Tips on how to avoid these common FAFSA^® mistakes

Key takeaways about FAFSA^® mistakes

• Wait until your submitted Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA^®) is processed before trying to correct it. Then review your FAFSA^® Submission Summary for errors, missing information, and required next steps.
• Have each contributor use their own StudentAid.gov account. Incorrect invitations, duplicate accounts, missing consent and approval, or unsigned sections can prevent the FAFSA^® from being completed.
• Double-check the FAFSA^® year, required parent or contributor, and schools listed before submitting. These common mistakes can send information to the wrong place or leave part of the application unfinished.
• Correct answers that were inaccurate when you submitted the FAFSA^®. Update only the information that was wrong, then review and sign the corrected form. A contributor may also need to sign again if their section changed.
• Contact the financial aid office when your circumstances changed after you filed. Job loss, reduced income, amended tax information, or other significant changes may require a school review rather than a standard online correction.

Many FAFSA^® application mistakes can be corrected after you submit the form. First, sign in to StudentAid.gov and check the status of your submitted FAFSA^®. You generally need to wait until the form has been processed before you can make changes.

Once it's processed, review your FAFSA^® Submission Summary. This summary is a record of the information submitted on your FAFSA^®, along with any errors, missing information, or next steps that may need your attention. It is not a separate application or a financial aid offer from a college.

If an answer on your FAFSA^® was incorrect when you submitted it, you may be able to sign in and correct the form online. If the information was accurate when you filed but your family’s financial situation has since changed, contact the school’s financial aid office instead.

Don’t let the possibility of making a mistake stop you from applying. Sallie’s "Financial Aid Myth Report" found that 29% of families paying for college skipped applying for federal aid because they assumed they wouldn’t qualify.

Sallie’s step-by-step FAFSA^® guide can help you complete the application. You can also explore additional FAFSA^® resources covering eligibility, deadlines, and what happens after you submit.

Here are 10 common FAFSA^® errors to watch for—and the steps you can take when something needs to be fixed.

Common FAFSA^® mistakes at a glance

10 FAFSA^® mistakes to avoid—and what to do if they happen

1. Assuming you won’t qualify and skipping the FAFSA^®

It may be easy to look at your family’s income and think there’s no point in applying. But there isn’t one income cutoff that determines whether every student will or won’t qualify for financial aid.

Schools consider several factors when determining eligibility. The FAFSA^® may also be used for more than federal grants. States and colleges may use the information when awarding their own grants, scholarships, work-study funds, and other aid.

Completing the form doesn’t obligate you to accept a student loan. It gives schools information they can use to determine what aid may be available.

Skipped it already? Check the federal, state, and school deadlines that apply to you and submit the correct FAFSA^® as soon as you can. Missing a priority deadline may affect some aid with limited funding, but it doesn’t necessarily mean every form of aid is unavailable.

Filing the FAFSA^® also doesn’t replace searching for scholarships. Free tools such as Scholly^® Scholarships can help you find opportunities that match your background and interests.

2. Completing the wrong FAFSA^® year or missing a deadline

Each FAFSA^® covers a specific academic year. That can get confusing when more than one form is available or you’re applying for a summer term.

Before you begin, match the FAFSA^® year to the school year in which you’ll attend. Then check more than the federal deadline. Your state and college may have their own deadlines, and those dates can be much earlier.

Write down:

• The deadline for each school you’re considering
• Your state’s deadline
• The federal deadline
• Any priority dates for school or state aid

Completed the wrong form? You’ll need to submit the FAFSA^® for the correct academic year. Information entered on one year’s form doesn’t automatically become an application for another year.

Summer terms can be especially tricky because schools may assign them differently. Ask the financial aid office which FAFSA^® year applies before submitting another form.

3. Waiting to file until you complete your current taxes

You don’t need to wait for the tax return you’re working on now.

The FAFSA^® tells you which tax year to use and generally relies on information from an earlier federal tax return. Waiting for newer tax information can cause an unnecessary delay and may put an earlier school or state deadline at risk.

Through the FUTURE Act Direct Data Exchange, or FA-DDX, students and contributors provide consent and approval for required federal tax information to be transferred directly from the IRS. That consent and approval are required even when someone didn’t file a federal tax return.

Follow the instructions for the FAFSA^® year you’re completing rather than substituting a tax year that feels more current.

Used the wrong tax information? Wait until the FAFSA^® is processed and review your FAFSA^® Submission Summary. Contact the financial aid office if you filed an amended return or believe transferred federal tax information needs to be reviewed.

4. Creating duplicate accounts or using the wrong StudentAid.gov account

The student and each required contributor need their own StudentAid.gov account. A parent shouldn’t complete the student’s section through the student’s account, and family members shouldn’t share usernames and passwords.

Here’s where an understandable shortcut can create more confusion: someone forgets their login information and creates another account. Before doing that, try the account-recovery options for the existing account.

Each person should also check that the personal information in their account is correct. Contributor invitation instructions may vary by FAFSA^® year, so follow the directions for the specific form you’re completing.

Having trouble signing in? Recover the existing account before creating another one. If an invitation contains incorrect information, return to the FAFSA^® and follow the instructions for updating or resending it.

5. Inviting or reporting the wrong parent or contributor

A contributor is someone who must provide information on the FAFSA^®, provide consent and approval for federal tax information to be transferred, and sign their section.

Depending on the student’s situation, contributors may include the student, the student’s spouse, a biological or adoptive parent, or a parent’s spouse. Being a contributor doesn’t make that person responsible for paying the student’s college costs.

Choosing a parent can be confusing when parents are divorced, separated, remarried, or living together. Don’t make the decision based only on who claimed the student on a tax return or where the student spends the most time. Use the parent-identification guidance on StudentAid.gov to determine whose information is required.

