Muhlenberg College Federal Aid Verification Policy
Verification is the process of confirming the accuracy of student reported data on the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). You will be notified by the Department of Education on your Student Aid Report (SAR) or FAFSA submission confirmation page if you have been selected to go through the verification process. In addition, the Office of Financial Aid may select a student for verification if there is a discrepancy or a condition which is unusual and warrants investigation. Before any type of Federal Aid can be processed, students selected for verification will need to:
- Verify the student and parent's tax information provided on the FAFSA. This can be done in 3 ways,
- The student can log back into their FAFSA, both parent and student can use the IRS Data Retrieval Tool (DRT). By using the IRS DRT you are requesting that your tax information from the IRS be directly applied to the FAFSA.
- Signed copies of tax forms (1040) can be provided to the Office of Financial Aid.
- You can also request a Tax Return Transcript from the IRS.
- Muhlenberg will provide the student with a Verification form to be completed and signed by the student and parent.
- provide supporting documentation that is being requested by the Office of Financial Aid.
Any changes in the student's aid eligibility that results from a corrections made and finalized by the Office of Financial Aid through the verification process will be shared with the student. Updated aid offers can be viewed on the student's financial aid online portal.
Except for a few specific situations, all federal aid must be processed and credited to a student's account before the last day of the semester. Families should submit any requested information within 2 weeks of the initial request. All information should be submitted no later than 30 days before the last day of class each semester in order to insure sufficient time for processing any pending student loan application.
