Students attending post-secondary institutions are required to fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). While many students are using the Internet to complete their FAFSA, others continue to use the traditional, handwritten forms.
No matter which method is used, however, there is always the chance for error.
For this reason, some students applying for financial aid at Seton Hill University (SHU) will be randomly selected to have their FAFSA verified by SHU’s financial aid department.
By Valerie Masciarelli,
News Editor
Students attending post-secondary institutions are required to fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). While many students are using the Internet to complete their FAFSA, others continue to use the traditional, handwritten forms.
No matter which method is used, however, there is always the chance for error.
For this reason, some students applying for financial aid at Seton Hill University (SHU) will be randomly selected to have their FAFSA verified by SHU’s financial aid department.
Tyler Frantz, a freshman, said he was asked for his tax returns twice this year.
�I didn’treally think about it,� said Frantz, who believed it to be an organization issue and had the situation resolved by his mother.
Maryann Dudas, director of financial aid, explained the possible circumstances in which a student could be selected for this extra verification. Some students may have simply forgotten to include certain information, while others completed the form with the wrong figures.
�We�ll find people put down their adjusted gross income (in the income tax section),� Dudas said.
�Although the government has a high tax rate, it’s not 100% yet,� she said.
Other students may have had corrections done to their FAFSA, and the corrections then need
rechecked.
Still another reason a student might get selected is simply because of suspicion of error.
�I think I was chosen for the verification because my financial aid package awarded me a lot of aid,� wrote Katie Cochran, a sophomore, in an email.
�I don’tknow for sure if there is a correlation between the amount of aid awarded and the likelihood of being �randomly� selected for FAFSA verification, but with my experience, I�m thinking yes there is,� wrote Cochran.
�(I think) they wanted to see how much my parents made a year,� said Frantz.
�Of course there are some answers that a student might give on a FAFSA that will send a red flag,� Dudas said.
If a family’s income is too high or too low, this might need investigated by SHU, said Dudas.
Due to the random selection process, there is also the chance that even students who have filed their FAFSAs correctly will be asked for verification.
Certain students may be selected more than once.
�Some families say to me, �I get chosen every year,�� said Dudas.
�Sometimes students will be chosen over and over again, and some students will never get chosen for verification,� said Dudas.
Cochran wrote that she was asked for FAFSA verification both in her freshman and sophomore years.
In the verification process, SHU asks for copies of tax returns and W2 forms from the student and his or her parents. Dudas said that most of the time the errors found are �just honest mistakes.�
�We have to make the corrections and change the financial aid, and that can happen anytime during the year,� Dudas said.
To avoid such mistakes, Dudas advises students to take extra care when completing their FAFSAs.
�The most important thing is to try to have tax returns completed before filing for financial aid,� said Dudas.
Paying attention to which lines questions are referring to on the tax forms is critical.
Dudas said that the FAFSA forms are �very specific to the tax return you�re filing.�
Penalties for intentionally incorrect FAFSA forms range from a fine of $20,000, prison time, or both, according to FAFSA.
�I�m not aware of that ever happening at Seton Hill,� said Dudas.
Many students are just unaware of their mistakes, and will not face such heavy dues.
�The main penalty for not having your FAFSA filed correctly is simply a delay in receiving your financial aid package,� Dudas said.
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