The school has every right to do verification at any time during the academic year.
It was not the school’s fault that they could not contact you. Had you given them an alternate contact person or email? It was not the school’s fault you were in jail.
You need to follow the procedure in the letter sent to you by the school. Do that ASAP. Don’t wait one more minute.
Maybe someone will view this as an extenuating circumstance that was unavoidable…but maybe not.
Get started doing with they told you to do!
The school had an OBLIGATION to verify you. They didn’t ask earlier because your FAFSA was not flagged earlier. Apparently, you made an update to your FAFSA prior to summer term, and the Department of Education flagged it for verification at that time.
When a FAFSA gets selected for verification after aid is disbursed, the school has to remove the aid for the whole year, if verification is not completed as required. I know it seems unfair, but it’s required by the Department of Education. The school did try to contact you … and they had no choice but to remove the aid when verification was not completed in timely manner.
The financial aid person at the other school did not have access to all the relevant information for your case. For that reason, their comments are not correct for your situation.
I am sorry that this happened to you. Contact the OAG to see if there is anything they can do to help you. It’s always worth trying. Best to you.