Verification
Approximately one-third of all financial aid applicants are selected by the U.S. Department of Education to verify the accuracy of information provided on the FAFSA. If you have been selected for verification, your offer of financial aid is tentative, pending the completion of the verification process. If you are a returning student, you will not receive a financial aid award email until the verification process is complete. A verification hold will be placed on any student who has been selected for verification until the documentation requirements have been met.
Verification Process
You will be required to complete the verification worksheet and provide a copy of yours and your parent's federal income tax transcripts. Upon receipt of the required materials, we will finalize the review of your application for financial aid. If documentation is not received by the established deadline, your offer of financial aid will be canceled.
Should the verified financial information differ significantly from the original information provided on the FAFSA, your aid may be canceled or revised. Please be sure to respond to requests for follow-up documentation in a timely manner to avoid delays in applying your financial aid as a credit to your student account.
How do I know if I was selected for verification?
To determine if you are selected for verification and are required to submit this documentation, please review your FAFSA Submission Summary (FSS). The FSS will be sent to you after you have completed your FAFSA. There will be a paragraph in the FSS that explains you have been selected for verification. Iona will also contact you to request the required documentation.
In the upper right-hand corner, you will see your EFC. If there is an asterisk (*) next to the EFC number, then you have been selected for verification by the Federal Government. For any student selected for verification, there is also a paragraph in the SAR that explains you have been selected for verification.
The required verification documentation must be submitted to the SFS Office within two weeks of notification by our office. Failure to submit the required documentation will result in cancellation of all federal aid. Students will receive an email indicating their aid has changed and a bill will also be sent reflecting the new balance due to Iona University.