Help with FAFSA. Should I correct or leave it?

Paying for College
1

<p>I recently received my aid award and it said that it was accepted for now, but it may change later if any information changes. I checked my SAR to see if anything else was needed and here's what is stated:</p>

<p>" Comments About Your Information</p>

<p>WHAT YOU MUST DO NOW (Use the checklist below to make sure that all of your
issues are resolved.)</p>

<p>If your parents have now completed their 2009 tax return, correct this SAR to
reflect the income and tax information reported on their tax return. Select
the 'Make Corrections' button at the bottom of the page to make the correction.
If your parents have not yet completed their tax return, you must correct this
SAR to reflect the income and tax information reported on their tax return once
it is filed.</p>

<p>You did not answer the question about your plans to take coursework that will
enable you to become a teacher. We asked this question because there is a new
federal student aid program for students who plan on becoming teachers."</p>

<p>I left the status of my parent's tax returns as "will file" and I forgot to answer the teacher question, but I'm not going to be a teacher so it won't change anything.</p>

<p>Is it necessary to change the tax return status as "will file" to "already complete?" The numbers calculated when they "estimated" the taxes were spot on. </p>

<p>I was wondering if this was optional because I don't want to go through the hassle of gathering all the paperwork if they do actually ask for a verification if I make a correction.</p>

2

<p>Once your parents file their taxes, you should probably go through and make sure that everything matches up.</p>

3

<p>Yes, it’s very important that you change the status from “will file”…afaik, schools can’t actually distribute funds to you with a “will file” status! Submitting a correction does not mean you’ll be any more likely to be selected for verification and it’s not really a big hassle if you are - it’s generally one form to fill out, plus copies of tax returns.</p>

4

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<p>Yes…make this change. If the figures were spot on…it should take you all of five minutes to make this change. The college has no idea your estimated and final numbers are identical until you do this…reflecting that the taxes are complete and the numbers on your FAFSA reflect what was on the tax return.</p>

<p>Just an FYI…check and make sure the numbers on the return are EXACTLY the same as on your estimated FAFSA. If not…change them…won’t take you very long.</p>

<p>Until you do this, your financial aid award will be an estimate.</p>