Invited the wrong person? Review the contributor section and follow the instructions shown for your form’s current status. When the family situation is complicated, ask Federal Student Aid or the school’s financial aid office rather than guessing.

6. Missing contributor consent, approval, or signatures

A contributor isn’t finished just because they entered financial information.

For the FAFSA^® to be complete, every required contributor must provide their information, give consent and approval for the transfer of federal tax information, and sign their section.

Before you consider the form finished, make sure the student and every required contributor have completed their sections through their own StudentAid.gov accounts.

Already submitted? Have each person check My Activity in their own account. Open any FAFSA^® marked Action Required and follow the instructions for the missing information, consent and approval, or signature.

7. Entering identity, family, income, or asset information incorrectly

Some FAFSA^® errors are simple typos. Others happen when a question doesn’t mean quite what you think it means.

For example, some questions use information from a specific tax year. Others ask about your situation on the day you complete the form. Read the date and wording of each question carefully.

Take an extra look at:

• Legal names and dates of birth
• Marital status and family size
• The tax year requested
• Cash, savings, checking accounts, and investments
• Businesses, income-producing farms, and child support received

Use the help text provided with the form, and gather the requested records before you begin. Don’t copy last year’s answers without reviewing them. Your family or financial information may have changed.

Spot an error after submitting? Once the FAFSA^® is processed, compare the answers in your FAFSA^® Submission Summary with your records. Correct information that was inaccurate on the day you submitted the form.

8. Leaving schools off the FAFSA^® or selecting the wrong school

The schools listed on your FAFSA^® receive the information they need to begin determining your financial aid eligibility.

Colleges can have similar names, multiple campuses, or different Federal School Codes. Take a moment to confirm that you selected the right institution before submitting.

You can list up to 20 schools at one time on the online FAFSA^®. Consider listing schools you’re seriously thinking about, even if you haven’t applied or been accepted yet.

Need to add or remove a school?

1. Sign in to StudentAid.gov.
2. Open the processed FAFSA^® under My Activity.
3. Select Add or Remove Schools.
4. Search by the school name, location, or Federal School Code.
5. Review and submit the change.

If you already listed 20 schools, you’ll need to remove at least one before adding another.

9. Not checking the FAFSA^® status and Submission Summary

Submitting the FAFSA^® is important, but it isn’t the end of the process.

After processing, the student can access a FAFSA^® Submission Summary. It shows the information submitted, provides high-level estimates related to federal aid eligibility, and identifies corrections or other next steps that may be needed.

It is not a financial aid offer from a college.

Sign in after submitting and check the form’s status under My Activity. Once it has been processed, review the FAFSA^® Form Answers and Next Steps sections rather than assuming everything is complete.

Sallie’s guide to the FAFSA^® Submission Summary can help you understand what you’re looking at.

See an issue? Follow the instructions in the summary. You may need to correct an answer, add a signature, obtain contributor consent and approval, or contact a school.

10. Treating a changed financial situation as an ordinary FAFSA^® correction

Here’s an important distinction:

A FAFSA^® correction fixes information that was inaccurate when you submitted the form. A change in circumstances happens when the information was accurate then but no longer reflects your situation.

Suppose the FAFSA^® correctly used a parent’s income from the required tax year, but that parent later lost a job. The original information wasn’t wrong, so changing the answer online may not be the right approach.

Submit the FAFSA^® using the information it requests. Then contact the school’s financial aid office if your current situation is significantly different.

Special financial circumstances may include:

• Job loss or a pay cut
• High unreimbursed medical or dental expenses
• Recent unemployment
• Other major changes in income or assets

The school may request documentation and decide whether an adjustment is appropriate. The process varies by school, and an adjustment isn’t guaranteed.

How do I correct FAFSA^® mistakes after submitting?

You generally need to wait until the original FAFSA^® is processed before making a correction.

1. Sign in to StudentAid.gov and open the processed FAFSA^® under My Activity.
2. Review your FAFSA^® Submission Summary.
3. Choose the option to make a correction.
4. Update only the information that was inaccurate.
5. Review, sign, and submit the corrected form.
6. Ask the appropriate contributor to review and sign again if information in their section changed.
7. Check the status until the correction is processed.

The student must sign the corrected FAFSA^®. When information in a contributor’s section changes, that contributor must also sign again. A contributor generally doesn’t need to re-sign when the correction affects only the student’s section.

Let one correction finish processing before submitting another. This makes it easier to tell which version has been received and processed.

When should I contact the financial aid office instead?

Contact the school when:

• Your FAFSA^® information was accurate, but your finances later changed.
• Federal tax information transferred from the IRS may need to be reviewed.
• You filed an amended federal tax return.
• Your personal or dependency circumstances changed.
• The school requested verification documents.
• You aren’t sure which correction the school wants.
• The school says it hasn’t received your FAFSA^®.
• A deadline is approaching while a correction is processing.

This is where your financial aid office can help. Its staff can review your school file and tell you what information or documents are needed.

And please don’t worry that you’re bothering them. Helping students work through issues like these is an important part of their job.

The bottom line

FAFSA^® mistakes happen. What matters is catching them and taking the right next step.

Apply every year, even when you’re unsure whether you’ll qualify. Use the correct FAFSA^® year, make sure every contributor completes their part, and review your FAFSA^® Submission Summary after processing.

When information was wrong at the time you submitted it, make a correction. When it was accurate but your family’s situation later changed, contact the school’s financial aid office.

Sallie’s research found that 43% of families later learned they may have qualified for financial aid they didn’t apply for. That’s a helpful reminder not to let uncertainty stop you from completing the process.

A careful review now may help you avoid delays and give your schools the information they need to determine your financial aid.