And . . . another FAFSA error

[cintinative]

Y'all. I just can't. So.very.frustrated.

https://fsapartners.ed.gov/knowledge-center/library/electronic-announcements/2024-03-22/update-2024-25-fafsa-institutional-student-information-record-isir-delivery

Incorrect Dependent Student Contribution from Assets

 

The FAFSA Processing System (FPS) was not including all data fields needed to correctly calculate the Student Aid Index (SAI) for dependent students who reported assets. The FPS used the student’s Adjusted Net Worth of Businesses and Investment Farms to calculate the Student Contribution from Assets (ISIR field 328) and should have also included the student’s Current Net Worth of Investments and Total of Cash, Savings, and Checking Accounts. This resulted in an SAI that was lower than expected and an inaccurate total Student Contribution from Assets value.

This issue resulted in inaccurate ISIRs for dependent students with assets delivered to FTI-SAIG mailboxes prior to March 21, 2024.

 

[MagistraKennedy]

it's CRAZY -- 

On the other hand, I'm seeing in other groups that the processing seems to be faster? We didn't file til 2/7, so we've got a while. 

I just don't understand how there can be so many mistakes, at every level. 

[Roadrunner]

What’s happening? 
We don’t input any data but it was all brought in from IRS without our handling a single number. I am looking at SAI now and it seems a bit lower to me than what we anticipated. How do I know if there is a mistake?

[cintinative]

13 hours ago, Roadrunner said:

What’s happening? 
We don’t input any data but it was all brought in from IRS without our handling a single number. I am looking at SAI now and it seems a bit lower to me than what we anticipated. How do I know if there is a mistake?

In the FAFSA form there was a place to input student assets like checking, savings, etc. For whatever reason, the SAI numbers that came out initially didn't account for this, so all of those FAFSAs have to be reprocessed. It sounds like they caught it relatively early. If your student has no assets, it won't change anything. My student has worked his butt off for years saving money for college so it will affect him. I have no idea when we will get the revised numbers. 

ETA: you also should have had to enter your own savings, checking, 529 savings, etc. on the FAFSA form. That didn't come over from the IRS. 

Edited March 24 by cintinative

[Miss Tick]

4 minutes ago, cintinative said:

My student has worked his butt off for years saving money for college so it will affect him

I thought of him when you posted. What a hassle verging on nightmare. Are you reaching out to the admissions people to ask how they are going to handle it? Thereby indirectly letting them know it needs to be handled? I hope you are able to get some positive response.

[cintinative]

1 minute ago, Miss Tick said:

I thought of him when you posted. What a hassle verging on nightmare. Are you reaching out to the admissions people to ask how they are going to handle it? Thereby indirectly letting them know it needs to be handled? I hope you are able to get some positive response.

I also made a mistake when I initially filled out the parent FAFSA, so that will impact things also. I was rushing too much and missed the place to put in the 529 info. I have thought about just contacting the financial aid office to see what they can do. The Dept of Ed isn't saying when we can revise the FAFSA --they said "in the coming weeks." But first it has to be reprocessed, and then we can modify it.  So who knows? Fortunately this will not impact our school decision, but I am SO frustrated for the kids who it will affect.  

[kokotg]

My kids' have finally processed, but on 3/22 and 3/23, so I think we're in the clear of the latest mess and the numbers they're giving us are correct. fingers crossed. 

[jplain]

Will this ever end?  

From yesterday's update (bolding mine):

• The ability for students to make update and corrections to their FAFSA forms will be available in the first half of April. In advance of that implementation, the Department will provide detailed information to partners, students, and families on how to correct the most common FAFSA form errors including no signatures and selecting ‘yes’ to applying for unsubsidized loans only (Question 8).

