Special and Unusual Circumstance Appeals

The Family Contribution Appeal is for students and families who have filled out the FAFSA but have had a drop in income or resources, making it harder to pay for school. For example, a family member might have lost income because of something unexpected or has medical bills from an accident that insurance didn’t cover. This appeal aims to reduce your Student Aid Index (SAI), which may help you qualify for more financial aid.

To apply for a Family Contribution Appeal, you must first complete the FAFSA, following all the instructions provided.

The Financial Aid office knows that some programs have extra fees, books, or equipment costs beyond what’s usually covered in the average cost of attendance. Some programs also require students to take more credit hours than usual, or unexpected costs may come up during the school year. These additional costs can make it harder for families to pay for a student’s education. The Financial Aid office may consider these unusual expenses when deciding on financial aid, though they do review these costs before reducing any aid.

Buying or renting a personal computer can also be added to a student’s budget if documentation is provided, but it doesn’t guarantee more financial aid.

A Cost of Attendance Appeal is only considered if it could allow for extra aid that wasn’t possible to award before.

If you’re considered a dependent student by financial aid rules, your eligibility for aid is based on both your income and assets and your parents’ income and assets. Dependent students must include their parents’ information and signatures to qualify for federal and state financial aid.

In certain cases, the Financial Aid office may approve a Dependency Override Appeal if there are serious issues in the student’s relationship with their parents. This may apply if the student cannot safely or reasonably contact their parents due to abuse, domestic violence, abandonment, or other extreme situations.

Federal rules do not allow dependency exceptions for situations like these:

• Parents refuse to help pay for college.
• Parents won’t provide FAFSA information.
• Parents don’t claim the student as a dependent on tax returns.
• Student lives independently from parents.

If your parents cannot or will not provide their information on the FAFSA, the Financial Aid office may consider a Parent Refusal Appeal. This appeal allows students to be considered for aid without parent information, but they won’t qualify for federal or most state grants and will only be eligible for Federal Direct Unsubsidized Loans, which accumulate interest during school.

See StudentAid.gov, Reporting Parent Information, for more information.

If you’re unable to answer "yes" to the FAFSA questions about being homeless or at risk of homelessness—and you haven’t been verified as homeless by a school official or shelter director—the Financial Aid office can help make that determination. This may be based on an interview if written proof isn’t available. If you are experiencing homelessness, please schedule an appointment below.

To qualify, your living situation must show that you are an unaccompanied youth who is self-supporting and at risk of homelessness. Students under 24 may be eligible for a homeless youth determination. Even if a student’s parent could provide support, students fleeing abusive parents may also qualify.

A student is considered homeless if they don’t have stable, regular, and adequate housing. This includes more than living “on the street.” It covers situations like staying temporarily with others because you have nowhere else to go, living in substandard housing (like a place that doesn’t meet codes or has no utilities), staying in emergency or transitional shelters, living in motels, campgrounds, cars, parks, abandoned buildings, bus or train stations, or any location not meant for human habitation. Living in a school dormitory may also qualify if you would otherwise be homeless.

Homeless Youth Definitions

• At risk of being homeless: When a student’s housing may cease to be fixed, regular, and adequate. For example, a student who is being evicted and has been unable to find fixed, regular, and adequate housing.
• Homeless: Lacking fixed, regular, and adequate housing.
• Self-supporting: When a student pays for his or her own living expenses, including fixed, regular, and adequate housing.
• Unaccompanied: When a student is not living in the physical custody of a parent or guardian.

Housing Definitions

• Fixed Housing: Stationary, permanent, and not subject to change.
• Regular Housing: Used on a predictable, routine, or consistent basis.
• Adequate Housing: Sufficient for meeting both the physical and psychological needs typically met in the home.