Csusm Verify My Fafsa (2024)

FAQs

What happens if you fail FAFSA verification? ›

If a student who is selected for verification does not complete the verification process, then any federal and/or need-based aid (Pell grant, SEOG, Work-Study, Federal Direct loans, certain Scholarships, and institutional aid) will NOT be awarded or disbursed.

Verification is the process your school uses to confirm that the data reported on your FAFSA form is accurate. If you're selected for verification, your school will request additional documentation that supports the information you reported. Don't assume you're being accused of doing anything wrong.

About 17% of FAFSA forms were selected for verification during the first three quarters of the 2021-2022 cycle, according to a 2021 NCAN/National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators report. The U.S. Department of Education set goals to decrease overall verification rates in recent years.

If your FAFSA has been selected for verification, each college will reach out to you directly with instructions on how to complete the process. Check your mail, email, and college portal regularly for verification-related requests.

A: The best way to avoid being selected for verification is to complete your FAFSA using the IRS Data retrieval tool, if possible. IRS data retrieval isn't an option for every applicant, but this one step will significantly reduce the likelihood of your application being selected.

Some of the most common FAFSA errors are: Leaving blank fields: Too many blanks may cause miscalculations and an application rejection. Enter a '0' or 'not applicable' instead of leaving a blank.

Once all required documents are submitted for verification, the process should take about two to four weeks, depending on the college and the time of year. Your college will notify you when your financial aid package is ready.

What happens if I don't complete verification? If you fail to submit verification documents and complete the process, you will not be eligible for Title IV aid. Incomplete verification may result in cancellation of your financial aid.

Note: If you submitted a paper FAFSA form, you can check the status of your application online once it has been processed (roughly 7 to 10 days from the date mailed). You can also check the status of your FAFSA form by contacting the Federal Student Aid Information Center at 1-800-433-3243.

Other reasons for financial aid disqualification include: Not maintaining satisfactory progress at your college or degree program. Not filling out the FAFSA each year you are enrolled in school. Defaulting on a student loan.

What is the average FAFSA check? ›

Average amounts are about $9,000, with less than half of that in the form of grants. This table shows the maximum and average amounts for various types of federal student aid for undergraduate students for 2020-2021. Average amounts have been rounded to the nearest multiple of $10.

There is no income that is too high to file a FAFSA. No matter how much you make, you can always submit a FAFSA. Eligibility for need-based financial aid increases as the cost of attendance increases, so even a wealthy student might qualify for financial aid at a higher-cost college.

Verification is a process that the U.S. Department of Education uses to make sure that the information reported on the FAFSA is accurate. Some FAFSA applications are selected because of inconsistent information, and others are chosen randomly.

Cars, computers, furniture, books, boats, appliances, clothing, and other personal property are not reported as assets on the FAFSA. Home maintenance expenses are also not reported as assets on the FAFSA, since the net worth of the family's principal place of residence is not reported as an asset.

You and your parents will report certain assets on the FAFSA. Your asset records are part of the calculation for your Student Aid Index (SAI), which determines your eligibility for need-based federal aid. It's important to be as accurate as possible when completing the FAFSA.

What happens if I miss the deadlines? If you miss deadlines, always contact your school's financial aid office to see what options are still available for you. Some states and schools continue to award aid to FAFSA latecomers, but your chances get much slimmer, and the aid is often lower.

Failing one class does not mean you'll automatically lose access to federal financial aid. But these funds do have academic eligibility requirements, as outlined in your school's satisfactory academic progress (SAP) guidelines.

Within 1-3 business days after submitting the required identity verification form and documents, The Office of Federal Student Aid will send an email confirming that your identity has been verified.

Once the FAFSA is processed, a link to the electronic SAR is sent to the student if he or she supplied a valid email address on the FAFSA. The SAR instructs the student to make any necessary corrections to a rejected FAFSA.