• The Department will start reprocessing applications impacted by a previously identified issue shortly after student corrections are made available. The Department recently identified a vendor issue that was incorrectly calculating the Student Aid Index for records of dependent students with assets. This issue affected less than 10 percent of the 4 million records that have already been processed and has been resolved since the issue was identified. As these records are reprocessed, they will be identified as a system-generated transaction in the transaction source field (ISIR field 16).

  https://fsapartners.ed.gov/knowledge-center/library/electronic-announcements/2024-03-25/update-2024-25-fafsa-processing

   

  Edit to add: for the record, Question 8 was the very confusingly worded question about whether a student's parents were unwilling to provide their information.🙄

Edited March 26 by jplain

[El...]

40 minutes ago, jplain said:

Will this ever end?  

From yesterday's update (bolding mine):

• The ability for students to make update and corrections to their FAFSA forms will be available in the first half of April. In advance of that implementation, the Department will provide detailed information to partners, students, and families on how to correct the most common FAFSA form errors including no signatures and selecting ‘yes’ to applying for unsubsidized loans only (Question 8).

• The Department will start reprocessing applications impacted by a previously identified issue shortly after student corrections are made available. The Department recently identified a vendor issue that was incorrectly calculating the Student Aid Index for records of dependent students with assets. This issue affected less than 10 percent of the 4 million records that have already been processed and has been resolved since the issue was identified. As these records are reprocessed, they will be identified as a system-generated transaction in the transaction source field (ISIR field 16).

  https://fsapartners.ed.gov/knowledge-center/library/electronic-announcements/2024-03-25/update-2024-25-fafsa-processing

   

  Edit to add: for the record, Question 8 was the very confusingly worded question about whether a student's parents were unwilling to provide their information.🙄

"Shortly" is doing some very heavy lifting in these updates.

[kokotg]

3 hours ago, jplain said:

Will this ever end?  

 

• The Department will start reprocessing applications impacted by a previously identified issue shortly after student corrections are made available. The Department recently identified a vendor issue that was incorrectly calculating the Student Aid Index for records of dependent students with assets. This issue affected less than 10 percent of the 4 million records that have already been processed and has been resolved since the issue was identified. As these records are reprocessed, they will be identified as a system-generated transaction in the transaction source field (ISIR field 16).

  https://fsapartners.ed.gov/knowledge-center/library/electronic-announcements/2024-03-25/update-2024-25-fafsa-processing

   

   

huh. How could it have only affected less than 10%? I would imagine the majority of students have some kind of reportable assets, even if it's just $500 of birthday money in a savings account or whatever. 

[cintinative]

17 minutes ago, kokotg said:

huh. How could it have only affected less than 10%? I would imagine the majority of students have some kind of reportable assets, even if it's just $500 of birthday money in a savings account or whatever. 

They caught it before all the FAFSAs were processed. 

[cintinative]

Originally they said that we would be able to make revisions in late March. Now they are saying mid-April. I just don't know what to think anymore. I think I will reach out to the financial aid folks at the university and see what we can do. My son is among those whose FAFSA was processed without his assets being counted.

Edited March 26 by cintinative

[kokotg]

2 minutes ago, cintinative said:

They caught it before all the FAFSAs were processed. 

but is says less than 10% of the ones that have already been processed. I guess it's unclear how many they processed between catching the mistake and issuing that statement, though. 

[cintinative]

4 minutes ago, kokotg said:

but is says less than 10% of the ones that have already been processed. I guess it's unclear how many they processed between catching the mistake and issuing that statement, though. 

True. I am only assuming we were impacted because we received our SAI and a few days later they notified that they made the mistake with student assets. We have not received any notification either way (I need to ask my son though).  

 

[cintinative]

So we checked and my son hasn't received any notification within FAFSA or via email that he was impacted by them not considering student assets. I don't know how we are supposed to know if we were or not.  I emailed the FA department at his 1st choice school. This whole thing is a nightmare. 

[MagistraKennedy]

On 3/25/2024 at 9:24 AM, kokotg said:

My kids' have finally processed, but on 3/22 and 3/23, so I think we're in the clear of the latest mess and the numbers they're giving us are correct. fingers crossed. 

That's where we are as well --- processed, SAI is slightly lower than the preliminary one posted when we filed. I THINK we're in good shape, but it's hard to say until we get the FA letters from the school. The last email from them said aid letters would begin to go out 4/1.