm worried that my April 17 correction date will be used instead of my March 15 submission date for priority deadlines and aid consideration. My dream school has an April 1 priority deadline for financial aid. Will my correction push me to the back of the line even though my original application was submitted before the deadline? Has anyone had experience with this? I'm freaking out that I might lose out on thousands in aid just because of this correction. 😰

Dmitry Popov

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calm down! the correction date doesn't change your original submission date. your march 15 date is whats gonna count for priority deadlines. schools look at the first submit date not when u fix stuff

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Sofia Ramirez

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OMG thank you! That's such a relief. I've been stressing for days thinking I messed everything up with that correction.

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Ava Rodriguez

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The previous response is correct. Your original March 15 submission date is what matters for priority deadlines. FAFSA corrections only update your information, not your place in line. Schools receive both your original submission date and any correction dates - they use the original date for deadline purposes. The correction you made (reducing assets) might actually improve your aid package, so this is a positive change!

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Sofia Ramirez

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That's great to hear from someone who really knows! So my application won't be considered "new" because of the correction? And you think lowering our reported assets might actually help my aid package?

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Ava Rodriguez

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Correct - your application is not considered "new." And yes, lowering reported assets by $18,000 could potentially improve your Student Aid Index (SAI), which might qualify you for more need-based aid. The exact impact depends on your overall financial situation, but asset reductions generally benefit your aid eligibility.

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Miguel Ortiz

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My daughter made THREE corrections to her FAFSA last year and still got her full aid package at University of Michigan!!! The financial aid office told us they ALWAYS use the first submission date for deadlines. The corrections actually HELPED her because we fixed some tax info that was wrong. Don't stress!!!

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Zainab Khalil

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not always true, my brother did a correction and his SAI went up, and he got less aid because of it. depends what ur changing

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QuantumQuest

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This is actually a common question. The correction date won't affect your priority deadline status as long as your initial submission was before April 1. However, there are a couple things to be aware of: 1. Your corrected information WILL be what's used to calculate your final Student Aid Index (SAI) 2. The correction processing can sometimes take 3-5 business days 3. Some schools might have their own policies about corrections - worth checking with your dream school just to be safe I've helped dozens of students with similar situations, and I've never seen a student lose priority status due to corrections.

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Sofia Ramirez

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Thank you so much for the detailed explanation! The correction was processed after about 4 days, and I've already received my updated SAI (which did go down a bit). I'll reach out to my dream school just to double check their policy.

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Connor Murphy

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i had the same exact problem!!! i submitted feb 10 and had to correct on april 5 cuz i totally messed up my parents divroce info...my school had march 1 deadline and i was FREAKING OUT but the financial aid office said my feb date was what mattered...so ur good

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Yara Haddad

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I've been dealing with FAFSA for over 20 years as a financial aid counselor. The correction date does NOT affect your priority status. The Department of Education's system permanently records your original submission date (March 15) and that's what schools use for priority considerations. However, if you're still concerned, I'd recommend calling Federal Student Aid directly to confirm. Their phone lines are notoriously busy, but there's a service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that can help you skip the wait times and connect with an agent quickly. They have a video demo at https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ that shows how it works. I've recommended it to many students who need urgent FAFSA help.

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Sofia Ramirez

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Thank you for the expert advice! I might try Claimyr if I need to talk to FSA. Do you know if the fact that my correction lowered our assets might improve my aid package? Or is $18,000 not enough to make a difference?

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Yara Haddad

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A reduction of $18,000 in assets could potentially improve your aid package, though the exact impact depends on your overall financial situation. In the SAI formula, parent assets above the Asset Protection Allowance are assessed at a maximum of 5.64%. So an $18,000 reduction could lower your SAI by up to $1,015. This might not sound like much, but it could push you into different aid brackets at some schools. Every bit helps!

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wait im confused about something else - u said correction lowered assets by $18k...isn't that GOOD? shouldn't that help u get MORE aid since u have less money? thats what happened with my correction (fixed income and got more pell grant

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Sofia Ramirez

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Yes, that's what I'm hoping! The correction should be positive for my aid package. I was just worried that the April 17 date would hurt my priority deadline status, but it sounds like that's not the case.

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Miguel Ortiz

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Just wanted to add that FAFSA is so SO confusing this year with all the FAFSA Simplification changes. My daughter's college financial aid office told us they're being very flexible with corrections because so many people are struggling with the new form. So even if there was some weird policy about correction dates (which there isn't!), schools are being understanding this year.

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Lena Schultz

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As someone who just went through this exact situation last year, I can confirm what everyone else is saying - your March 15 submission date is what counts for priority deadlines, not your correction date! I actually made a correction in May (way after my school's March 1 deadline) and still received my full aid package. The financial aid office at my school explained that corrections are treated completely separately from the original submission timeline. Your $18,000 asset reduction should actually help your aid eligibility, so you basically fixed an error that will benefit you financially. Try not to stress too much - you did everything right by submitting on time and then correcting the mistake when you caught it!

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