I am not sure if I unintentionally made a mistake on my FAFSA.
My EFC is high enough that I for sure will 100% not get federal pell grant or any grant. Even if I do correct the info, I still will have a high EFC.
But, I am worried if I entered my parents income wrong by overstating it. Is this considered fraud even if the income I put on the FAFSA is higher than the amount my parents actually made? I WILL decline any financial aid package i get because I am only eligible for loans which I do not need or want.
I probably sound really stupid and naive asking this but this has been stressing me out big time and I really really do not want to cause any legal problems.
I know I should just correct the information but please just answer if what I did will get me in any big trouble. I am so scared I do not want to ever touch my FAFSA again. If only I hadn’t submitted the FAFSA would I not be worrying about this.
Correcting a mistake will not result in fraud charges. It WILL help you relax and stop worrying. People make mistakes all the time. Fraud is an intentional false statement.
as @KKmama pointed out, fraud is intentional misrepresentation in order to benefit yourself. Since there was no benefit to yourself (or harm to the other party) it’s just a mistake. Correct it anyway in case you find yourself in line for merit scholarships that ask for it.
This is absolutely no big deal and most FA isn’t even computed yet. Go ahead and amend so that the colleges have the most accurate information available to them when they get around to determining your FA situation. People file updated forms all the time as numbers become finalized or if they noted a mistake, etc. No big deal.
Just so you know, the FAFSA people aren’t doing any checking or verifying - they are essentially a processor of these forms and a distributor of the information to the various colleges. It would be the colleges themselves that might ask for additional “verification” of the information sent: a W2 or tax return, a 1099, etc.
Just to ease your mind, let’s say that your college gives you FA but you realized that the FAFSA you had submitted UNDERSTATED your parents’ income. All you would have to do is contact the FA officer to explain the mistake. They might have you send in the corresponding documentation and they would adjust your aid accordingly or tell you that you were, in fact, not eligible after all. That’s all that would happen. No prosecutions or rescinding of admission or anything like that. FA offices aren’t looking to get students in trouble. Everyone pretty much has the same goal here: to get you to college. Obviously, you can work through the other example of what happens when your income is OVERSTATED. They just make the adjustment accordingly and, if you are eligible, they would give you whatever was appropriate (subject to fund availability at that point).
Before this year, everyone had to put estimated amounts (now it’s Prior-Prior so we can use actual 2015 returns for the 2017-18 year - very nice!). You can bet that those FA offices used to tell us: “Be sure to update your FAFSA once you file your actual return”. And we would. And guess what - there would be adjustments made to the FA! It happens all the time. No big deal - the FA offices are very used to it.
Oh wait hold on. @JBStillFlying Just out of curiosity, what does result in fraud charges? If the university doesn’t mind fixing the fafsa for you if there are discrepancies, then what triggers fraudulent signs?
If you have received FA due to deliberately falsified FAFSA information you could be in real trouble. It would have to look like fraud for an investigation to be triggered. A mistake - especially one not in your favor - doesn’t look like fraud. On the other hand, a large discrepancy in your favor that remains uncorrected may well trigger an investigation. At the very least, the aid will then be cancelled and the charges added to your bill. No one wants that happening so it’s best to be accurate as well as honest. Don’t know this for a fact but I wouldn’t assume there is a statute of limitations on this issue either. It’s quite possible to put your degree in jeopardy - even after it’s been received - if they suspect fraud. Not to mention the legal trouble you’d be in for breaking federal law. Not to mention you pretty much wouldn’t be able to re-enroll elsewhere w/o disclosing all that legal trouble on your application.
FA offices rely on our cooperation and compliance for the most part. However, they do randomly assign certain applications to a verification process (and some schools do a form of verification every year you apply for aid). This is a very real probability and it could happen ANY year you apply for aid. And I’m also guessing that any weird “swings” in income can trigger a further investigation into finances. That’s why it’s always best to tell the truth and be honest and up-front. For those genuinely seeking a degree and a livelihood upon graduation (or even further graduate study), the payoff for fraudulent reporting comes at too high an expected cost. IMHO.