FAFSA correction email sent to student but not parent - who needs to make the change?
I'm so confused about how to handle corrections on my son's 2025-2026 FAFSA. StudentAid.gov sent my son an email saying there were corrections needed on his application (something about our tax info not matching correctly), but I never got an email even though I'm listed as a contributor. Does this mean my son has to log in and make the corrections himself? Or do I need to do it from my FSA ID since I'm the one who entered the tax information? I don't want to mess anything up by having the wrong person submit the corrections!
14 comments
Join the conversation
Joshua Hellan
same thing happened with me and my daughter last week! she got the email but i didnt and im the one who pays the bills lol. we were confused too
0 coins
Olivia Kay
•Did you figure out whose account to use? I'm worried about making things worse if we do it wrong...
0 coins
Jibriel Kohn
Your son needs to log in with his own FSA ID to make the corrections. The student is always the primary applicant on the FAFSA, even though you contributed information as a parent. The system is designed to send correction notices to the student since it's technically their application. When he logs in, he'll see a notification about the corrections needed. He can make the changes himself if he knows the correct tax information, or you can sit with him while he makes the corrections to ensure accuracy.
0 coins
Olivia Kay
•Thank you! That makes sense, but what if the corrections are about my tax information that I entered? I'm worried he might not know the right numbers to put in.
0 coins
Edison Estevez
THEY ALWAYS DO THIS!! The system is so poorly designed - parents enter the info but students get the notifications?? My daughter's FAFSA was delayed THREE MONTHS because of this exact issue and we almost missed scholarship deadlines. The FSA website is a NIGHTMARE and their customer service is even worse!!!
0 coins
Emily Nguyen-Smith
•right??? happened to us too. waited on hold for 2 hours just to be told we needed to resubmit everything from scratch
0 coins
James Johnson
Financial aid advisor here. While the student is the primary FAFSA applicant and receives the correction notices, either the student OR the parent can make corrections depending on what section needs to be fixed. If the corrections involve parent tax information: - The parent can log in with their own FSA ID and make corrections to their information - The student can log in and update the parent section if they have the correct information Both approaches work, but I typically recommend the person who entered the original information also make the corrections, especially for tax-related issues. This reduces errors from misinterpretation. Make sure whoever makes the changes has access to the correct tax documents (2023 tax returns for the 2025-2026 FAFSA). After corrections are submitted, the SAI recalculation usually takes 3-5 business days.
0 coins
Olivia Kay
•This is so helpful, thank you! So I CAN log in with my FSA ID and make corrections to my part even though I didn't get the email? I'll do that since I have all the tax documents right here.
0 coins
Sophia Rodriguez
When my daughter had to make corrections I kept getting locked out of the system trying to help her. The site kept crashing or timing out during busy season last year. We finally called the Federal Student Aid hotline after trying for 3 days. If you have trouble online, I'd recommend calling them directly.
0 coins
Mia Green
•I had the same issue with the FAFSA site timing out during corrections! I found a service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that helped me actually get through to a real person at Federal Student Aid without waiting on hold forever. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ Totally worth it since the agent was able to tell me exactly which fields needed correction and walked me through the process while on the phone. Saved me hours of frustration after multiple failed attempts to fix it online.
0 coins
Joshua Hellan
btw if ur fixing tax stuff do u know which form they need? my daughters corrction was for the w2 vs tax return numbers not matching and we had to figure out which one they wanted us to use
0 coins
James Johnson
•For the 2025-2026 FAFSA, they're looking for your 2023 tax return information (not W-2). If there's a discrepancy, the information from your filed 1040 tax return is what should be used. W-2s show only employment income, while your tax return includes all income sources plus adjustments.
0 coins
Olivia Kay
UPDATE: I logged in with my parent FSA ID and was able to access the correction screen! It showed exactly what needed to be fixed - just a transposed number in our AGI. I corrected it and submitted the changes. The site said it would take 3-5 days to process, but we actually got a confirmation email the next day saying the corrections were accepted. Thanks everyone for your help!
0 coins
Jibriel Kohn
•Great to hear! That's a perfect example of how small errors can cause verification issues. Glad you were able to fix it quickly. Now your son's SAI calculation should be accurate which will give you the correct aid eligibility.
0 coins