• A copy of a final, official High School transcript that shows the date when the diploma was awarded. • A copy of a General Educational Development (GED) certificate or GED transcript. • An academic transcript that indicates the student successfully completed at least a two-year program that is acceptable for full credit toward a bachelor’s degree. • A copy of a secondary school completion credential for homeschool (other than a High School diploma or its recognized equivalent) if state law requires home schooled students to obtain that credential. • A transcript or the equivalent, signed by the parent or guardian of a homeschooled student that lists the secondary school courses the student completed and documents the successful completion of a secondary school education in a homeschool setting. Students who are unable to get one of the documents listed above must contact the financial aid office. Identity & Statement of Educational Purpose Students should appear in person at the school and present a valid, government-issued photo identification (ID) such as a passport or a driver’s license or other state-issued ID. Your school must maintain an annotated copy of that ID that includes the date it was received and the name of the person your school authorized to receive it. Students must also sign a statement of educational purpose that certifies who they are and that the federal student aid they may receive will only be used for educational purposes and for the cost of attending the school for the 2023-2024 year. A student who is unable to appear at the school must sign and submit the statement of educational purpose, and he/she must submit a copy of his/her ID with the statement signed by a notary public confirming that the student appeared before her and presented the ID confirming his/her identity. Updating Information Generally, a student cannot update information that was correct as of the date the application was signed. After the FAFSA is signed, only certain items can be updated under the conditions given below. 1. All applicants whose dependency status changes must update that status and the associated FAFSA information throughout the award year except when the update is caused by a change in the student’s marital status. 2. All applicants selected by the Department or a school for verification of household size or number in college must update those numbers to be correct as of the date of verification unless the update is due to a change in the student’s marital status. At your school’s discretion, your school may update under either 1 or 2 even when the update is due to a change in the student’s marital status, if you deem it necessary to address an inequity or to reflect more accurately the applicant’s ability to pay.
Request a Tax Transcript There are a few ways to request a tax transcript: online at www. irs.gov, by calling 1-800-908-9946, or by mailing or faxing the paper Form 4506T-EZ, which can be printed out from the IRS website on www.ifap.ed.gov for specific instructions. Filing an Amended Return Students or parents who file an amended return cannot use the IRS DRT, and if they amend the return after using the DRT to fill out the FAFSA, the FAO cannot rely on that data. Instead, you will need to use information from these documents to complete verification: 1. a signed copy of the IRS Form 1040X that was filed and 2. a signed copy of the original tax return that was filed, a tax return transcript (which does not have to be signed), or any IRS transcript (such as a return transcript for taxpayer or RTFTP) that includes all the income and tax information required to be verified: AGI, income tax paid, education credits, etc. Household Size To document the household size, the student needs to provide a signed statement and, if dependent, at least one parent that gives the name, age, and relationship to the student of each person in the household. You don’t have to verify household size in the following situations: • For a dependent student, the household size reported is three for married parents or two for a single, divorced, separated, or widowed parent. • For an independent student, the household size reported is two if he is married or one if he is single, divorced, separated, or widowed.Number of Members Household Attending College If there are multiple members of a student’s household in college, this must be verified by a statement signed by the student (and, if he/she is a dependent, at least one parent). This state must provide the name and age of each member of the household who is enrolled at least part-time in an eligible college (excludes the parents of dependent students) and the name of each college. This statement can also be used to document household size. Completion of the Financial Aid Department’s verification can satisfy both items. The school may request a statement from the reported schools that the named person/s will attend there on at least a part-time basis. This statement will not be necessary if the person(s) has (have) not yet registered, is (are) attending less than part-time, or will be attending the same school requesting the statement. To ensure that the reported school(s) is (are) Title IV eligible, a Federal School Code may be requested. High School Completion Students must provide one of the following documents that indicate their High School completion status at the beginning of the 2023-2024 year: • A copy of a High School diploma.
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