Hi, I received an email from CWRU today and this is what it says:
Office of University Financial Aid
I am writing to inform you that your FAFSA was selected for verification by the U.S. Department of Education. The verification process requires that Case Western Reserve University obtain documentation to confirm the information reported on the FAFSA. We ask that you submit the required forms before May 1 to ensure an accurate award is available as you make your admission decision.
If I am not planning on attending CWRU, do I still have to verify my financial aid info? Does this verification apply to all my schools or just CWRU?
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your FAFSA was selected for verification by the U.S. Department of Education.
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How does this all work. Is the US DoE really randomly selecting FAFSAs for verification…or is the school? If it’s the DoE, then why wouldn’t this situation apply to all schools that received the student’s FAFSA?
It would seem that if it’s school dependent, then the school has some sort of “say” in who gets selected for verification.
or is it both? in some cases, is it the DoE that selects, and then that would apply at any school? and in other cases, is it the school that “notices something,” and requests verification?
Yes, the DOE selects FAFSA forms randomly for verification. BUT then it’s up to each college to inform the student what is needed to complete the verification process.
So…CWRU might ask for certain things…but another college might ask for something different or additional.
The student needs to do what EACH different college says he needs to do.
And if this student is definitely NOT going to be attending CWRU, it old be good to inform the school of that decision…ASAP. A coupe,of reasons…it will stop them from requesting unneeded information…AND it will open the door potentially for another student to be accepted.
Of course, if there is any chance at all that CWRU will be the college choice, then simply complete the verification.
MOST IMPORTANT this student needs to keep advert watchfulmeye on his other colleges…because until the verification process is complete, NO financial aid will be disbursed. There have been students in the past who dealers sending the verification requested materials, and found that their financial aid was not ready tombs disbursed when the payments were due.
So…check each student portal. Check your spam folder. Check anyplace where you might receive notification…and don’t leave one piece of mail unopened!
@thumper1 Ok I’ve emailed CWRU. Also, what do you mean by no financial aid will be disbursed? Does this mean I won’t receive a financial package or I will receive less financial aid from my other colleges? (Sorry kinda confused)
So after I tell CWRU, I won’t need to verify my financial information right?
If you have been selected for verification…you will not get a dime of financial aid until all of your verification documents have been received and processed by the school you are attending.
Some schools will not process your request for aid.
Some students just aren’t vigilant about checking for emails and their portals for this type of request. So be watchful. If a school you want to attend asks for information…get it to them ASAP
The schools are the ones that ask for the verification materials. So just keep an eye out on your school portals and in your email and in your mail.
What you send to CWRU will NOT be seen by any other college. You would be sending it directly to CWRU. They won’t be sharing that info with other colleges. They don’t even KNOW which other colleges you have applied to!
You do not need to send CWRU anything - since you don’t plan to attend, you can ignore their requests for information.
You will need to complete verification for any schools you might want to attend - if you don’t do it early, you risk having an incorrect financial aid package when you are making your admissions decision (assuming something changes as a result of verification … it very well may not, though). You WILL need to be verified at almost every school … the only exceptions are schools that participate in what is called the Quality Assurance Program. These schools may or may not choose to verify your info … they get to select their own students for verification.
My advice is to call each school to see if you are selected for verification … and then find out what they need. If your verification is something income-related, you’ll have to do an IRS Data Retrieval for parent & student tax returns (or complete a statement of non-filing if either parent or student was not required to file a federal tax return), and you’ll need to fill out forms indicating such things as untaxed income, number in household, number in college, that sort of thing. There are also non-income-related verification groups … one such group has to prove their identity … if you were chosen in this group, your requirements will be quite different. The schools can give you the info you need to complete whatever is required of you.