Github Education Application - no file upload option, and rejection stating I'm missing information clearly included

[skye-iley]

🏷️ Discussion Type

Bug

💬 Feature/Topic Area

Verification Help & Guidance

Hi everyone,

I am trying to verify my education benefits.
Despite suggesting it is an "academic enrollment proof" option, the "start an application" menu does not provide any method of uploading files or images other than through a camera.

Because of this, I have used my phone camera to capture an image of one, two, then now three of the suggested enrollment proof documents, including a course schedule for next semester, a dedicated ENROLLMENT VERIFICATION document, my bursar's bill for last semester, and previously also my academic transcripts. These documents include: my student ID, full name, current date / print date, future course dates, past bill payment confirmation, enrollment status, and both short-form and long-form names of the university (e.g. "[State] University" and "U[State]" <- not exactly that, but changed to meet private info restrictions).
I have also already attached and verified my school email (.edu) to my Github account, and updated my billing information & user profile to meet all requirements.

Despite this, ~5 minutes after each application, I keep receiving rejection messages stating":
"The image you selected does not appear to contain your school name" (it does, multiple times),
"Please ensure that your academic affiliation document contains your last name exactly as it appears in your GitHub billing information" (it does, multiple times),
"Please ensure that your academic affiliation document contains your first name exactly as it appears in your GitHub billing information" (it does, multiple times),
"Your document does not appear to include a date demonstrating current academic affiliation" (it does, multiple times),
"You are unlikely to be verified until you have completed your GitHub user profile with your full name exactly as it appears in your academic affiliation document" (I have)

There is also a mention of me being at a different location from the college, but I have included (a photo of) the academic calendar showing that Spring semester ended, and Fall semester has not started yet, selected the menu option for "semester has not started yet", and provided an explanation.

I have reviewed https://github.com/orgs/community/discussions/111352 and https://docs.github.com/en/education/about-github-education/github-education-for-students/solving-problems-with-your-github-education-access, and none of the potential issues seem to match exactly what is happening with me. The image is not unclear, and has all required information. It is possible that the resolution is small, when including multiple documents on a single image, due to no file upload or multiple image option, but this does not explain why it is not warning about the image being blurry/unreadable, which is something I did see on my first application, where it sent the message "The text in the photo you used was unable to be read" but has not appeared since in any of the other applications.

I do see in https://github.com/orgs/community/discussions/197823 that you suggest creating a Github Support Ticket, but when attempting to do so, they state manual reviews are no longer supported:

Any troubleshooting advice would be appreciated, or a bug fix (re-?)adding functionality to upload files/screenshots, as is suggested by the verification document category.

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[adityassarode]

I had the same problem when I applied. What worked for me was taking a really clear photo of just one document with my name, college name and date clearly visible. If you put multiple documents in one photo, the text can get too small and maybe the verification system cant read it properly. Mine got rejected a many times too, even though all the details were correct. Later I found out the location part mattered. I had entered my current location, but it worked after I used my college/university location instead. try using a clear photo and make sure the college/university location is added not your current location.

[skye-iley]

Just tried this. Used a larger monitor and only one document (enrollment verification), so resolution should not be an issue. Still got messages saying my last and first name aren't correct.
I also have my github profile location set as my school location (though the application does use location data, which shows my current location)

[adityassarode]

when submitting the application, try doing it while you are physically on campus or connected to your school's network if possible. The application uses your current location during verification, so a mismatch between your profile, school documents, and current location may cause verification issues.

[skye-iley]

Campus is 2000 miles away and I won’t be back for 3 months.

[skye-iley]

Because it’s summer.

[adityassarode]

Use the Google Chrome extension named Geolocation Spoofing, Fake Location for Google Maps & Search by GTrack to set your location to your school's location. If you're unsure how it works, you can search in yt and follow the instructions.