What is a Student Educational Plan? And why is the college asking me for verification on Social Security Bens?

Question

I filled out my FASFA and I got an email giving me a list of things to complete. One was a Student Educational Plan. I searched the website and found no form to download or anything that closely resembles that. And one other thing they asked me for was verification of Social Security Benefits. I don't have social security benefits.

Answer 1

Okay - I have no idea what this is, but I can tell you one thing - it has nothing to do with FAFSA verification. This is some kind of document that is entirely unique to your college or university.

FAFSA verification consists of only five major "data elements" - those are:

Household size

Number enrolled in college

Adjusted gross income (AGI)

US income tax paid

Certain untaxed income and benefits.

That's it.

Note that your school is free to "verify any other application items, requiring any reasonable documentation, in accordance with consistently applied institutional policies."

However, there is nothing that you completed on the FAFSA form that bears any resemblance to a "Student Educational Plan."

Now - I have heard of financial aid offices that require students to document their educational expectations - it seems that students who are encouraged to engage in this type of "predictive" exercise are more likely to complete school and honor their financial obligations. Maybe that's what your school is getting at - but it is not a part of the FAFSA process.

As for the question about Social Security Benefits - that one makes more sense. Social security benefits are one of the types of "untaxed income and benefits" that must be verified on a FAFSA selected for verification. I'm going to go out on a limb and guess that you might have put the wrong number in the wrong blank - or someone entered your data incorrectly. If you didn't report Social Security income, then you should not be asked to provide documentation of your benefits.

So - don't waste your time looking for a Student Educational Plan document on the FAFSA site - you won't find it there. Contact your financial aid office to ask why they're erroneously asking for info about your Social Security benefits - you (or they) may need to make a correction to your Student Aid Report.

Good luck!

Answer 2

Did you fill out your materials online?  If so, I know for a fact that everything that you need to complete is available online.  As for the SEP, isn't that just the section where you write in your codes for colleges you are interested in applying?  And although you don't have social security benefits, if one or both of your parents do, you'll have to supply the necessary documentation.