<p>So the first step in creating a FAFSA Account is importing the student's first name. The form says:
"Use the student's proper name, not a nickname. The student's first name must match the first name on his/her Social Security card."</p>
<p>My problem is that my first name does not fit in the box.</p>
<p>(For the purposes of this post, I am going to make up a name that had the same amount of letters as my real name) My LEGAL first name (seen on my birth certificate, passport, all legal documents and school papers) is Isabelle Nalani. However, when I type it into the form, all that fits is:
Isabelle Nala</p>
<p>My question is what should I do? Should I just leave my name cut off and hope that the FAFSA people just assume my name got cut off? Should I just put Isabelle as my first name?</p>
<p>Please help me out so I can finish the FAFSA by February 15 and just put away all my online prep for college and stuff.</p>
<p>Look at your social security card. Does it list four names, or just three?</p>
<p>Use the first name on that card and see if the system accepts it.</p>
<p>If there is a hyphen in the double first name that appears on your SS card, type in the name (including that hypen) until you run out of spaces.</p>
<p>happymom is correct - you put in as much of your first name as you can. You will probably find that your name will also not fit in the box when filing your taxes online or using software. The computers will use what they have to check. More than anything, it is to ensure someone isn’t just using your social security number and guessing.</p>
<p>Whatever Social Security list as your first name is what they want. If you have 4 names listed on your card, it is possible they have your name correctly entered with a double first name. If you have a double first name, but not middle name, they will most likely have split your name, and only use the first part. Even with just a single first name, there are people whole first name is too long for the box, and they run into this problem anywhere that computers are used and the name fields are limited.</p>
<p>Okay. I’ll just put in as much as can fit “Isabelle Nala”.</p>
<p>And yes, my SS card has four names on it. I have my double first name, middle name, and last. </p>
<p>Thanks.</p>