What to Do if Your FAFSA is Selected for Verification

Many students who are enrolling in a college or university loathe the financial aid process.  It’s not that it’s hard to complete, or even that timely for that matter; it’s just the fact that you have to dig through your personal files to find the information you need to complete it. 

There is little that is more satisfying then finally finding those taxes from last year and submitting your FAFSA form and getting it over with.  Then your Financial Aid Advisor notifies you that you have been selected for verification by the Federal government and you have to fill out paperwork.  Now you’re thinking, “What?! Are you kidding me?”  Well, here’s the scoop on verification and what you need to know to get your financial aid awarded as quickly as possible. First it is important to understand that if you have been selected for verification, it does not mean you have done anything wrong.  If you have been selected for verification, it could be for any of the following reasons:

• You were selected randomly.  
• The FAFSA application you submitted contained incomplete data.
• Your FAFSA application has estimated information on it.
• The data on your FAFSA application appears to contradict itself.
• The Federal government randomly selects 30 percent of all individuals who complete a FAFSA for verification. 

If you are selected for verification you will need to fill out a quick and easy worksheet and fax it back to us along with a copy of your taxes.  Make sure that you completely fill out the Verification Worksheet before you fax it in so that it does not further delay your financial aid being awarded.  You will need a copy of your taxes and you need to sign them before you fax them to us.  If no taxes were filed for the school year indicated on your FAFSA form, you should call your Financial Aid Advisor at 1-800-836-5627 and press option 2. Bryant & Stratton College Online must complete your verification in advance of disbursing any money from any financial aid program, so it is important to send complete and correct information into us as soon as possible.

As soon as everything is received by the Financial Aid department and no additional changes need to be made, your financial aid award letter is packaged.  If corrections needed to be made on your FAFSA form by our Financial Aid department it will be done in no longer than three to five business days.  Our goal at Bryant & Stratton College Online is to make the financial aid process as painless as possible so if you have any questions along the way or find yourself getting frustrated do not hesitate to call your Financial Aid Advisor and ask for help.

For more information on financial aid at Bryant & Stratton College Online, visit https://www.bryantstratton.edu/financial-aid.