I submitted my dependent student verification form to my school’s financial aid office after my FAFSA was selected for verification. I panicked and accidentally reported $10,341 as untaxed income for my parents on my form. I also corrected my FAFSA to reflect this. This $10,341 was actually what my mother received for Employer provided healthcare coverage plan. In other words, this money shouldn’t have been reported on the FAFSA or to the school. To make matters worse, I reported that the $10,341 was for disability benefits for my mom on my verification. I’m scared that the Financial Aid Office will be suspicious if I change my FAFSA back. What should I do? I can’t call the office until Monday or Tuesday and my deadline is June 5th to submit all documents.
Of course, you should change it. You think you are the first or only person to make s mistake like that? Things could be more problematic if the mistake is flagged later.
Please do not update your FAFSA, because the aid office will just update it back to match the info you submitted. What you need to do is have your mother write a letter explaining your mistake; make sure she signs it. Submit it to your aid office, with your name and student ID at the top of the letter, along with the notation about the FAFSA year to which the info applies.
A letter will be needed, but for your own peace of mind, a phone call might help as well. The school FA office is there to help, they deal with stuff much worse than this all the time. This was an unintentional error in a confusing situation that you have never dealt with before. When you explain it, and offer the suggestion that you write a clarification letter to be signed by her, they may have some insight as to what else, if anything, they might want.