Daniel Barkowitz | March 03, 2005

"Verification Rap"

All of you who apply for aid will go through a process called verification. In this process, we confirm the information you provided to us against all of the other information we have from you (your tax returns, your W-2 forms, your 1099 forms, etc., etc.). This process is timely, but it ensures that we are operating with the most accurate information available to us when we make your financial aid award.

Well, those of us in the financial aid world do so much verifying that one FAO (financial aid officer) got creative and wrote his own verification rap.

I have included the text of it below and posted the wav file here (credit for the verification rap goes to Erik Mells of George Mason University -- I only wish I was as creative as he is):

You applied for aid

By completin the FAFSA

Now ya gonna find out

There's more we ask-fa

By CPS selected

Or by QA school-es

Were gonna try to find out

If ya tryin to fool us.

Checkout ya taxes

And ya AGI

In a process

We call verify.

Gonna ask for tax forms

And other stuff

You can never never never

Give us enough

But if ya don't give it up

Then we gonna come afta

You, cause Dept of Ed says

We hafta

Gotta make sure

You don’t got the nerve

To try to get money

That you don't deserve

And we gonna check out

You ain't getting no money

By givin' us data or numbers

That are funny

We gonna look real close

At ya household size

And make real sure

You aint telling no lies

And we're gonna scope out

That number in college

To verify

There are people gettin knowledge

We'll checkout

Untaxed income too

So, hey you, get ready

Give up the w-2

Now if you make you

An honest mistake

Then just a little money

From you we'll take

But if you seekin funds

To live a life a glamma

Then we’ll send you right down

To the federal slamma

So don’t you lie

'Cause we verify

Now don't you lie

'Cause we verify.

Oh yeah...