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Financial Aid & Cost

Financial Aid Forms

Professional Judgement Appeals

Special Circumstances Appeal

The Financial Aid Office recognizes that students and their families may experience special circumstances that may affect their ability to contribute to the student’s educational costs. The Special Circumstances Appeal is a formal request students can make to have their financial aid package reevaluated due to a significant change in their family’s financial situation.

Circumstances may include job loss, significant reduction in work hours or wages, medical expenses, changes in marital status, or other unexpected circumstances that the student would like reviewed.

Please speak with your Financial Aid Specialist for more information.

Unusual Circumstances Appeal

In some circumstances, students are unable to provide their FAFSA contributors (parents’ or guardians’) information on the FAFSA.  To be considered an unusual circumstance, the circumstance cannot be due to any of the conditions below either individually or in combination:

  • Refusal from the contributor to provide support for the student’s education.
  • Contributor’s unwillingness to provide information on the FAFSA or for verification.
  • Contributor not claiming the student as a dependent.
  • Contributor not claiming the student as a dependent for income-tax purposes.
  • The student demonstrates self-sufficiency or living independently.

*Students whose contributors refuse to provide FAFSA or verification information and do not support the student may complete a Parental Waiver to determine eligibility for unsubsidized Federal Direct Loans only.

Students who would like to request a dependency override to change their dependency status from dependent (requiring contributor information) to independent can do so by completing the Unusual Circumstances Appeal form.  Circumstances that may permit a dependency override include:

  • Custodial contributor is deceased and student has no contact with living contributor, if applicable.
  • Custodial contributor is incarcerated and student has no contact with living contributor, if applicable.
  • Unusual contributor circumstances such as abuse, unknown whereabouts, abandonment, etc.

Please speak with your Financial Aid Specialist for more information.

*Both Special and Unusual Circumstance appeals are overseen through a review process using professional judgment by the Office of Financial Aid.  All requests are considered using best professional practice; requests do not guarantee approval.  All financial aid regulations are subject to change through legislation or policy change by the U.S. Department of Education.

Unaccompanied Homeless Youth

An unaccompanied homeless youth is a student who is under the age of 24 and is homeless or self-supporting and at-risk of becoming homeless.  Students may be considered an unaccompanied homeless youth if they can answer ‘yes’ to at least one of the three questions listed on the FAFSA as detailed below:

  1. “At any time on or after July 1, 2021, did your high school or school district homeless liaison determine that you were an unaccompanied youth who was homeless?”
  2. “At any time on or after July 1, 2021, did the director of an emergency shelter or transitional housing program funded by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development determine that you were an unaccompanied youth who was homeless?”
  3. “At any time on or after July 1, 2021, did the director of a runaway or homeless youth basic center or transitional living program determine that you were an unaccompanied youth who was homeless or were self-supporting and at risk of being homeless?”

Students who are not able to answer ‘yes’ to any of the questions listed above can meet with their Financial Aid Specialist to determine if a homeless youth dependency override is possible.