Help! I've been using the WRONG SSN for years now!!!!

Paying for College
1

I thought I had it memorized completely. I was going through my papers and I found out that I was wrong by ONE SINGLE DIGIT!!!

I feel sick to my stomach right now. I know how important your SSN is for financial aid and stuff. My efc is 0…

I’ve been using the wrong SSN for just about everything so far!! I messed up all 16 of my college apps with the wrong SSN, I put the wrong SSN on my collegeboard tests/account, AND I put the wrong SSN on my FAFSA that I submitted just yesterday!!!

I really don’t know what to do at this point! Will colleges even notice?? I’ve already been accepted into some colleges…

2

my son reversed two numbers on his SSN for one college application. Because it did not match his actual SSN and the one on his FAFSA, he got no aid from that school. Luckily we found the error quickly…contacted the school, and changed it all.

I think you need to correct the SSN to the accurate one. The accurate one will be on your parent tax return…and on yours.

Call the schools…see what you have to do to fix this.

I’m not sure, but can you amend this on the FAFSA online once your FAFSA has processed?

3

^ No, student SSN cannot be changed :(((

I’ve been using the wrong SSN at my work place too…

4

What documents did you have for your I-9?

5

^ My birth certificate and driver’s license…

6

Have your tax withholdings been getting properly credited? You really need to contact the IRS and SSA to figure out how to fix this. It would suck to get to retirement age and find out that someone else was getting credited with your lifetime earnings for the purpose of receiving a monthly Social Security check.

7

Not sure, I’ve only been working part time for the past year…

8

I also need to fill out CSS profile… I’m afraid if I use the correct SSN, colleges won’t be able to match it to the SSN on my application.

9

Ypu need to contact your colleges. Change the SSN to the accurate one. Ask them if they can make that change to your FAFSA as well. Maybe they can do this.

10

Same thing happened with my DD, and the only way we caught it was when the FAFSA kept kicking the Pin authorization back saying it didn’t match the SSA’s records. Once she looked at her actual SS card, it was one number off. Had to call the DOD and the Coast Guard to make sure it was corrected, which they did within a couple of days. That could have been really bad not having the right number with them:0 Will start calling the other colleges this week even though they’re her backup, but you never know what could happen and want to make sure she doesn’t miss out on any financial aid as stated above.

11

Ok, I will call up all of the colleges that I’m applying to. In the mean time, should I fill out another FAFSA using the correct social security number? Will the old FAFSA I submitted go through despite using the wrong SSN?

12

I looked it up and I found out the the FAFSA I filled out incorrectly will not be sent to colleges because the PIN won’t authorize.

I’m going to contact my colleges and the collegeboard to change my SSN.
I will also contact my employer about my SSN.

It’s a good thing I found out about this now.

13

Well…that’s good about the FAFSA. Just find out what you need to do…get a PIN using the correct SSN.

14

i am surprised that Op’s FAFSA has not kicked out yet because they do not match up with the SSN with the SSA. I think eventually it will (along with the PIN).

15

Well, I filled it out over the weekend and it is currently a holiday… time will tell!

16

Currently going through the same thing right now. I realized an hour ago that I made a mistake with one digit and applied to 11 schools with this mistake. Panicking yet oddly comforted by other College Confidential posts showing people who went through the same. …apparently this happens? Please let me know how it all turned out/how you fixed it! Currently going to start emailing all these schools on how I should proceed :confused:

17

It’s fortunate that you caught it now. Good luck getting it all straightened out.

18

Well, as I expected, the FAFSA that was incorrectly filled out was rejected and the correct one went through! :slight_smile:

Now the problem is getting colleges to change my SSN.
Most colleges are asking for my SS card!
UGHH. Looks like I’m going to have to order a new one :frowning:

19

Ypu will need that card for other purposes. My kids had to present their SS cards (well…copies) to some employers. It’s not a bad thing to have.

20

FAFSA does check for that. Nice of them.

Your parents should have your SS card, if you were born in the US it would have been automatically mailed to them.

If they weren’t using your correct SS number on their tax returns, that’s another issue.