Verification
Based on the information you submit on the FAFSA, the Department of Education may require you to verify certain information. Review your SAR carefully. If you have been selected, your SAR will contain a message indicating you must complete the verification process. You will also receive an email from Student Achievement Services indicating you have been selected and informing you of the next steps. Required forms and documentation will be listed on your “To Do” list in PeopleSoft.
Special Requirements for Amended Returns
The IRS Data Retrieval Process will only transfer information from an original tax return and not from an amended tax return. Similarly, the IRS Tax Return Transcript only includes information from the original tax return. While the IRS Tax Account Transcript does include tax return items that were changed when an amended return was filed, it does not include all of the data that did not change. Therefore, an IRS Tax Return Transcript and an IRS 1040X must be submitted for verification when an amended return was filed. The IRS Tax Return Transcript can be requested electronically from the IRS or by phone. The copy of your IRS 1040X must be signed.
The IRS does provide another option for tax filers who filed an amended tax return – the Record of Account which includes the required information from both the IRS Tax Return Transcript and the IRS Tax Account Transcript. However, the Record of Account can only be requested using a paper IRS Form 4506-T and could take up to 30 days for the tax filer to receive the Record of Account.
Deadlines
Current students - We recommend that returning students file their FAFSA by April 15th and that you submit your verification information within 30 days of when you received the email from Student Achievement Services indicating you were selected for verification. If you file your FAFSA after April 15th, you must submit your verification information within 30 days if you would like your financial aid eligibility to be determined prior to the beginning of the Fall term.
If you do not submit verification documentation by the first day of class or within 90 days of the date we first emailed you regarding the verification requirement, we will assume you are no longer interested in applying for federal financial aid (Pell Grant, SEOG, Direct Loans and Work-Study) or Clarkson need-based aid (i.e. Clarkson Grant). You will not receive a Financial Aid award package until the verification process is completed.
New students - Your financial aid award package is tentative until all required documentation has been submitted and reviewed. Financial aid will not be credited to your student account until the verification process has been completed.
When we have received all requested documentation your file will be reviewed. If your FAFSA information requires correction, we will make the necessary corrections and transmit them electronically to the Department of Education (ED). If, based on the corrected information, your award package changes, we will send you a revised Financial Aid Notification (FAN) within 2 weeks of the date we resubmitted your information to ED.