FAFSA error gave my non-eligible daughter full Pell Grant - How to correct without risking admission?

You need to contact both immediately. Start with each university's financial aid office (not admissions) and explain the situation. Let them know you've discovered the error and are also contacting Federal Student Aid to correct it. The schools can put a hold on disbursing the Pell Grant funds while this gets sorted. Then go to studentaid.gov, log in with your daughter's account, and submit a correction to the FAFSA showing your husband's income. This won't affect her admission status since admissions and financial aid are separate departments, but you must act quickly before funds are actually distributed.

I'm EXTREMELY confused why you'd want to correct this. My daughter goes to NYU and we pay $72,000 a year even with our 'high' income. If your daughter qualified somehow, just take it! The government wastes billions on stupider things. Pell Grants are only like $7,000 max anyway. Nobody's going to come after you for this.

this happened to me to but opposite way. my dad's income didn't get counted at all and we got denied everything even though we should qualify. fafsa system is broken tbh

I had a similar issue last year with my son's FAFSA - system glitch prevented updating income. Our issue was resolved by calling Federal Student Aid directly to explain the situation and request help with the correction. However, reaching them was IMPOSSIBLE until I discovered Claimyr (claimyr.com). They got me connected to an actual FAFSA agent in about 20 minutes instead of waiting for hours or getting disconnected. The agent manually updated our income information and notified the schools. You can see how it works here: https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ Definitely contact universities first, but FSA agents can expedite corrections on their end when there are system issues like you described.

As international parent of US kid, u should kno ur daughters colleges might still offer good merrit scholrships even after fixing FAFSA! My daughter's SAI was above 15000 n she still got $25k merit from Boston College (non-need scholarships). Don't worry about fixing this - be honest!! Colleges care about academic merrit not just need!

One important thing to note: When you submit the correction, request a new SAI calculation immediately. The corrected Student Aid Index score will be higher (meaning less aid eligibility), and the system will automatically notify all schools she's applied to. Make sure to follow up with each financial aid office to confirm they received the updated SAI. Additionally, prepare PDFs of your foreign tax documents and have them ready - they may request these to verify your actual income. The verification process for international income can be more complex than for domestic students.

Financial aid administrator here. This is a common system issue with the new FAFSA, especially for families with international income. Here's what you should do: 1. Contact each university's financial aid office immediately by phone AND email. Explain exactly what happened and that you want to correct it. 2. Submit a formal FAFSA correction at studentaid.gov. You may need to print the paper correction form if the online system still won't accept your husband's income. 3. Ask both the schools and FSA about the proper way to report foreign income - certain types may be reported differently. 4. Request written confirmation from each school that this will not impact admission status (it shouldn't - these are separate departments). This will not jeopardize her admission as long as you're proactive about fixing it. The schools will appreciate your honesty.

just wondering but where abroad do u live that pays 190k? asking for a friend lol

As someone who went through a similar FAFSA correction process last year, I want to emphasize that you're doing the right thing by fixing this immediately. The key is documentation - when you contact the universities, ask them to email you confirmation that they've received your correction notice and that it won't affect admission status. Also, when you call Federal Student Aid, get a case number for your correction request. This creates a paper trail showing you acted in good faith to fix the error. The process can take 2-3 weeks to fully update across all systems, so don't panic if you don't see immediate changes. Your daughter's merit scholarship eligibility should remain intact since those are typically based on academic credentials, not financial need.

I work in international tax and see this FAFSA issue frequently with expat families. Since you're in Singapore, make sure when you report your husband's income that you're using the correct currency conversion rates and following the FAFSA guidelines for foreign earned income exclusions. The Department of Education has specific rules about how to report overseas income, and using the wrong conversion method could cause further complications. Also, since Singapore has tax treaties with the US, some of your income reporting might be more complex than standard domestic cases. When you call Federal Student Aid, ask specifically about Form 2555 (Foreign Earned Income Exclusion) implications for FAFSA reporting - this might explain why the system initially had trouble processing your husband's information. The good news is that once corrected properly, your daughter's actual SAI will be calculated correctly and schools will adjust their aid packages accordingly.

I went through almost this exact situation two years ago when my son's FAFSA incorrectly processed our income due to a system glitch. Here's what worked for me: First, don't panic about admission status - financial aid and admissions are completely separate processes at every university I dealt with. Second, when you call the universities, ask to speak directly with a financial aid counselor, not just general staff. They can place an immediate hold on any Pell Grant disbursements while you sort this out. Third, for the FAFSA correction, I found it helpful to call Federal Student Aid early in the morning (around 8 AM EST) when wait times were shorter. The agent I spoke with was very understanding about system errors and helped expedite the correction. The whole process took about 10 days to fully resolve, and my son's merit scholarships were completely unaffected. Your proactive approach to fixing this will actually work in your favor - schools appreciate families who are honest about these kinds of errors rather than trying to hide them.

I'm a college financial aid advisor and want to emphasize that you're absolutely doing the right thing by correcting this error immediately. This situation is more common than you might think, especially with the new FAFSA system and international income reporting. A few additional tips: When you contact the universities, ask them to send you written confirmation via email that they've received your correction notice and that it won't impact admission decisions - this creates important documentation. Also, keep detailed records of all your phone calls with Federal Student Aid, including dates, times, and representative names. Since you mentioned being in Singapore, be prepared that the verification process might take slightly longer due to international documentation requirements, but don't let that worry you. The key is that you're being proactive and honest about fixing the error before any funds are actually disbursed. Your daughter's academic achievements that earned her admission will remain the same regardless of financial aid corrections.