FAFSA fumble: Department of Education sends incorrect student aid information to colleges

After sending incorrect financial aid information to colleges and universities, the Department of Education has approved schools to process the faulty information so long as students‘ awards packages aren’t lower than they would have been with the correct information.

The errors may inflate the size of a student’s aid package, and thus create a false illusion of how much aid a student is eligible for. Advocates for financial aid administrators who are wary of the Department of Education’s approval claim that it could put them in a compromising position, prompting investigations led by future administrations that could cause problems for schools for accepting incorrect data.