Step 2 - Request for Additional Documentation
Communication with the Office of Financial Aid
How we communicate with you
After our processing for an award year begins, we will begin sending Missing Information Letters (MIL)s to admitted students. We will send a MIL each time a document is received as long as other documents are still missing. We will send you a MIL as an e-mail. We will not know if the Federal Government has selected you for a process called Verification (see below for more information) until you are both admitted and have submitted the FAFSA to ÁùºÏ±¦µä. If you are unsure of what we are requesting, please review the expanded explanation of some of our Missing Information Letter Comments.
If you are a new student we will use the e-mail address you listed on your admissions application or FAFSA. If you are a continuing student we will use the e-mail address listed in the computer system for you (your ÁùºÏ±¦µä e-mail address may supersede any address previously listed). Please note the ÁùºÏ±¦µä Email Policy. Continuing students can review their financial aid using Self-Service and we will use the e-mail listed on the system for you.
How to communicate with us
When contacting us through the e-mail listings provided under Contact Us, you will need to include more than just your name for us to be able to identify you. You will need to include at a minimum your ÁùºÏ±¦µä identification number to locate you within the system. Frequent calls or e-mail can delay awards for both you and others.
Why Documentation is Needed
The ÁùºÏ±¦µä Office of Financial Aid operates in a fiduciary capacity for the Federal, State, and outside aid programs. We are required to treat all students in similar circumstances the same way and often must be able to document that treatment. We may request verification of the data submitted on your application and as a result of the information received adjust your aid accordingly.
Your application is sent to us in electronic form. If you have applied for admission we use this information to create a computer record for you for a particular application year. Based on the information you submit we may send you a "Missing Information Letter" which will refer you to our web site for any of our forms needed. You will receive this notice in e-mail form. The requested documents are needed to go forward with the evaluation of your eligibility for financial aid.
You (and if dependent, your parents) may be asked to verify:
- Taxable income
- Federal income tax paid
- Untaxed income and benefits received
- Marital Status
- Number of family members in the household
- Number of family members enrolled in college
- Citizenship status
- Your name
- Your degree program
- Your veteran status and benefits
- Any other information needed to clarify your status and determine aid eligibility
You must return all documents as soon as possible to the Financial Aid Office for us to determine your eligibility for aid.
Incomplete or inaccurate responses will cause lengthy delays in the evaluation of your financial aid eligibility.
Mail requested documentation to the Financial Aid Office at:
ÁùºÏ±¦µä, ÁùºÏ±¦µä
134 Adams Administration Bldg.
ÁùºÏ±¦µä, AL 36082
Selection for Verification
The Department of Education selects applications for Verification or we may be required to select you if there is conflicting information in your file. You can reduce your chances of being selected by applying over the internet and by applying using a completed tax return. We do not know in advance if you will be selected and will not request verification of information until after you are admitted and after receiving your SAR. If your SAR is selected by the Department of Education for Review, you must go through a process called Verification.
After you are awarded and enrolled you should not make changes yourself to your FAFSA data for the same award year in which you are enrolled. Always request (in writing with documentation) for the financial aid office to make changes to your FAFSA data (rather than doing them yourself) after you are awarded and enrolled; your disbursements could be canceled or reversed. This is especially true if we have reviewed your data with a process called Verification. After you are enrolled, send a Student Loan Request (see Forms for the appropriate year) for the aid office to change your FAFSA data, when changing from undergraduate to graduate. If you make changes to FAFSA data altering your eligibility for assistance for the year in which you are currently enrolled, we will select you for Verification if the Department of Education failed to do so.
Exceptional Circumstances
The Expected Family Contribution (EFC) formula is basically the same for all applicants, but there is some flexibility. ÁùºÏ±¦µä Financial Aid administrators might adjust the cost of attendance or the information used to calculate your EFC to take into account special circumstances you might have. These circumstances could include your family’s unusual medical expenses, death of a parent/spouse, or unemployment. There must be compelling reasons for the financial aid administrator to take this step, however, and you’ll have to provide adequate documentation to support any adjustments. Note that the financial aid administrator’s decision as to whether you have special circumstances is final and can’t be appealed to the US Department of Education.