Office of Student Aid : Parents of Students : Parent Newsletter

Penn State Office of Student Aid Parent Newsletter

January 2008

Accuracy on the FAFSA Counts

Mistakes are easy to make. You may switch the last two digits of the year you were born, your son may leave the "Jr." off his name, or you might mistype your Social Security number. These errors can happen easily as you complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA on the Web).

The U.S. Department of Education performs a data match to confirm that the student's and parent's name, dates of birth, and Social Security numbers reported on the FAFSA match the Social Security Administration's database. It is **very important** that the FAFSA reflects accurate dates of birth for both you and your student. Furthermore, all names and Social Security numbers must be reported **exactly** as they appear on your Social Security cards. FAFSA information that does not match with the Social Security Administration will require verification and cause delays in processing your student's financial aid.

To avoid errors, thoroughly check all the information you and your student have provided before you hit the "submit" button. Using the FAFSA on the Web may help because it features built in "smart edits." The FAFSA on the Web checks for common errors, such as reporting a birth year as "1890."

If an error is identified, the Student Aid Report (SAR) will outline the failed data match and instruct your student to make corrections. Additionally, the school may be required to select your student's application for verification of the information, which would require you and/or your student to provide documentation of the information in question (e.g., copies of Social Security cards, driver's licenses, birth certificates, copies of your 2007 federal tax returns, and other related documents). For more information on the verification process at Penn State, access the May 2007 Parent Newsletter.