How To Review and Correct Your FAFSA Form

FAFSA is a very important step in securing financial aid for college so every applicant always does their best to present a perfect FAFSA form. 

However, mistakes can happen during the application process. If they do, this is how to review and correct them.

How To Review Your FAFSA Form

After submitting your FAFSA form, it’s essential to review the information you provided. Here’s how:

  1. Access Your StudentAid.gov Account: Log in to your Federal Student Aid (FSA) account using your FSA ID.
  2. Locate Your Student Aid Report (SAR): The SAR is a summary of the information you entered on your FAFSA form. You can access it within your account or through an email notification (if you provided an email address).
  3. Carefully Review Each Section:  Go through each section of the SAR, comparing the information to your tax documents, bank statements, and other relevant paperwork. Pay close attention to details like:
    • Social Security Numbers: Ensure all Social Security Numbers (SSNs) are accurate, especially for yourself and your parents (if you are a dependent student).
    • Income Information: Verify that your income and asset figures align with your tax documentation.
    • School Selection: Confirm the schools you listed on your FAFSA application are correct.

Correcting Errors on Your FAFSA Form

If you discover any errors on your SAR, you can make corrections to your FAFSA form. This is how to go about it:

1.  Making Corrections Electronically: This is the most efficient method. Within your FSA account, scroll to “My FAFSA” and select “Make Corrections.” You’ll be able to edit your information and resubmit the form electronically.

2.  Using a Paper FAFSA Submission Summary:  If you received a paper FAFSA Submission Summary, you can make corrections directly on the form, sign it, and mail it to the address provided.

3.  Contacting Your Schools’ Financial Aid Offices: In some instances, your schools’ financial aid offices may be able to help you make corrections. However, this method is generally slower than the first two options.

You must allow 3-5 business days for electronically submitted corrections to be processed. Paper corrections may take longer.

Also, you should know that correcting your FAFSA may affect your financial aid award.

The Department of Education will recalculate your Expected Family Contribution (EFC) after processing your corrections. This may result in a higher or lower financial aid award.

If you need to make multiple corrections, it’s best to do them all at once to avoid delays.