Verification is the confirmation through documentation that the information provided on a student’s Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is correct. If a student’s FAFSA is selected for verification by the U.S. Department of Education, colleges and universities are required to verify or confirm the data reported by students and parent(s). The verification process ensures that eligible students receive all the financial aid to which they are entitled and prevents ineligible students from receiving financial aid to which they are not entitled.

Incoming students whose FAFSA has been selected for verification may have been awarded estimated federal and state need-based aid based on the FAFSA. However, no federal or state need-based aid will be disbursed to a student’s account until the federal verification process has been completed.

Currently enrolled students/upperclassmen will not be awarded federal and/or state need-based aid until verification has been completed.

Documents required for verification are available for download through the university website found at: Financial Aid- Documents & Forms. Students will be notified of verification requirements after May 1st each year and documents requested will be listed in the Furman Financial Aid Dashboard. Notification emails are sent to the student’s Furman email address periodically until all required documents have been received. Students are encouraged to submit the required documents as soon as possible so that any aid for which you may be eligible may be applied to the student account in order to satisfy any outstanding balance or to receive a refund, if applicable. Students with an outstanding balance may have a hold on registering for classes.

The final deadline for verification for federal aid for the academic year in which the student is selected is the student’s last day of attendance or the last day of final exams, whichever comes first. Students submitting documents after the final deadline will not be eligible for federal financial aid for that year. For the South Carolina Tuition Grant, verification must be completed by November 15 of the current academic year.

Verification Corrections

Verification may result in a change to the financial aid award. If verification documents reveal inaccuracies on the FAFSA, the accurate data will be corrected electronically by a staff member. If a correction is made, an email from the FAFSA Central Processor will be sent to the email address listed on the FAFSA indicating a change has been made to the data. Once the corrections have been processed and electronically received by our office, we will review and notify the student (via his/her Furman email address) of any changes to the student’s aid package within seven business days. Students are encouraged to contact us for an explanation of corrections and amended awards if necessary. If no change in the financial aid award package results from the FAFSA corrections, no follow up financial aid award email will be sent.

Any applicant who may have engaged in fraud or other criminal misconduct in connection with the FAFSA will be reported to the Office of the Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Education for investigation. Examples of such information include (but are not limited to) false claims of independent student status, false claims of citizenship, use of false identities, forgery of signatures or certificates, and false statements of income.