15 Dangerous Mistakes When Filling Out The FAFSA!

The best way to complete a FAFSA is early - and online! January 1st is the soonest you can apply. And, you must fill one out EVERY year your student plans on attending college. If you apply online, your application will be processed faster and will likely be more accurate.

WARNING: Making mistakes on your FAFSA is dangerous territory! It will either delay or even eliminate funding altogether. Here are the 12 most common mistakes parents and/or students make on the FAFSA.

1) Not getting your PIN number first. You need one for both the student and the parent.

2) Leaving fields blank. Enter a '0' or 'not applicable' instead of leaving a blank. Too many blanks may cause miscalculations and an application rejection

3) Using commas or decimals in numeric fields. Always round up.

4) Listing an incorrect Social Security Number, address, or Driver's license number. Remember to check these entries and have someone else check them too. Triple check to be sure.

5) Entering the wrong tax information as based on your tax returns. Make sure you follow the guideline numbers on the FAFSA. This is probably the biggest mistake most people make.

6) Listing your adjusted gross income as equal to total income. These are NOT the same!

7) Realizing the FAFSA is a "point-in-time" contract. You fill out the FAFSA based on "real time" information. That's why your financial and tax strategies need to be worked out in advance!

8) Forgetting to list all colleges correctly. You must use the Federal School Code.

9) Forgetting to sign and date the FAFSA correctly, especially electronically.

10) Entering inaccurate information on your parents. Don't guess!

11) Sending in your tax return. Don't send it in until the college requests a copy of it.

12) Not filling out Worksheets A, B, and C correctly. Many people simply don't understand these questions and how to fill them out properly.

13) Misunderstanding which parent's information to report when your parents are divorced, single, or even remarried. This is one of the most difficult ones to determine.

14) Not doing financial and tax planning before you fill out the FAFSA. This is huge! Once your FAFSA is submitted, you're potentially stuck.

15) Giving them information about the value of your business when your self-employed. Most self-employed people make a HUGE mistake here costing them thousands of dollars in lost aid. Read the directions carefully.

Additional Tips

Much of the financial information you need to provide is on your tax forms. Completing your taxes early can make the application process easier because you'll have the financial information you need in one place. You can estimate your financial information using previous tax years and correct the amounts on the form later by going to the corrections page on the FAFSA website. If you are not required to file taxes you still have to fill out a FAFSA to get financial aid.