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Financial Aid
Verification Q&A
What is Verification?
It is the process where a Financial Aid Administrator checks the accuracy of a student’s FAFSA application by comparing it to corresponding US Tax Returns, W-2 forms, a Verification Worksheet, and other requested documents.
If a student is selected for verification, he/she cannot be awarded federal financial aid until his/her file is verified.
Who is selected for Verification?
The Department of Education selects a group of applications to be verified; some are selected at random and others because of errors on the application. OCU also chooses students for verification based on possible discrepancies on the FAFSA.
What happens if my FAFSA is selected for Verification?
You will be sent tracking letters in the mail and student email from the Oklahoma City University Financial Aid Office asking for certain verification documents in addition to the Student Data Form. Please submit the requested documents as soon as possible for timely processing.
What documents do I need to submit for Verification?
- A complete signed copy of your 2006 federal income tax return (If you are married but your spouse filed separately, you must also submit a copy of your spouse’s 2006 federal tax return.) This includes tax schedules C (business income), E (real estate), and F (farm income).
- If you are a dependent student, you must also submit a complete signed copy of your parents’ 2006 federal income tax return. This includes schedules C (business income), E (real estate), and F (farm income).
- Copies of all of your 2006 W-2 Forms (If you are married, please submit copies of your spouse’s W-2 Forms also.)
- Copies of your parents’ 2006 W-2 Forms (if you are considered a dependent student)
- 2007-2008 Verification Worksheet (This form is available online.) Complete the Verification Worksheet for Independent students if you are considered independent according to the FAFSA. Complete the Verification Worksheet for Dependent students if you are required to report your parents’ information on the FAFSA.
Please mail all completed forms to
Oklahoma City University
Financial Aid Office
2501 N. Blackwelder
Oklahoma City, OK 73106
Faxed verification documents are NOT accepted.
What information is verified on an application?
Under federal regulations, there are five major elements on the FAFSA that OCU is required to verify:
- Adjusted gross income
- U.S. income taxes paid
- Number of family members in your (or your parents’) household
- Number of family members attending college in 2007-2008
- Sources of untaxed income (Social Security, untaxed portions of pensions, living allowances, etc.)
Though these are the only elements we are required to verify, we are ultimately responsible for clearing up all discrepancies on an application selected for verification. The FAFSA needs to match the verification information in the student’s file.
I thought I submitted all of the documents needed for Verification. Why are you requesting more information? If the counselor verifying your FAFSA has reason to believe that the information on the verification documents is incorrect or if documents are missing, she sends a discrepancy letter to you in the mail asking for more information. From there, it is your responsibility to return the requested materials to the Financial Aid Office.
When is an application sent back for correction?
We send your FAFSA back for reprocessing if there are errors on any non-dollar items. Examples would include errors on the number in household, number of family members in college, and dependency questions. On any of the income information we verify, if there are errors greater than $400, we also send those applications off to the CPS (Central Processor) for correction.
It normally takes 2-5 business days to process a correction. Once we receive the correction, we check it once more to make sure the changes are correct, and then we sign off on it and package you for federal aid. Thanks to real-time processing, we can correct your FAFSA application faster than ever.
How long does Verification take?
Once all of the requested verification documents are submitted, the verification process normally takes anywhere from 2-4 weeks, depending on the quality of the documents submitted to our office and the number of discrepancies and/or other student eligibility issues present on the application.
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