<p>I was sick the entirety of 2013 and was unable to work. When I went to file my taxes, I was told that I did not need to because I literally had nothing to put on my tax form. I filed my FAFSA after this, marked “will not file,” and submitted. I have now been told that my income level is “below the standard” my school has. The financial aid office has not offered clarification for this despite being asked several times. I have filled out four forms (including the verification worksheet) and submitted a letter stating how I supported myself in 2013 (I used my excess student loans for room and board and personal expenses as allotted by the school).</p>
<p>Can my school deny me financial aid for not meeting a minimum income standard? </p>
<p>I am an independent student with a 4.0 GPA and three semesters left before I graduate, so I am kind of in a panic that I might not be going back to school in August.</p>
<p>You need to talk to the financial aid director at your school. You should make an appointment to meet with him/her personally, and if you can’t get an appointment, you need to talk to the person/office at your school that help you with this, the Dean of students, for example. The financial aid office is the one that has to resolve this.</p>
<p>We’re you independent last school year? Did you complete a non-filers form (for taxes)? </p>
<p>Did you have full aid for last year? Does your college meet full need?</p>
<p>Just some questions. I’ve never heard of a minimum income. At the very least, you should be getting a full Pell grant (if still eligible) and a $7500 Direct Loan (if you haven’t used up your aggregate amount).</p>
<p>Go to the financial aid office. Take copies of everything with you, including your rent and utility bills. Take LAST year’s award with you.</p>
<p>No, you will not be denied aid because you did not earn any money. It sounds like you were selected for verification based on low income. In such a case, it is the responsibility of the aid department to document your situation … not to penalize you, but to catch cheaters. If your situation is legitimate, simply give the school whatever info they request & relax. You will be fine. You have provided evidence of your situation, explained that loans covered your costs, and it’s just a matter of the aid office completing their review.</p>
<p>Do they know you were sick? Perhaps they were looking for you to make a contribution through work study, summer job etc. If they don’t know you were sick they might think you were just expecting them t make up your contribution amount. </p>
<p>Yes, they knew I was sick. I’ve had full need met since I began college (I have always been a low income, independent student), but this is the first time I did not have any income. That is the only thing that changed.</p>
<p>I received an e-mail from the financial aid office today saying it will be six weeks before they know if they “have anything available” for me, and they have accepted the forms and letter I have submitted. I’m sorry if this is obvious, but is this standard procedure? This is the first time I’ve had this issue, so I am a bit confused. I honestly just wanted a yes or no answer that my lack of income could affect my financial aid so I could try to figure out what I am going to do. I am autistic and have had issues in the past where people at my school do not want to explain things to me in a way I can understand.</p>
<p>I’m putting forth the questions that the FA office is going to want to know. So, there’s your complete answer…all of your living expenses for all 12 months came from FA since you went to summer school as well. </p>
<p>The FA system is skeptical when people claim to have NO income.</p>
<p>However, did you know that the aid that you got for room and board and personal expenses is TAXABLE income?</p>
<p>How much non-loan aid did you get to cover 12 months of room, board, personal expenses? That amount may be enough that it needs to be reported on a tax form. </p>
<p>I don’t know how cheap your dorm or apt is…or how much you spent on food, clothing, transportation and personal expenses last year, but the total would almost have to be high enough to declare on a tax return…unless much of it was from loans.</p>
<p>Was most of your “non tuition, non books” aid from loans? </p>
<p>Most schools do give financial packages later to returning students, and my GUESS is that the fin aid office is bombarded right now with getting those freshman packages together which is their highest profile job and where they get the most onus, as it involves putting together the next class. Still it is no excuse that an officer has not met with you to go over everything. I would go to the Dean of Students,as I suggested earlier, and tell him/her that you are sick with worry over all of this. And if a meeting could be scheduled.</p>
<p>Not knowing your school and how it operates, this could just be standard. You filled out the FAFSA/PROFILE and you get flagged for having an income that is insufficient to pass muster. You need to show how the heck you lived on that income. You say you have done this and submitted the materials for verification. It makes sense that when certain numbers make no sense, the system wants to audit. You may be asked to come up with bank statements to show that you weren’t receiving non taxable income that should be reported on those forms. If all can be verified, it may not be an issue. If you did everything on a cash basis and it is unbelievable below that this is done, yes, you can have a problem. You will likely need to show how much of the loans/aid you took personally and show how that was able to cover all of your living expenses. </p>
<p>It’s understandable that the school/system is questioning this. I had a friend who essentially lived on no income for 7 years or so. She came up for verification every single year even though it was the same explanation each year–she had a huge HELOC credit line and drew from it, and some years took other loans as well, all documented. She lived on borrowed money all of that time. But she had to show 'em each year. However, I can understand your concern, and it would have been nice if someone at financial aid gave you the time of the day. That’s why I think you should let your Dean know, so he can let the officers at FIN AId, that they need to give you a heads up of some sort. Also let the Dean know that you are afraid that you might lose out on some of the priority aid items. like SEOGH, PERKINS, if you were getting any of that. PELL and Stafford/Direct Loan are entitlements so you almost certainly do not have to worry about the school running out of that money.</p>
<p>What the OP is being asked for is simply a standard request for the particular verification tracking group for which she was selected. As part of the new verification regulations, there are some requirements for certain verification groups. The student has to answer questions and submit documentation. The financial aid office will then review that information and complete the verification. We are not the reviewers here, so let’s not jump all over the student. MANY students live on loans during school. The aid office is used to that. If there are any issues with the documentation provided, they will request clarification. My guess is that it is simply standard verification, and there is no need to read anything more into it.</p>