Can I Edit My FAFSA Information After It's Submitted?

I submitted my FAFSA a few weeks ago, but I recently realized that some of the personal information was entered incorrectly. I'm a little panicked about whether this will impact my financial aid opportunities or if it will cause issues with my application. Is there a way to edit the FAFSA after it has been submitted? If so, what's the best way to go about making those corrections?

Absolutely, you can make corrections to your FAFSA after you've submitted it. The U.S. Department of Education allows students to make updates and modify their information after the initial submission. It's not uncommon to spot errors or for your circumstances to change after submission.

Here's the process:

1. First, head over to fafsa.gov and log in. Once you're logged in, you'll see a "My FAFSA" page.

2. On the "My FAFSA" page, there will be a section that says, “Your FAFSA was successfully submitted and your Estimated Expected Family Contribution (EFC) is…” Below that, you'll see a “Make Corrections" option. Click on that button.

3. You'll now be able to click any part of the application and edit or update the information. When you're making these corrections, be very careful that you're re-entering the data accurately.

4. After all changes are made, you'll need to sign and submit the FAFSA again. You’ll have to do this regardless of who made the correction, and what the correction(s) were.

After submitting the corrections, you should receive a revised Student Aid Report (SAR) within a week if you submitted online and provided a valid email address. If not, you should receive it within 2-3 weeks.

The SAR will outline changes to your Student Aid Index (SAI), and update your financial aid eligibility. Your chosen schools will also receive an updated version of your information, allowing them to adjust your financial aid accordingly.

It's highly encouraged to correct any errors you notice on your FAFSA as quickly as possible, so you should proceed to correct it at your earliest convenience. Accuracy in your FAFSA is crucial to ensure you receive the correct amount of financial aid. Incorrect information could potentially lead to a delay in your aid or even result in your receiving more or less aid than you should. Keep in mind, however, that you generally can't update your FAFSA because of a change in financial situation, only to correct errors.