Tons people who apply for college financial aid are forced to go through an audit-like process in which they must prove that the dope they provided is accurate.
Each year, nearly a third of students who fill out the Free Application for Federal Pupil Aid, or FAFSA, are selected for so-called verification, according to the National College Access Network.
“Families should expect to be judge for verification at least once during their college career,” said Betsy Mayotte, president of The Institute of Disciple Loan Advisors.
Fortunately, this week the Education Department announced it is simplifying the process.
Previously, applicants needed to substantiate their income or that of their family with tax transcripts or another official form from the IRS.
Now, a signed tax replace will do. For those who don’t file a tax return, they can just sign a statement explaining that.
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To avoid being selected for verification, applicants should use FAFSA’s IRS figures retrieval tool, which automatically imports their tax information, said Kim Cook, executive director of the National College Access Network.
“When filers use the mechanism, it is considered verified data so they will not be selected,” Cook said.
If you’re asked to verify your financial circumstances, don’t apprehension, said Lindsay Ahlman, a senior policy analyst at The Institute for College Access and Success.
“It can be discouraging, but being restrictive doesn’t mean you did anything wrong, it just means you need to complete some additional steps,” she said.
Be affected as quickly as possible, to make sure you don’t lose out on your aid.
“Follow all the steps required, and if you run into problems along the way reach out to your fiscal aid office to see if there are other options for fulfilling the requirements,” Ahlman said.