<p>Background------
Hello all,
For the 2012-2013 FAFSA I had mistakenly answered a crucial question incorrectly. The question involved me being in legal guardianship as determined by the state, to which I thought regarded me having parents or not. The answer to this question later placed me as being financially independent to which i thought had to do with the fact that I was 18years old. In the end this result qualified me for a full Pell Grant and the Pell Grant was used to pay for part of my tuition. I have already notified FAFSA and my school's financial aid department about the descrepency in my FAFSA.</p>
<p>Question--------------------
I received a state merit-based scholarship which also helped me pay for my tuition for both my Fall and Spring semesters. I know that i'll be paying for the money which was spent on my tuition out of pocket. My question is if there's a possibility that my school will drop my which i'm currently taking for this spring semester. I'm extremely worried about this happening because there are only 4 weeks left in the semester and i've poured so much effort into this semester. I'm incredibly fearful of my overall 3.8 GPA and current spring semester 4.0 GPA just being tossed because of this error. I'm pursuing further education in the medical field and I don't look forward to any setbacks at all. I'll gladly pay the owed money out of money i earned from work over the summer, I just don't want to lose any of my academic progress. =/ </p>
<p>I'd like feedback from anyone who has ever been in this situation or a similiar one.
Thank you all for you help, and have a great day!</p>
<p>The only people who can answer this for you are in your school financial aid office. Contact them and find out if they’ve taken any steps to suspend your registration. And get a payment plan in place NOW.</p>
<p>You call this a “discrepancy.” I’d call it fraud. In other words, not a trivial matter and you have good reason to be concerned. But the only people who can help you resolve the situation are the financial aid officers at your school. If you don’t feel like you’re getting good answers from the first person you reach, go up the food chain . . . to the head of the financial aid office, if necessary. You need to get this resolved, and the sooner, the better.</p>
<p>Fraud? I did NOT do this purposely for financial gain. I had my FAFSA checked by someone in the business department. I included parent information, stated I lived with my parents, and showed up to school with my parents as well. And the question which was answered incorrectly is a question which is always cross referenced with state documentation. I have no idea how this managed to slip passed the financial aid department. Even when i first brought it to the attention of a financial aid employee they too were dumbfounded. Again, all the blame is still rightfully mine but I just wish someone would have seen it as a red flag.</p>
<p>I’m not saying that you did it intentionally . . . but the effect was the fraudulent receipt of government funds. I’m just say what you already know: it’s an awful mess, and you should continue to take steps to clear it up as quickly as possible.</p>
<p>Optimistic. You need to reconcile this with your financial aid office at your school. You are being very upfront and honest in reporting this ASAP. The school will tell you how to proceed.</p>
<p>Thanks everyone. Like I said I’ve reported this all with my financial aid department and my parents are back from vacation and able to help me obtain their 2011 w-2 forms and other info for me to amend the 2012-2013 fafsa. Just glad this problem was caught before any possible escalation.</p>
<p>Potayto - potahto! The OP misstated his status on his financial aid application, and then accepted funds based on that misstatement. It wasn’t the government’s mistake, it was his. Could his conduct readily be construed as deliberate? Yes, it could - whether it was or not.</p>
<p>But I’ll concede my misstatement. It was the "arguably fraudulent’ receipt of funds and not simply the “fraudulent” receipt of funds, as I said earlier. Given, however, that this argument could be made, the OP is doing ABSOLUTELY the right thing in trying to get this cleared up as soon as possible.</p>