{"id":33011,"date":"2019-05-15T13:46:04","date_gmt":"2019-05-15T17:46:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/?p=33011"},"modified":"2025-10-02T11:41:56","modified_gmt":"2025-10-02T15:41:56","slug":"how-to-avoid-common-fafsa-errors-that-impact-your-financial-aid","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/how-to-avoid-common-fafsa-errors-that-impact-your-financial-aid\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Avoid Common FAFSA Errors That Impact Your Financial Aid"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

To maximize your financial aid for college, you should submit your FAFSA<\/strong><\/a> (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) form early and accurately. Unfortunately, oftentimes, students either delay their application, miss deadlines, or make common errors in their FAFSA form that prevent their FAFSA from being processed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This could result in your missing out on some financial aid. For example, your state or college could run out of funds by the time your FAFSA is processed. Also, if your FAFSA is not processed by the time school starts, you (or your parents) have to fork out the tuition, room and board, and other fees due and wait for your college to reimburse you when the financial aid comes through.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, if you want to improve your chances of receiving aid — grants<\/a>, work-study<\/a> programs, federal student loans<\/a>, or state and school financial aid awards — get your FAFSA in early and watch out for common errors that trip up many students.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Submit your FAFSA early<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Aim to submit your FAFSA as close to the open date — the first date that the FAFSA form is available for use — as possible. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Open date for 2026-27 school year <\/strong>\u00a0\u2192 October 1, 2025<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The FAFSA deadline is June 30 of the school year for which you\u2019re applying for financial aid. Corrections to already filed FAFSA need to be made by the due date in September.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Federal deadline for 2026-27 school year<\/strong><\/td>June 30, 2027 (midnight CT)<\/td><\/tr>
2026-27 Corrections\/Updates<\/strong><\/td>September 14, 2027 (midnight CT)<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Also, colleges and states may have different deadlines, so you need to comply with those deadlines as well. For more details on deadlines and tips on how to complete your FAFSA without stress, check out this FAFSA complete guide<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Watch out for common FAFSA form errors<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The FAFSA form requires students to provide personal and financial information, which is used to assess how much aid and what type of aid to award to a student. In addition, students who are deemed to be dependent<\/a> have to provide their parents\u2019 personal and financial information. And students who are married or remarried have to provide their spouse\u2019s personal and financial information.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The new FAFSA form, launched on December 31, 2023, is shorter and easier to complete. You don\u2019t have to answer each question, as some of them may not pertain to you. But you should still read all of them carefully to make sure that you understand each question and are supplying the right answers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then, when you\u2019re actually filling out each field, be sure that you fill it out correctly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here\u2019s how to avoid these common errors on your FAFSA.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. Follow instructions<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

If you don\u2019t want your FAFSA kicked back, be sure to follow instructions so you fill out each field correctly. For PDF or hard copy applications, there are certain mechanics that you need to follow as well, such as using black ink, filling circles completely, printing in capital letters, and skipping a box between words.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. Do not leave any questions unanswered<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Whatever method you use to complete your FAFSA form, do not leave any questions unanswered. Use \u201c0\u201d if that\u2019s your answer to a question or if the question is not applicable to you. Leaving an answer field blank would be construed as you forgetting to answer the question, and will delay the processing of your application.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3.<\/strong>  Enter your name accurately<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The name you use on your FAFSA form and your FSA ID account must be identical<\/strong>. To avoid errors, have your Social Security card in front of you and enter your name exactly as it appears on your Social Security card when creating your FSA ID and filling out your FAFSA. You (and your parents<\/a>, if you\u2019re deemed a dependent student<\/a>) should also be careful that you\u2019re in the right field (student vs. parent) when keying in information. Sounds simple, but oftentimes students and parents enter their information in the field meant for the other. Remember that the FAFSA form is the student\u2019s application, so \u201cyou\u201d and \u201cyour\u201d means you, not your parents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Note:<\/strong> If you receive an error message that your name does not match, first verify the name you used for your FSA ID against the name on your Social Security card. If your name appears incorrectly in your FSA ID account, correct it and save it. If it matches, then verify the name on your FAFSA form against what\u2019s on your FSA ID. If your name matches and you receive an error message, you should call the Federal Student Aid Information Center at 1-800-433-3243 for FSA ID assistance. If it\u2019s your parent(s) who receives an error message, he or she should follow the same procedure. For help on how to verify your name (or your parent\u2019s name), check here<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

4.  Enter your date of birth accurately<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The date of birth on your FAFSA form and your FSA ID account must also match<\/strong>. To avoid errors, enter your date of birth accurately on both the FAFSA form as well as when creating your FSA ID. Again, watch out and enter your date of birth in the field meant for you and not your parent(s). If your parents\u2019 information is required because you\u2019re a dependent student, they should be similarly careful to enter information in the field meant for parents. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Note:<\/strong> Follow the steps in the note above to verify that your date of birth matches.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

5.  Enter your Social Security number accurately<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The Social Security number on your FAFSA form and your FSA ID account also must be identical<\/strong>. Be sure to enter it accurately in the correct field; the same goes for your parents if their information is needed. If your parents don\u2019t have a Social Security number, use \u201c000000000\u201d instead. Do NOT use your parent\u2019s Taxpayer Identification Number for this purpose.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Note: <\/strong>Follow the steps in the note above to verify that your Social Security number matches.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

6. Use the correct FSA ID<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Your FSA ID serves as your electronic signature, so it is unique to you and cannot be shared with your parents. If you\u2019re a dependent student, one of your parents needs to create his or her own FSA ID in order to sign your FAFSA form electronically.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Note:<\/strong> Effective December 2023, a parent who doesn\u2019t have a Social Security number<\/em><\/strong> can  create an FSA ID. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Be sure to enter your FSA ID in the field meant for you, not your parents (and vice versa). Also, if you elect to have an email address and mobile phone number to reset your password and retrieve your user name, be sure to use your email address and phone number — not your parents\u2019 or anyone else\u2019s email or phone. The email address and mobile phone number can only be associated with your FSA ID.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

7.  Log in correctly<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

If you are filling out your form online or by mobile app, be sure to select \u201cI am the student<\/strong>\u201d and use your FSA ID to log in. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you\u2019re a parent(s), preparer or a student from the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, or Palau, otherwise known as the “Freely Associated States\u201d (FAS), however, log in by selecting \u201cI am a parent, preparer, or student from a Freely Associated State<\/strong>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you\u2019re an FAS student without a Social Security number<\/a>, enter \u201c666\u201d as the first three digits of the Social Security number field and leave the remaining six positions blank. You will be assigned a pseudo Social Security number with the last six digits, which will be displayed in a message box when you reach the \u201cSign and Submit\u201d page.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Note:<\/strong> Be sure to keep this Social Security number somewhere safe as you will need it to access your FAFSA and for FAFSA renewals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

8.  Don\u2019t use cents for financial information<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Use whole figures only — NO cents — for the FAFSA form when filling out your financial information. For example, if your income is $12,500, enter 12500 — and not 12500.00 — in the appropriate boxes, otherwise the income would be reported as $1,250,000. Commas are already provided to separate groups of thousands, so it shouldn\u2019t pose a problem. If you\u2019re in doubt, start filling out the number from the rightmost position.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

9.  Check off your proper marital status<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The FAFSA asks if you are single, married\/remarried, separated, divorced or widowed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Single, divorced or widowed are easy situations to identify. Separation<\/em><\/strong> is more tricky, as it could be legal or otherwise. <\/p>\n\n\n\n