Husband accidentally submitted FAFSA early - now university won't let us make corrections!

Omg this EXACT thing happened to me last month!! My daughter's stepdad hit submit without me checking it first and we had like three W-2s missing from the form. Total nightmare. I tried calling the FAFSA number for THREE DAYS and couldn't get through. When I finally did, they transferred me twice and then hung up on me. I was ready to give up completely.

Hi there! Don't panic - this is actually a pretty common situation. You have a few options: 1. Contact your school's financial aid office directly. Since the FAFSA is already in their system, they can help make corrections on their end. Bring documentation of the correct information. 2. If you need to make more extensive corrections, you can submit a formal correction request through the financial aid office. They have special forms for this purpose. 3. The calculator results sound promising! Your SAI (Student Aid Index, formerly EFC) might actually be accurate even with the small errors, especially if they were related to retirement accounts (which aren't counted the same way as other assets in the FAFSA formula). The key is to act quickly - contact the financial aid office this week if possible!

I'm going through something similar with my son's application. The financial aid office told me that if the information you accidentally submitted doesn't dramatically change your SAI (Student Aid Index), they might not require corrections at all. Based on what you described, your SAI calculation might actually be accurate - especially if the retirement account information wouldn't have significantly impacted the calculation (retirement assets typically aren't counted in the FAFSA formula anyway). I'd definitely call the financial aid office directly to ask about the process. They might tell you it's fine as is, or they might have a school-specific correction process.

I used to work in a financial aid office. The school CAN help with FAFSA corrections, but only in certain circumstances. If you found errors after submission: 1. Contact the school's financial aid office ASAP 2. Explain exactly what information needs to be corrected 3. They might ask for a special circumstances form 4. Bring documentation to support the correct information BTW - retirement accounts are NOT counted as assets on the FAFSA, so if that was your only concern, you're probably fine! The $12,500 estimate from their net price calculator is likely accurate if you entered everything else correctly there.

if the fafsa is already submitted you cant change it online anymore... have to call FSA directly and get them to unlock it or someting... good luck getting ahold of anyone tho lol took me 3 weeks

The good news is that your estimated cost ($12,500 vs $20,000) shows that the FAFSA information you submitted must be working in your favor! The state grant eligibility is especially promising. One thing to know: FAFSA has changed how they calculate need this year with the new SAI formula. Many families are seeing different results than they expected. What looks like an "error" to you might actually be correct under the new system. I'd focus more on the positive financial aid package estimation you're seeing rather than worrying about the submission process. Still worth a call to financial aid, but don't stress too much!

THE WHOLE SYSTEM IS BROKEN!!!!! My daughter's FAFSA has been "under review" for 2 MONTHS and nobody can tell us what's happening. We've called, emailed, begged... meanwhile scholarship deadlines are passing!!! This is literally her future and they act like it's no big deal. The fact that you can't even edit your own application after submitting is INSANE to me. What other important document works this way????

Update: I called the financial aid office this morning. They were actually super helpful! The counselor said retirement accounts aren't counted as assets on the FAFSA, so our accidental early submission shouldn't affect anything. They confirmed the aid package should be close to what the calculator showed - about $12,500 out of pocket after the merit scholarship, state grant, and work-study option. My son will need to take about $3,500 in federal loans to cover the rest. Thank you all for calming me down! This whole FAFSA process is so stressful, especially with all the changes this year.

So glad to hear you got this resolved! Your experience is actually really helpful for other parents going through the same panic. I'm dealing with FAFSA stress myself right now and seeing your update gives me hope that the financial aid offices are more understanding than we expect. The $12,500 out-of-pocket cost sounds very manageable, especially compared to last year! Your son is lucky to have parents who care enough to double-check everything (even if it led to the early submission panic). That federal loan amount is pretty reasonable too - many students end up with much higher debt loads. Thanks for sharing the outcome - posts like yours really help the rest of us navigate this confusing process!