FAFSA, parents financial questions?

Hi, I am a current student at George Mason University and looking for financial aid from FAFSA.
I am a dependent of my parents therefore i have to fill out their financial information.

On pages 5,6,7 they ask for mine and my parents financial records. Questions such as

Q79 What was your parent's adjusted gross income for 2007?
Q80 What was the amount your parents paid in income tax for 2007?
Q38 how much did you earn from working in 2007?

Coming back from my financial aid office, a representative told me fill in zero or estimates for these questions because no one has recieved their tax returns nor done their taxes. She also said that FAFSA /GMU will call me later when people recieve their tax returns to fill in the correct information and so therefore go ahead turn it in with the zeros and estimates to get priority aid and correct it when the tax returns come to fill in the accurate information.....

Is this correct? Will it affect the amount of aid offered?

Thank u

Ok, thank you I have decided to fill in the information from 2006 taxes. Saying that i do that, and then GMU send me my "packet" and EFC and all that, and then i correct my FAFSA after filling the 2007 taxes, will they send me another packet with the corrected accurate information?

The counselor gave you accurate information....I used to have the same problem. I had to wait for my parents to fill out their taxes. So when I would fill out a FAFSA form I would have to put a 0 for their adjusted gross income, and other questions that required their finanical information.

Once your form is received you will receive an SAR (Student Aid Report). It will give you instructions on how to correct information, and submit anything that needs to be corrected. After your parents file their taxes make sure you correct the info...Take Care

Yes you will receive a corrected report if you request it. It will also automatically be sent to your school.

i would suggest you wait or ask your parents to hurry up and file their taxes. putting down 0 can greatly affect your application. they may end up not re-checking the info, giving you more than they were suppose to and then holding you accountable. so i say ask your parents to file as soon as possible. and if waiting is not an option, talk to SEVERAL people in the fin aid department and ask what they should do. asap. good luck.

Yes, you can estimate what you earned and what your parents earned for the 2007 tax year. You can also estimate what your and their tax liability will be. I would not enter zero unless you or they truly did not have any amount for that particular field.
No one from FAFSA will "call you" to remind you to correct your fafsa, and I wouldn't count on anyone from GMU to either. Just remember to do your taxes and correct it asap. The school can not do anything about your financial aid until you and your parents get your tax forms completed and the information corrected.

The only way doing this could hurt you is if you fail to update the information.

Just wait until they complete the tax return. Estimating will only delay your processing in the long run. Making corrections later could cause processing delays. If you have the correct information from the beginning, you're more than half way there. When I was a director, I selected EVERYONE for verification and asked for additional paperwork. Be smart, turn in it correctly only ONE time. Good Luck!!