Once more! Have you compared your original Fafsa with the current LINE BY LINE?
If not, do so now.
$765 Pell is EFC 5001-5100. If the school is saying you have a 765 Pell, that means that they made a change on their end to the FAFSA. They may not have sent it out for processing yet, but they must have made some updates to get the adjusted EFC.
Call the school and ask to speak with a financial aid counselor (you don’t want to talk to a phone rep, enrollment center counselor, or anyone else who just sees your info and is unable to actually answer your questions). If possible, see if you can speak with the counselor who reviewed your file (that is not always possible, especially if they contract out their verification). When you get a knowledgeable person on the other end of the line, ask them to tell you what they changed that impacted your EFC. They should absolutely be able to explain it to you. Post when you find out what happened.
Just so you know, schools CANNOT use any EFC for Pell other than the EFC computed for FAFSA.
There are only 2 FAFSA SARs:
1 - submitted beginning of the year with estimates.
2 - after IRS data retrieval
Income, actual taxes paid and EFC went slightly down from (1) to (2), since final numbers were available after doing tax return.
So what? what matters is what is in the latest SAR.
Thank you @kelsmom, your last sentence is what I wanted to hear.
I also am confident there is nothing to change on FAFSA, it is using post-retrival data. I also went through the calculations as described in here:
http://ifap.ed.gov/efcformulaguide/attachments/100615EFCFormulaGuide1617Attach.pdf
and arrived exactly at the same EFC presented on the FAFSA SAR.
The only thing I can think is that they made different calculations based on CSS profile, and overrode the FAFSA EFC with some CSS EFC in their system.
But if you did the data retrieval to update income from the tax return, what did they ask for in the verification?
If they asked for W2 forms and parent contributed to 401k account, they might have added that to income.
If that were the case, wouldn’t they have made a FAFSA correction? That was not done.
What matters is the latest information the school has … not what you see. If they had to make updates to non-income information, you may not actually be able to see the new SAR. They may not have sent the changes to the processor yet, but their software has calculated the new EFC and they are using it. The only way to know what happened is to ask.
As Kelsmom said…they very well could have made a FAFSA correction whichnismaffecting your aid…but has not yet been processed on the FAFSA end. Did you read that sentence in her response?
You need to do as she says…contact the financial aid office…ask them why there is a difference between the supposed SAR you have that would indicate a higher Pell…and what they have on your FAFSA. It is very very possible that a correction HAS been made.
And agree…what was the reason for your verification?
Automatically verified every year. No reason given.
Yes will call them of course, just wanted more information/knowledge before calling.
Understand that they might be in the process of making a FAFSA correction. But I don’t believe so, or they would have told me last time called them.
The reason for verification is ALWAYS given. Schools,ask for specific documentation when you are selected for verification. It’s not some big secret.
What did the school request when you were selected for verification…and what did you send them?
RE: the processing on the FAFSA end. The person answering the phone likely has NO idea what is inthe pipeline for processing and would have no way of telling you. As an example…I mailed a check to,the social,security administration two weeks ago. It hasn’t cleared my checking account yet. The SS person I spoke to said it could take up to 60 days to process and be recorded. She had NO WAY to tell me exactly where my check is now,…or when it will be processed.
Many schools use enrollment management systems. The person answering the phone most likely has little financial aid training and is just answering questions based on a script. You have to get to someone who understands what you are asking and can answer your questions. You can wonder about it all you want, but you won’t know about it unless and until you find someone who can look at your account with a fine-tooth comb.
“Your FAFSA has been selected for a review process called verification. Your
school has the authority to request copies of certain financial documents from
you and your parent(s).”
Can’t see where the reason is given. This appeared every year in the FASFA SAR. Never worried about it since always estimated pretty good, and did IRS retrieval anyway later on.
School Asked for W2 and Tax returns.
In past years after verification nothing was corrected.
Nothing has been corrected yet for this year, but I understand it could be in the process.
By the way, thanks for the patience everyone responding on this thread. I know you just wish I called them, but like kelsmom said, sometimes you get different answers from different people, and it just feels like the knowledgeable people are hidden behind some firewall.
You need to call, and speak to the RIGHT PERSON. This usually is NOT the first person who answers the phone…and it might not be the second person. If you live close enough to go in person, make an appointment and GO.
The school wanted your W2 forms and tax returns, so it sounds like they were verifying your income. Did you get this verification request BEFORE you linked to the IRS data retrieval tool?
Yes always before IRS data retrieval, but wording remained after IRS data retrieval.
When did you link to the IRS DRT?
OP, sounds like people in the financial aid office have been difficult and unpleasant when you’ve called. As a result it seems like you are reluctant to talk with them. If this is the case, contact the student ombudsman office at your University. They will help you facilitate the conversation with the RIGHT person in the Financial Aid office. When students feel like they are getting the runaround, the ombudsman office is there to help.
If you do call the Financial Aid office on your own, remember to simply present the facts. It is easy to get frustrated and angry especially when we are talking about a $1000.00 difference in a Pell grant. However anger and frustration will not help you get the answer you seek. You don’t need the tables etc. It helps to have your thoughts and questions written out.
OP, did you make retirement contributions that were not indicated on the FAFSA?
Or did your parents make retirement contributions?
Or, if your parent’s workplace automatically makes a contribution on your parent’s behalf to a retirement fund, that can be added back and counted as income.
@BelknapPoint do employer contributions to tax deferred retirement accounts get added in as income on the FAFSA?