4 ms·

Is this a relatively new requirement for universities to require a SSN for prospective students? I don’t recall having to provide this information about 1 decad

• swiley 6y ago
  You probably have to prove that you're a citizen or have the appropriate immigration status, this usually involves your SSN. Why is it done this way? Politics I guess.
  • curiousgal 6y ago
    Fun fact that companies online don't seem to realize, non-citizens can have SSN numbers, even people on a short exchange visitor visa.
• alistairSH 6y ago
  Legally, it's not required to apply. But, it is required to access federal FA. And some schools collect it regardless of legal requirement because it makes their life easier (avoiding dupe person records, student workers, etc).
• rossdavidh 6y ago
  So, I worked at a major American university that (years back) had to remove SSN from all of their databases; it was a major project. The exceptions were related to cases where they get something monetary (e.g. cash scholarship, student jobs, etc.) that requires reporting that income to the federal government, which wants the SSN. Generally, it is actually LESS common to require SSN now than 20 years ago; when I was an undergrad, exam grades would get posted by SSN on a public bulletin board (the idea being you could find your own, but you wouldn't know anyone else's SSN to look up their grade). So SSN was considered less sensitive than your grade on a single ordinary exam.