I filed my fafsa as an independent under legal guardianship but it turns out im just a dependent kid on custody. Can I tell my financial aid officer to discard everything regarding my fafsa? I heard fafsa fraud can get you locked up, I also won a scholarship, so I dont really need financial aid.
You need to contact the colleges and say you made an error. They will tell you what to do.
Just do it ASAP…and be honest with them. You made a mistake…so get it corrected.
Also…you won a scholarship based on what? Was financial need a consideration for that scholarship…because if so…you need to let them know too.
it was a merit based scholarship
it’s kind of weird because some colleges accept my fin aid documents and some dont
What do you mean by this?
You have clearly stated that your FAFSA was incorrectly filed. Do you understand that if you get something like a Pell Grant when you are NOT entitled to it…you will be told to pay it back?
You need to deal with the error on your FAFSA.
“it’s kind of weird because some colleges accept my fin aid documents and some dont”
It probably depends the financial aid staff’s level of experience. Colleges with more experienced staff members would be the ones most likely to notice the error in your FAFSA. However, don’t assume that just because one or more colleges don’t notice the mistake, it won’t be discovered eventually.
Repeating everyone else - report the mistake to the college/s that you are still considering so that you don’t get into trouble and that you have accurate financial aid figures to make sound decisions.
You need to do this even though your scholarship is merit based.
Some students who receive merit aid can still get the Pell Grant if really eligible.
As an independent student, you might have been eligible for this grant…but with parent income…it’s possible you won’t be. That needs to be corrected.
^Yes, and I believe you also won’t be offered federal loans (you might decide you need them) without a FAFSA.
The FAFSA needs to be corrected. Independent students can get $4000 more in student direct loans. If this student is not eligible for independent status…and those loans are disbursed…he or she will be asked to repay that extra $4000 too.
For heavens sake…just contact the colleges and get this corrected ASAP.
If it was a mistake, and you correct it clearly now and don’t use any FA, it would be hard to see any intent to defraud. Just fix it. If you don’t, it will look worse.
Are you sure the grant is solely based on merit? Some have a need component. You’re going to have to correct your FAFSA, and that may affect the financial aid packages you’ve received. You have ~10 days to pick a college, unless you ask for an extension, so I’d take care if it today.
It happens ALL the time! Just go to the financial aid office and correct it. Half of the FAFSA applications in the college world are wrong anyway.
People make mistakes. Eventually, the college would discover the mistake & remove your aid until you add parent info … then they would adjust your aid. Just update your FAFSA with the correct response to whatever question you answered incorrectly, and then add the parent information. I would suggest letting the school know when you have submitted the updates, so they can watch for them & adjust your aid more quickly. (Assuming the aid needs to be adjusted - the updates may or may not change aid, depending on the particulars of your situation.)