FAFSA verification

i was selected for verification for the year 2018-2019 and i complied with their request and gave them everything that they needed on july 10 to the financial aid office of my college.3 weeks later, i get another email saying “There continue to be questions concerning the information on your FAFSA or the documents you have submitted in support of your financial aid application. Contact a financial aid representative at your college for assistance.”.Ive been to this office multiple times and every time i try to call them, they never seem to pick up. For my Financial aid package of 2018-2019, i am not receiving any pell grants but i am receiving a minimal amount of TAP.If i decide to just pay out of pocket for the year 2018-2019 and not complete the verification process, would it be problematic? another question is that currently accepted my TAP award for my financial aid year 2018-2019 and their processing date for TAP is tommorow and was wondering if im required to decline the award on CUNYfirst?im currently concerned about my situation and worried that they might consider this a fraud.

What does the financial aid staff say when you go to their office? I wouldn’t leave any money on the table if you’re eligible. @sybbie719 understands the CUNY system. Maybe she’ll have advice.

@austinmshauri last time i went they collected the documents and the lady carefully reviewed everything that was given.She said everything was okay to go and was sent to the financial aid people. A few days later, i get a notification saying that my application was successfully processed and that if my financial aid office has any questions they will contact me. but i was contacted a few times prior to this to give them their documents and then gave everything on that date.

If you have given them everything and you have no holds you should get credited for TAP and the balance you have to pay.

I really don’t understand why you did not apply for excelsior. Thus way your tuition would have been pretty much taken care of. Now it is too late to apply. Are you attending a two year or a 4 year CUNY. If you are attending at 2 year CUNY school, you need to call ASAP tomorrow, 9 amwhen theyopen.

to see if you can apply. If you get ASAP, they will cover your tuition, your books and a metro card.

@sybbie719 Thank you for clearing that out for me i appreciate that.Ive never heard of excelsior and i should’ve applied for it but i’m currently enrolled in SEEK which offers extra academic help and a book advance from the program.Is it possible that i will lose the SEEK funds since i’m currently in verification? This is my first time experiencing the verification process and it is quite annoying.

Go to the financial aid office tomorrow to make sure that your stuff is taken care of. There is a financial verification process. Because SEEK is federal/NYS aid, yes, your financials must be verified in order for you to remain eligible. You can get services; tutoring, advising, but you will not get anything financial: book money, stipends, etc.

The challenge is how will you pay the balance of your bill that is due the first day of class.

Just because you are in an opportunity program, you still have to pay the bill. SEEK/EOP/HEOP does not mean that you go to school for free. What you will get from SEEK is nominal and wont make a dent in your bill.

If you are getting seek, you are economically disadvantaged and need money to attend school. If you don’t have enough aid to cover the bill, how do you plan on attending?

@sybbie719 i will go tommorow to see what they have to say about my current situation. Hopefully this is resolved before the first day of classes.

@sybbie719 just to reconfirm,if I am still in verification but I have the option to accept/decline my TAP funds on my CUNYfirst will that still process and decrease my balance due or would that be put on hold until I complete verification ?Im not going to have any time to go to my university because of work but I will keep trying to get them over the phone.

If you decline your TAP, how are you going to make up the money? You will just have to come up with more money out of pocket.

Classes start in less than 2 weeks. You need to find out if you can change your hours, whether this means coming in early or staying late. Your trying to reach them on the phone is not going to resolve this. You need an actual face to face conversation.

You need to make sure that you can pay what is due this semester or you are not going to be able to attend class.

@sybbie719 I will definitely take your option into serious consideration and visit them. Thank you again for taking the time to respond to my thread.