Hi I recently did my fafsa, and I know it’s pretty late, but that’s not my biggest concern right now. My concern is that I may have messed up some of the numbers, or put them in the wrong spots. On top of that, my information may be wrong, as I though it was asking me about 2017. I wasn’t trying to commit a crime, but now I’m very scared. Is there any way I can stop the fafsa from being processed? I don’t want to be accused of committing a crime, because I wasn’t. I made an honest mistake.
If you were filling out the 2019-20 FAFSA it was asking for 2017 info.
Well I still have to fix those numbers on there. Is there a way I can get it back, and cancel the original?
You won’t cancel the original. Instead, you’ll just update information. Just go to fafsa.ed.gov & choose Returning User. You’ll update your information to the correct information. Both you and your parent will need to add your FAFSA ID to sign, and you’ll need to submit the changes (people make the changes but forget to sign & submit them!).
I’m that I will get in trouble, or they’ll say I tried to scam them. That’s not at all what I wanted! I just made a few mistakes in my haste. Will everything be alright?
As long as what you’re putting in there is accurate, everything will be fine. I’m sure you’re not the first person to correct their FAFSA.
If you are really worried, you can contact the school, and they will reassure you.
This sounds like a different situation than the ones that really cause problems - those tend to be after a student’s application was randomly picked for audit, and the real numbers aren’t remotely close nor defendable.
You can easily defend an honest mistake as you’ve described it above. It happens.
Don’t sweat it - but correct it. Remember that the FA offices spend most of their time helping fix common mistakes, and they have undoubtedly seen a situation like this before.
“This does not call for freaking out!” - Grover
I work in financial aid. People make mistakes, because they aren’t familiar with what is being requested. The important thing is to update the information so it is correct. You won’t be penalized for making a mistake and correcting it when you caught it.