Your senior year can often seem like a series of deadlines. First come standardized tests, then the college application deadlines. Scholarship deadlines come next, FAFSA completion, and before you know it May 1st brings with it the deadline to make a final decision on the college you plan to attend.
Even after you’ve met each and every one of these deadlines, there is still one looming that you must be certain not to miss. May 16th is the State of Indiana’s deadline to make corrections to your FAFSA. If a student plans on taking advantage of any of the state’s financial aid programs (such as the Frank O’Bannon Grant, Twenty-first Century Scholars and many more), all corrections to the FAFSA must be made by this date.
Once a student has completed the FAFSA, it is processed by the federal government. If there are issues that need attending to, the government attempts to contact the student in one of two ways. If the student provided an email address, they will be sent an email regarding any changes that must be made. An email is usually sent within five days of FAFSA completion. If the student did not provide an email address, a letter is sent through traditional mail. This letter can take up to two weeks to arrive.
Some students may have created a new email account to complete the FAFSA. It is important that students remember to check this email address regularly to monitor the status of their FAFSAs. If your FAFSA was accepted without the need for corrections, this is where your Student Aid Report (SAR) will be sent. Otherwise, you will receive a notice explaining what corrections must be made to your FAFSA. Similar mailings will be sent through traditional mail if you did not include an email address in your FAFSA. If you have additional questions or are having trouble accessing the email you provided in your original FAFSA, feel free to contact the Federal FAFSA Hotline at 1-800-4-FED-AID (1-800-433-3243) for help.
