I was motivated today to discuss the 2019 FAFSA college financial aid verification process since we have been receiving a lot of questions on this topic and moreover because I received an email from a client yesterday that stated she was told by a representative from a college that her family and others are chosen for Verification because of President Trump. The person claims that the President refuses to pay for grants and wants to make it difficult as possible for students to receive financial aid. I simply replied, you are not being told the truth.
The verification process has been around for many years. One-third of all FAFSA applicants will be randomly chosen for verification. Other reasons that a family will be chosen is if the FAFSA includes incomplete data or data that appears to contradict itself and if any original information has been modified.
A question I get from time to time is, can I elect not to complete the process? Yes, you can. But why would you? By doing so, the student will forfeit all access to federal aid, need-based state aid, and in many cases the college’s institutional need-based aid.
If you want more information or clarification on this topic, please contact our office.
