Georgia State University student Korie Amritt has seen many students come to the financial aid office where she works part time in recent months seeking help to fill out the application to get money from the federal government to help pay for their education.
In many instances, though, students are not getting those funds, university officials say. Federal officials often ask for more information, such as income tax records, from applicants before approving the requests as part of a process called “verification.”
Georgia State administrators say the verification process has confused, frustrated and, in many cases, stopped students from filling out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid or FAFSA.
“A lot of people get discouraged,” said Amritt, 19, a sophomore majoring in pre-nursing.
College students are required to fill out the FAFSA each year to receive federal grants and other aid that often cover a significant portion of their tuition. More than 15,500 current Georgia State students were selected for verification this fall, 30% of those who completed the FAFSA, said Tim Renick, the university’s vice president for student success. As of early December, about 5,600 did not successfully complete the verification process, he said.
“Of the students who did not complete verification, only 21% went on to enroll for fall,” Renick said in an Atlanta Journal-Constitution interview. “Many of those students paid their tuition without the help of federal aid.”
The problem, he said, is more prevalent with first-generation students. One-quarter of Georgia State’s students are the first in their families to attend college. In all, Georgia State has about 53,000 students, the largest enrollment in the state.
Renick recently discussed the problem with a committee of state lawmakers looking to improve outcomes for students in Georgia’s colleges and universities. The committee released a report last week that listed getting more students to fill out the forms among its recommendations. The lawmakers want students to receive the maximum amount of money they’re eligible to receive.
Federal education department officials told the AJC they’ve worked in recent years to make the verification process easier, through methods such as more efficiently and effectively targeting applicants for verification. They say verification requests have declined from about 30% of all applications to 22% so far in the cycle that ends June 30, 2020.
U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos has barnstormed the nation in the past year to promote changes such as a FAFSA mobile phone app to encourage more students to fill out the application. Federal officials say verification is done to improve the accuracy of information submitted by students and their families to get money to attend college. Applicants are typically asked to submit information, such as income tax returns, W-2 statements and 1099 forms, to verify what the student submitted on the FAFSA.
Many students have little to no exposure to such documents. The jargon on the form can be confusing to students and their families.
Georgia State sophomore Ivy Nguyen said she’s been asked for additional information such as a dependent form and employment verification.
“I didn’t know what information I should provide,” said Nguyen, 20, an economics major.
University officials answered her questions, she said.
Renick said he discussed the problem with DeVos when she visited Georgia State in 2017. He believes three things can streamline the process. One, simplify and clarify the questions. Two, students should only be requested to clarify significant discrepancies. He said in some cases, students are asked to clear up small and inconsequential discrepancies in the way their parents' income was reported on tax returns and on the FAFSA. Three, don't ask students to verify the information that has just been provided on the FAFSA.
Renick said federal officials have made some improvements since DeVos’ visit, but more work is needed.
Georgia State created a platform three years ago to track students who didn’t complete their verification. The university created a chatbot to help students through the process that has answered more than 200,000 questions, improving the completion rate by 50%, Renick said.
Amritt has had her own troubles with the verification process. She was asked for family income tax records before her first semester.
“Did I do something wrong?” Amritt wondered.
Amritt used an online tool to find some of her mother’s records and tried again. She checked frequently on the process, and about two weeks later, her form was accepted.
Amritt, who learned about her current job during orientation, enjoys helping other students and doing financial literacy work.
Her message to classmates having trouble with verification: “It’s nothing to overly stress about.”
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