Georgia Highlands College - Financial Aid Verification

Students completing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) may be selected for a process called “verification.” The Department of Education selects a percentage of the student population to verify their financial information before financial aid awards can be processed. Not all students are selected for verification, so it is important students check their Student Aid Report (SAR) from FAFSA to confirm if they have been selected for the verification process. The SAR will be sent to the email you provided on your FAFSA approximately 3-5 days after filling out the FAFSA. If your EFC has an asterisk (*) next to it then you have been selected for verification.

Students selected for verification are required to submit documentation to the Office of Financial Aid. It is the Office of Financial Aid’s responsibility to compare the documentation to the information provided on the FAFSA application and make corrections as necessary.

Typical forms required for verification include (but are not limited to):

Independent Students:

Verification Worksheet

An official federal tax transcript reflecting the student's income from the previous year signed by the student.*

Dependent Students:

Verification Worksheet

An official federal tax transcript reflecting the student's income from the previous year signed by the student

An official federal tax transcript reflecting the parent's income from the previous year signed by the parent(s).*

Additional Documentation

The Office of Financial Aid is authorized to request any additional documentation they deem necessary to complete an accurate and thorough verification of the information you have provided on your FAFSA. It is important students check their Banner/SCORE account to view all required documents for their financial aid. To view verification requirements in the student account, go to the following:

· Log into Banner/SCORE

· Go to “Financial Aid”

· Click on “My Eligibility”

· Click on “Requirements”

Check your Banner/SCORE account often to see if any additional documentation is required to complete the verification process.

*Changes for 2012-2013

Previous to the 2012-2013 aid year a copy of the federal tax return was sufficient proof of income, however, beginning Fall of 2012 the Federal Office of Student Aid is now requiring that we collect an official tax transcript from the student and/or parents/spouse. An official tax transcript must be obtained from the IRS. Click here to order your official tax transcript.

Deadlines

The verification process can take up to 4-6 weeks to complete. Priority deadlines to turn in verification documents are:

Fall Semester                     July 1
Spring Semester               November 1
Summer Semester            March 1

Documents turned in after the priority deadline will result in a delay of the completion of the verification process, thereby preventing the financial aid award to be processed by the payment deadline for the semester in which the student is enrolled.

Floyd Campus 3175 Cedartown Hwy Rome, GA 30161 706-802-5000	Cartersville Campus 5441 Highway 20 NE Cartersville, GA 30121 678-872-8000	Douglasville Campus 5901 Stewart Pkwy Douglasville, GA 30135 678-872-4200
Marietta Campus 1100 S. Marietta Pkwy Marietta, GA 30060 678-915-5010	Paulding Campus 25 Courthouse Square Dallas, GA 30132 678-946-1100	Heritage Hall Campus 415 E. Third Ave at Glenn Milner Blvd Rome, GA 30161 706-295-6321

Page last updated: May 1, 2012