Why fafsa verification

As colleges start planning their return to in-person learning in the fall, the college admissions season is well underway.

College-intending students are currently navigating access to the financial aid critical to affording college. Particularly for students from under-resourced and minoritized groups, their FAFSA has a good chance of being flagged for further scrutiny, jeopardizing the aid they qualify for.

Each year, the U. Verification requires students to further attest to—and, in some cases, prove—that the information reported on their FAFSA is accurate. Verification can take many forms. If students fail to complete verification, they may fail to receive federal aid and, in some cases, also become ineligible for institutional or state aid.

What about the administrative burden to the colleges and universities these students attend? In a newly published paper, we consider the magnitude of these institutional costs. When erroneous or outdated information is found in the verification process, it is corrected. If the errors are in FAFSA data that determined your financial need, your college will recalculate and adjust your student aid package accordingly.

In some cases, you might even need to repay money that you got from federal aid. A correction could increase the amount of student aid for which they qualify. Federal Student Aid. Actively scan device characteristics for identification. Use precise geolocation data.

Select personalised content. Create a personalised content profile. Measure ad performance. Select basic ads. Create a personalised ads profile. To verify you finished high school, you can submit a copy of your diploma or GED, or a copy of your final transcript as long as it shows your graduation date. Your school will provide you with verification worksheets to accompany your requested documents. On your worksheets, be sure to complete each question in full.

Triple check that everything is correct and complete before sending it in — mistakes will draw out the process and cost you valuable college decision-making time. Any changes to your EFC are rare and would occur after you submit everything and only if your verification materials show a discrepancy from your original FAFSA.

If your school gives out any need-based institutional aid, such as campus-based scholarships or grants, you should consider yourself to be on a much shorter timetable.

That kind of aid is offered on a first-come, first-served basis, so waiting to send in your verification materials until the last minute might mean losing out on such aid and needing more in student loans to close the gap.

That means future federal loan offers may be smaller to compensate. If your EFC decreases: Your school is required to give you any additional federal aid you are eligible for. Temporary changes for award year. It will also alleviate some of the burden faced by financial aid administrators, allowing them to focus their time and resources on administering emergency relief funds, getting students into and through higher education, including by updating FAFSA information for students who have lost their jobs due to the pandemic, and by helping students learn about and access emergency financial aid grants provided under the Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund.

This temporary verification process accompanies the many tools and oversight measures the Department uses to monitor suspicious activity, mitigate fraud, and identify over- and under-awards of Pell Grant funds. Current tools and oversight measures include the following:. Today's announcement builds upon the Biden Administration's commitment to addressing inequities exacerbated by the COVID pandemic and targeting resources and relief efforts toward the colleges and communities that need it most.

Toggle navigation U. Department of Education. Student Loans Grants Laws Data. July 13,