So while I was filling in my FAFSA, I asked my mom what was in her total accounts. She gave me a drastically wrong amount, about 3x less than what she actually has. Now my application has been selected for verification and we are unsure what to do. Should I correct the application to the proper amount? Will I (or she) face any consequences (besides getting less aid)? I’m kind of panicking, any advice is appreciated. Thank you.
just curious…do they email you to tell you it’s flagged or is that something we have to check on?
otoribashi, they send you an email and say that it has been processed. You click the link and you will see “Your FAFSA has been selected for verification” on one of the lines in your student aid report.
This is easy. Yes, you need to correct the inaccurate information.
I doubt it, but why did your mother provide a number that was so “drastically” wrong? If it was an innocent mistake, there shouldn’t be any issue after the correction is made. If there was an attempt to deceive, that can be very serious.
BelknapPoint, I really don’t know why she provided that number. I think she just didn’t understand what the question was asking, or wasn’t taking it seriously. If I correct it as soon as possible, I should be fine, right? Everything else is right on the application, so I don’t think they would find intent to deceive. Although, how would they determine that?
Just correct it! We made a similar mistake once…just forgot about a bank account we don’t use very often. Didn’t include it…at all. We realized our error, and corrected it.
No problem.
Just correct it. You won’t get in trouble - it was a mistake, and now you are fixing it. Of course your EFC will probably go up.
What would get someone in trouble, potentially, would be accepting need-based grants and loans that you weren’t eligible for but for the misrepresentation of assets. That would be where the line was crossed – at the point when the person actually accepts the benefit based on the false information.
Your EFC MIGHT go up. It all depends on the amount of the assets. If your mom said $3000, and it’s $9000, that would still be below the parent asset protection allowance…and really…likely nothing would change.
If she said $20,000 and now it’s $60,000…there would be a change in your EFC.
The mistake may make little to no difference. It definitely must be fixed, though. Make sure she is not reporting the value of any qualified retirement accounts (401k, 403b, IRA).
Thanks everyone for the responses. We have corrected it and our EFC only went up like $500. No big deal.
How is this no big deal when you opened a thread looking for scholarship to pay for school?
Uhh… Not sure how you want me to answer that, sybbie. My EFC was only so low based on an incorrect amount of assets, so the fact that it only went up $500 even with the significantly higher amount makes this not a big deal. Quite a relief, even.
Sybbie – the OP never said that a full ride scholarship was needed. $500 isn’t much in the scheme of things given overall college costs. I’m guessing that based on the bump in EFC, there were probably around $9000 of unreported assets … so obviously there are funds available to cover the extra $500 it i come to that.
^ The OP is Pell eligible and wants to attend U of Montreal where US student loans and Pell Grants can’t be used. That’s why the reference to a full ride.
OP also mentions her parents are divorced and that she “technically” lives with her mom. I don’t know what that means, exactly, but I hope they didn’t make other mistakes on the FAFSA.