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Financial aid staff are required by federal rules to verify many applicants' family income received in 2015 to process the 2017-18 financial aid application.

Verification means that the Financial Aid Office compares the information on the documents you submitted to the information you entered on your FAFSA for accuracy.

If you are selected for verification you will be notified which documents you must submit for verification via the Financial Aid Portal at lowercolumbia.edu/finaid. The deadline to submit documents for verification is also the Last Day for an Administrative Hold and is published on the financial aid webpage of the LCC website under Important Financial Aid Key Dates and Deadlines. The Financial Aid Office will not be able to award your financial aid until all documents are received. The last day of the year to submit documents is April 6, 2018.

If you have already been awarded and the school receives an additional FAFSA that requires you to be verified, the school is required to verify your income. All future quarters of aid will be blocked until verification is complete. Award changes, if any, will be available in the Financial Aid Portal at lowercolumbia.edu/finaid. Your aid eligibility could also be affected retroactively to the quarter you began attending in the current academic year, and you could owe a repayment of student aid funds.

The following documents may be required. Only submit the documents we have requested via the Financial Aid Portal:

• 2017-2018 Federal Verification Worksheet: obtain the worksheet from the Financial Aid Office or at lowercolumbia.edu/finaid. You are placed in 1, 4, or 5 verification groups selected by the Department of Education. Be sure to submit the correct verification group form that corresponds to your verification group, as stated on the financial aid portal.
• 2015 IRS Tax Transcript: if you did not use the IRS Data Retrieval Tool while completing your FAFSA or you used the tool but subsequently changed the imported numbers on your FAFSA, for you and your spouse, if you are married, or you and your parents if you are a dependent student. If you, your spouse, or your parents are legally required to file according to IRS rules, you must file before we can process your financial aid.
• 2015 W2 forms: if you were not legally required to submit an IRS tax return, submit a copy of all W2's for you and your spouse, or you and your parents if you are a dependent student, received for the 2015 calendar year, even if you no longer work for the company that supplied your W2.
• Verification of Nonfiling: you may be required to obtain this letter from the IRS if we are unable to determine whether or not you/your spouse, or parents, if you are a dependent student, filed or were required to file a 2015 IRS tax return.
• Statement of support and/or other supplemental agency documents may be required: you will be notified of any specific requirement to provide these types of documents.
• Proof of High School Completion status: high school diploma or high school transcript, GED certificate or GED transcript, or home school transcript. Your verification group form will contain this information, if you are required to submit it.
• Identity: current photo ID. Your verification group form will contain this information, if you are required to submit it.

You are considered an independent applicant for financial aid purposes if you answered 'yes' to any FAFSA question #45-57. You may be asked to submit proof of your ability to meet these independency questions. Examples of documents that may be required are: marriage certificate, birth certificate, DD214, statements of support, court documents, statements from agencies such as Child Protective Services, and homeless or runaway shelters.

You may also be considered an independent applicant for financial aid purposes if you have exceptional or extraordinary family circumstances. If you believe you have exceptional or extraordinary circumstances, and you want to request the financial aid administrator use professional judgment to designate you as an independent applicant for financial aid purposes, obtain a Request for Independency form from the Financial Aid Office. Provide documents and specific information concerning your claim that you are an independent applicant in accordance with the request form. The U.S. Department of Education has already ruled that the following factors do not justify independency: you do not live with your parents, they refuse to support you, provide their income information and/or documents, or they have not claimed you as an exemption on their last federal income tax return.