The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is the federal financial aid form that students complete to apply for all Federal Student Financial Aid. The U.S. Department of Education may select your FAFSA for review in a process called “Federal Verification.”
This process involves the student and family having to submit extra documents to your schools in order to confirm that the data reported on your FAFSA is accurate. The Department of Education gives the school the authority to contact you for documentation that supports the information you reported.
Traditionally about 30% of FAFSA filers are selected for verification. The students most likely to be selected for verification are students receiving the Federal Pell Grant.
If you are selected for verification, the most important thing to do is stay calm.
- You are not being accused of doing anything wrong.
- Only certain data elements are required to be verified — not the entire FAFSA.
- Documents provided will be used to confirm that the data reported on your FAFSA is accurate.
- You may be selected one year or multiple years.
How do I know if my FAFSA is selected for verification?
- View your Student Aid Report after your FAFSA has been processed. There will be a comment stating you have been selected for a process called Verification.
- Review all emails from the St Olaf Financial Aid Office. Once our office is notified, we will e-mail the student letting them know what documentation is needed.
- Check your Financial Aid Required Documents page through Financial Aid Online.
What additional information is required?
Most students will need to provide:
- The completed Verification Worksheet. This document can be completed via an e-signature process or a paper process where the form will be sent via email to the students Carleton e-mail account.
- Verification of income for both student and parent(s).
- Usually a 1040 tax return and W2’s.
- All of these documents can be submitted to our Secure Document Portal.
For a small number of students additional documentation may be required. Students will be contacted directly with instructions on the additional forms needed.
How do I know what information is needed or if you have received the information I have provided?
Review the Financial Aid Documents section on Financial Aid Online for any additional items that may be needed. Please note: it can take a few business days for information to be processed and updated.
What if I don’t want to submit the documents for verification?
St. Olaf cannot disburse any federal or state financial aid funds until the Federal Verification process is complete. It is critical that you complete the Verification process before the start of the school year.
What if I have questions?
You can contact the Financial Aid Office at 507-786-3019, or email your question to finaid@stolaf.edu. You may also call the Federal Student Aid Information Center at 1-800-4-FEDAID if you have FAFSA questions.
When do I know verification is done?
If there are differences between your FAFSA and the documents provided, St. Olaf College is required to make corrections to your FAFSA. It is common that there are small corrections we make to the FAFSA.
It might be that you rounded the student’s wages to $1,000 on the FAFSA and the W2 shows the student made $921. We recommend, upon notification that your FAFSA has been corrected, that you review the Student Aid Report to see what items have been corrected to aid you in completing the FAFSA in future years.
If you have any questions regarding the correction, please contact Student Financial Aid at 507-786-3019 or finaid@stolaf.edu.