FAFSA processed but contributor DOB is wrong - need to fix on one account or both?
My daughter's FAFSA application just came back as processed but I noticed my husband's date of birth is incorrect on the form. He's listed as a contributor on her application. Do we need to submit the DOB correction on both my daughter's FAFSA account AND my husband's FSA ID account separately? Or will fixing it on just one of their accounts update everything automatically? I'm worried this error might mess up her SAI calculation or delay her financial aid package from schools. Anyone dealt with this before?
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Connor Byrne
You only need to fix it on your daughter's FAFSA application. When you make corrections to a processed FAFSA, you're updating the application itself, not the FSA ID information. Go to studentaid.gov, log in with your daughter's account, and select "Make FAFSA Corrections." Then navigate to the parent information section and update your husband's DOB. After submitting, it typically takes 3-5 days for processing the correction.
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Zainab Ahmed
•Thank you! That's a relief. I was afraid we'd have to fix it in multiple places and then wait for everything to sync up. Will the schools automatically get the corrected info once it's processed?
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Yara Abboud
when this happened with my son's FAFSA last year we had to fix it in both places. first on my FSA ID account and THEN on his FAFSA form. if you dont fix the FSA ID first the system kept rejecting the correction. idk if thats still how it works but thats what we had to do
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PixelPioneer
•THIS IS WRONG INFORMATION. Don't listen to this. I work in a financial aid office. Parent FSA ID birth date and FAFSA contributor birth date are TWO SEPARATE SYSTEMS. You ONLY need to correct the FAFSA. The parent FSA ID is just used for signing purposes - the actual data that matters is what's on the student's FAFSA form.
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Keisha Williams
Make sure you actually need to fix it! Sometimes what LOOKS like an error isn't actually causing any problems. If your husband's SSN is correct and you're able to electronically sign and submit the FAFSA, the DOB might not even matter for processing. Unless you got a specific error message about the DOB, it might be fine as is.
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Zainab Ahmed
•We did get a comment code mentioning data conflicts, so I think we definitely need to fix it. I just wasn't sure if fixing it on the FAFSA would be enough or if we needed to update his FSA ID too.
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PixelPioneer
Financial aid administrator here. You need to make the correction on your daughter's FAFSA only. The parent DOB on the FAFSA is what's used for calculating the Student Aid Index (SAI), not the information tied to the parent's FSA ID. However, be aware that making ANY correction to a processed FAFSA will trigger a completely new SAI calculation using the most current data. If anything else in your financial situation has changed since the original filing, it could affect the final SAI number.
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Zainab Ahmed
•Thanks for the expert advice! Nothing else has changed financially, so we should be okay there. Will my daughter need to provide her FSA ID password to me so I can make the correction, or can I do it with my parent FSA ID?
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Paolo Rizzo
Has anyone else noticed that trying to reach the FAFSA helpline about these kinds of issues is basically IMPOSSIBLE? I spent 3 hours on hold last week trying to fix a similar issue. The website says you can call for help but then you just sit on hold forever and eventually get disconnected. So frustrating!!
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Amina Sy
•I had the same problem but found this service called Claimyr that helped me get through to a FAFSA agent in about 15 minutes instead of waiting for hours. They basically hold your place in line and call you when an agent is about to pick up. Saved me so much time! Check out their demo at https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ or go to claimyr.com. Totally worth it for solving these FAFSA nightmares.
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Paolo Rizzo
•OMG thank you! going to try this right now because im about to lose my mind with these FAFSA people!!
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Oliver Fischer
Just to add my personal experience, I had to fix my daughter's FAFSA last year because I put MY wrong birthdate (lol, how do you mess up your own birthdate??). Anyway, I only had to fix it on her FAFSA application, not my FSA ID. But what's super important is to do it ASAP because some schools will flag the application for verification if they see mismatched data. That can add weeks to processing time.
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Zainab Ahmed
•Oh that's a good point about verification! I'll fix it today. I can't believe I didn't notice the error before submission, but I guess we were rushing to get it in before the priority deadline.
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Yara Abboud
does anyone know if these corrections affect scholarship eligibility??? my nephew fixed something on his fafsa after it was processed and then lost a scholarship but the school wouldnt say if it was related
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PixelPioneer
•Corrections shouldn't affect scholarship eligibility unless they significantly change your SAI number. Most institutional scholarships have SAI thresholds. If a correction pushes you over a threshold, you could lose eligibility. But simply fixing a parent's birthdate without any changes to financial info shouldn't impact scholarships.
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Grace Lee
I went through this exact situation last month! You definitely only need to fix it on your daughter's FAFSA - don't worry about the FSA ID. Log into her studentaid.gov account, click "Make FAFSA Corrections," find the parent info section, and update the birthdate. It took about 4 days to reprocess for us. The schools will automatically get the updated info once it's processed, so you don't need to contact them separately. Just make sure you fix it soon because some schools do flag these data mismatches for verification which can slow things down.
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Jean Claude
•This is really helpful, thank you! I'm new to all this FAFSA stuff and was getting overwhelmed by all the conflicting advice online. It's reassuring to hear from someone who just went through the exact same thing. I'll log in and make the correction today. Four days for reprocessing doesn't sound too bad - I was worried it would take weeks and mess up all her financial aid deadlines.
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Ava Martinez
Just went through this exact same issue two weeks ago! You only need to make the correction on your daughter's FAFSA - don't touch the FSA ID. Log into her studentaid.gov account, go to "Make FAFSA Corrections," update your husband's DOB in the parent section, and submit. It took exactly 3 days to reprocess for us and the corrected SAI was automatically sent to all the schools on her list. The key is doing it quickly though - I've heard some schools will put applications on hold if they detect data mismatches during their review process.
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Liam Fitzgerald
•Thank you so much for sharing your recent experience! It's really reassuring to hear that it only took 3 days and that the schools automatically received the updated information. I was getting nervous about potentially delaying her aid package, but it sounds like if I act quickly it should be fine. I'll definitely make the correction today - better to fix it now than risk having schools put her application on hold for verification. Really appreciate everyone's help with this!
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