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Home / Financial Aid / Scholarships & Aid / Verification

Verification

Verification is the process by which schools review student financial aid applications for accuracy. Institutions that participate in Federal Title IV aid programs are required to perform verification on a selection of students. Verification is done by collecting the appropriate tax transcripts and household forms used to complete the FAFSA and comparing them with the information the student provided on the FAFSA. You will not be able to receive financial aid until the verification process is complete. To receive maximum consideration as quickly as possible for aid such as grants, work study, and loans you must turn in all documents.  If you wish, you may fax information to our office. Fax Number: (229-931-2061). If you do not complete the process, your file will be held until all unsatisfied requirements are met and/or the information has been received.

Who is Selected?

Approximately 30% of financial aid applications are selected for verification by the U.S. Department of Education. Georgia Southwestern State University also reserves the right to select a student for verification. Students typically are selected for verification for the following reasons: FAFSA appears to contain inconsistent information, student used estimated tax return information, or the student was randomly selected.

Department Contact

Office of Financial Aid

800 GSW State University Dr.
Americus, GA 31709

229-928-1378
finaid@gsw.edu

Monday - Friday: 8:00am - 5:00pm

Staff

How will I know if I'm selected for Verification?

When you receive your Student Aid Report (SAR) from the U.S. Department of Education, you will see a comment stating "Your FAFSA has been selected for a review process called verification. Your school has the authority to collect certain financial documents from you.” Once our financial aid office receives your processed FAFSA, Unsatisfied Requirements will be posted to your ‘RAIN’ account indicating what information and documents are needed. After all requested information is submitted to the financial aid office, your file will be reviewed. You will need to complete link to our Campus Logic site and complete the household form, and submit signed copies of your and your spouse’s current tax transcript. If you are a dependent student, you will need to complete the dependent verification form and submit copies of your and your parent’s tax transcript. If the financial aid office has further questions regarding your file, your RAIN account will be updated.

Verification Processing

During the verification process, the financial aid office compares information you submitted on the FAFSA to information you provided on the household and financial documents. It is important to know if the information you provided on the FAFSA is accurate. In order to save time during verification processing, complete the following:

  • Complete all sections of the Verification Worksheet
  • Ensure you sign the Verification Worksheet
  • Use IRS retrieval tool if eligible
  • Keep copies of all documents you turn into the financial aid office
  • Include your GSW student id or social security number on all forms you turn in

Check Information Submitted

If the information on the FAFSA does not match the verification documents, a correction must be processed. This will delay the processing of your financial aid. You can view the information you put on the FAFSA by retrieving your Student Aid Report (SAR) from www.fafsa.ed.gov.

 
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