<p>I was told that I would need to verify some of the information on my fafsa once admitted to the University. Has anyone else had to do this? I am worried because I have not kept much of my receipts and statements.
Has anyone else had to do this? If so, what did you do?</p>
<p>Thanks</p>
<p>azumzz…I hope you kept the things you NEED. In most cases, the schools will want your parents’ and your 2010 tax returns and all schedules. They might also want other documentation to support things ON your FAFSA form.</p>
<p>Do not send anything until the school asks you to. FAFSA verification comes up on many FAFSA forms but each school is only required to actually verify a certain %age of FAFSAs at their school. The schools themselves will tell you what to send…and when…and how. You do need to keep alert on your school email and student account pages. Don’t miss this notification…if it’s sent…and respond to it quickly.</p>
<p>I believe all students with a 0 EFC get verified every year.</p>
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<p>They MIGHT be selected by the FAFSA for verification but that doesn’t mean that the colleges will verify them each year.</p>
<p>My son had no financial need. He completed the FAFSA each year for the Stafford loan only. He got chosen for verification EVERY year by his college.</p>
<p>I didn’t even know it was possible to get selected for verification by the FAFSA. I thought only colleges did the verification.</p>
<p>thanks, if they only want tax returns and schedules then that is fine.
Do you think they would ask for savings account history?</p>
<p>I want to know this too. About the savings account history thing.</p>
<p>When DS was applying to college, we did have a school that asked for a LOT of information. They wanted our most recent pay stubs AND bank statements. BUT that was only one school.</p>
<p>When students complete the FAFSA, there might be an asterick on their FAFSA…I believe that is what indicates that this is a potential verification FAFSA. My guess is that schools can ask for additional information from ANY student who is applying for financial aid.</p>
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No, this is not the case. My kids have/had 0 EFCs and sometimes were selected and sometimes were not.</p>
<p>My SAR form says “Assumed fields, based on the data you entered, are marked with an * (asterisk) sign” but I have no asterisks on my form.</p>
<p>The Dept of Ed (ED) selects FAFSA’s for verification, and some schools select FAFSA’s for verification that may not have been selected by ED. Schools are required to verify at least 30% of FAFSA’s selected, but they may verify more. Many schools verify all FAFSA’s that are selected.</p>
<p>Beginning in 12-13, unless a school is one of a handful in a special program, they will be required to verify ALL FAFSA’s selected for verification. But verification is going to look different next year. ED will tell the school the specific item or items to verify … perhaps taxes paid seem too high for the earnings, or perhaps the household size is significantly larger one year than it was the prior year. Those items will have to be verified, and if schools want they can ask for other items to be verified at the same time. In addition, the regulatory update information I received states that IRS data transfers will be expected for verification of tax return items … and it appears they may very well require schools to collect an IRS tax transcript if the person chooses not to do a direct IRS data transfer. These changes were just recently made, so the guidance on exactly how this will all look is just in the beginning stages.</p>
<p>I’ve had to do verification every year and all I ever have to show is the tax return copies. It is kind of illogical to me since I do transfer my info from the IRS website. My copy of the tax return doesn’t have anything on it the IRS doesn’t have on their copy! Kinda seems like everyone should be verified when it’s such large amounts of money at stake.</p>
<p>I was not selected for verification the first year when EFC was high. The following years, when my business produced a fraction of what it did that first year, we have been chosen each year. They have only requested tax forms though.</p>
<p>For the first time this year, schools do not have to collect a copy of the tax return if the IRS tax retrieval tool was used. The problem is, the codes don’t always come through correctly & the school can’t always verify from the FAFSA that the retrieval tool was used & that the information was not modified. So schools may still want the return.</p>
<p>I think all schools that promise to meet need do 100% comparison of tax return items by choice.</p>
<p>True “verification” requires collecting additional info such as household size, number in college, and certain untaxed income items.</p>
<p>Since we were on the subject, I just checked the school’s website where awards are listed and we have no award, but when I clicked “Financial Aid Summary” they only have the costs listed for Fall 2011 so the COA is half of what it should be and there is no aide awarded. I have never noticed that the info was put up like that before. A bit of a kick in the gut at first but I’m assuming they will update the COA and then there will be an award. I hate to panic and call the FA office but it seems weird.</p>
<p>It depends on the software the school uses. Our software will add in the COA right away, as well as put Pell on the account. No other entries are made until the student is packaged. Since we have not yet packaged returning students (we are hoping the Pell amounts will be set soon - it’s a huge pain to have to fix awards if Pell changes), our students’ accounts look like your S’s … just the COA if not Pell eligible.</p>
<p>She is Pell eligible and why would the COA be for fall semester only?</p>
<p>Oops - I said S - should have said D. :)</p>
<p>Is your D scheduled to graduate in December? If so, that may be why it’s just for fall. Otherwise, I don’t know …</p>