FAFSA won't let me correct 401k reported as investment - ruined financial aid chances?
I'm freaking out about a mistake I made on my son's FAFSA for 2025-2026. In January, I accidentally listed my 401k retirement account ($178,000) under the investments section. I realized my error last week, but when I tried to correct it, the investments section is completely grayed out and won't let me edit it! My son is still weighing his college options (waiting for 3 more decisions coming out next week), so he hasn't selected a school in the FAFSA portal yet. I called the Federal Student Aid number twice but got disconnected both times after waiting 45+ minutes. Did this stupid mistake just destroy his chances for any grants or scholarships? Will he only qualify for loans now? My income isn't high enough to pay full price, but with this error it looks like we have way more assets than we actually do since retirement accounts are supposed to be excluded. I'm so stressed about this!
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Arjun Kurti
same thing happened to me!! the website is so confusing. I think u need to call the financial aid office at the schools ur son applied to and explain.
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Ellie Simpson
•Thanks for the suggestion. Did you actually get it resolved by talking to the schools? I'm worried they'll just say it's a federal form and they can't help.
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Raúl Mora
This is a common mistake, and it can definitely be fixed, though the grayed-out section is frustrating. Since your son hasn't selected a school yet, the system is probably in a transitional state. Here's what you should do: 1. Document your correction attempt with screenshots 2. Wait until your son selects his school(s) 3. Immediately contact each school's financial aid office to explain the error 4. Request a "professional judgment" review where they can manually adjust the SAI calculation Retirement accounts like 401ks are NOT supposed to be reported as investments on FAFSA, so financial aid officers are familiar with this error and can help correct it. Don't panic - this hasn't ruined his chances for grants or scholarships.
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Ellie Simpson
•Thank you for this detailed advice! I took screenshots already, so that's good. So you think I should wait until he picks a school rather than trying to fix it with the federal FAFSA people first? I'm just worried about timing since aid offers might go out based on the incorrect info.
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Margot Quinn
Actually, there's a specific process for this. You need to submit a formal correction request through the FAFSA correction portal, not by editing the form directly. That's why the investment section is grayed out - after a certain processing point, some sections lock. Go to studentaid.gov, log in, select "Make FAFSA Corrections" and look for the "Special Circumstances" or "Additional Information" section. You can explain the 401k error there. Also call the school financial aid offices - they deal with this frequently and have protocols for handling asset reporting errors.
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Ellie Simpson
•I looked all over the correction section but couldn't find any "Special Circumstances" area. Is this something new for the 2025-2026 form? I'll keep looking.
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Evelyn Kim
my kids FASA was a nightmare 2 yrs ago we had the EXACT same issue!!!! the website is garbage & the customer service is worse. u might need to just start over with a new FASA application. thats what we did.
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Raúl Mora
•Please don't submit a new FAFSA application! This can create duplicate records in the system and potentially flag your application for verification, which will delay processing even further. The proper process is to submit a correction or work with the financial aid offices at the schools.
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Diego Fisher
After spending 3 hours trying to get through to FAFSA last month for a similar issue, I finally used Claimyr (claimyr.com) and got connected to an actual FAFSA agent in under 10 minutes. They have this system that navigates the phone tree and waits on hold for you, then calls you when an agent is on the line. You can see how it works here: https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ The agent was able to unlock my form to make corrections. Worth it for the stress relief alone!
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Ellie Simpson
•I've never heard of this service but I'm desperate at this point. Did they actually help you get your FAFSA form unlocked? I keep getting disconnected after waiting forever.
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Diego Fisher
•Yes! The FAFSA agent was able to submit an internal correction request. It took about 3 business days for the changes to process. Much better than trying to call them directly and getting disconnected repeatedly.
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Henrietta Beasley
The financial aid system is DESIGNED to be confusing. They WANT you to make mistakes so they can deny aid. I made a similar mistake in 2023 and despite DOZENS of calls nobody would fix it. My daughter lost out on thousands in grants because of a stupid form error. The whole system is rigged against middle class families!!!!
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Margot Quinn
•While FAFSA can certainly be frustrating, there are established procedures for correcting errors. If multiple correction attempts were unsuccessful, you should have requested a professional judgment review directly with the schools. Most financial aid offices have discretion to adjust the SAI calculation when there are documentable errors.
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Henrietta Beasley
•We DID try that. Two schools refused to help and said "the FAFSA is what it is" and one said they could only make adjustments for "special circumstances" like job loss, not form errors. Sorry but after my experience I stand by what I said - the system is broken.
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Lincoln Ramiro
Anyone know if this affects the student aid index (SAI) calculation a lot? I know retirement accounts aren't supposed to be counted but I'm curious how much this actually impacts aid eligibility.
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Raúl Mora
•Great question! Incorrectly including retirement assets can significantly impact the SAI calculation. For parent assets, about 5-5.64% of the reported value is factored into the expected family contribution. So mistakenly including a $178,000 401k could increase the SAI by roughly $9,000-10,000, which could definitely affect grant eligibility, especially for federal grants like Pell Grants and some institutional aid. That's why it's important to get this corrected.
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Faith Kingston
i work in financial aid office (not saying where lol) but we see this ALL THE TIME. wait till ur kid picks a school then immediately email their finaid office with proof of the 401k. most schools can override the FAFSA calculation if you catch it early enough. we have a form specifically for this at my school.
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Ellie Simpson
•This is so reassuring to hear from someone who works in financial aid! What kind of proof should I gather for the 401k? Just my latest statement showing it's clearly a retirement account?
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Faith Kingston
•yep exactly! most recent statement showing account type + value at time of FAFSA filing (jan 2025). also helpful to bring a copy of ur FAFSA confirmation page showing the error. makes the process go faster.
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Arjun Kurti
dont schools look at CSS profile more than fafsa anyway? my kids college said they use CSS for deciding their own aid.
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Raúl Mora
•This depends entirely on the school. Many public universities use only the FAFSA, while many private colleges use both FAFSA and CSS Profile. Federal aid (Pell Grants, direct loans, work-study) is exclusively determined by FAFSA, while institutional aid may use either or both forms. If your son is applying to schools that require the CSS Profile, you should check if you made the same error there and correct it immediately.
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Ellie Simpson
UPDATE: I finally got through to someone at Federal Student Aid! The agent confirmed this is a known issue with the new FAFSA. Apparently some sections lock after initial processing. She submitted a correction request on her end and said it should update within 7-10 business days, and that I should also notify schools of the error. Thank you all for your help and suggestions!
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Lincoln Ramiro
•Great news! Did you end up using that Claimyr service someone mentioned or did you just keep trying the regular number?
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Ellie Simpson
•I used Claimyr after my 4th attempt calling directly ended with another disconnection. It worked exactly as described - got connected to a real person in about 15 minutes instead of waiting for hours or getting disconnected.
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