Appealing Your Financial Aid Offer

Special Circumstances

Access this form

Instructions

Complete the Appeal form to request a reevaluation of your financial aid eligibility.  If you have some special circumstances that were not reflected on your financial aid application, or if your family's financial situation has changed since you filed your financial aid application, you may submit details of these circumstances and request to have your financial aid eligibility reevaluated.

You may file only one petition for reevaluation. Once a decision has been made on your request, additional petitions for the same request will not be considered.

Allowances Against Income

Occasionally, families may have out-of-pocket costs for medical/dental expenses, home repair expenses, etc. that are not covered by insurance. We are willing to consider these unexpected expenses as an allowance against your parent's total income if they can provide documentation of the expense(s) along with their petition for reconsideration (i.e., receipts, bills, canceled checks, estimates from a service provider).

Financial aid petitions are processed on a first-come, first-served basis. The earliest you can expect to hear about the action(s) taken is, generally, two weeks after submission. The Financial Aid Office will notify you of the decision via email.

Filing a petition does not guarantee your request will be granted. Exceptional circumstances must be documented and must meet federal and/or institutional petition policies. Additional aid can only be awarded if funds are available.

Request to Use Parents' 2022 Income

In some cases, the prior year parental income–2022–will be significantly lower than the prior, prior year income reported on the FAFSA and/or CSS Profile–2021.  In order for us to consider using prior year income:

• your parents will need to complete and sign the Parents' Income Update form; AND
• submit a signed copy of their 2022 federal income tax return along with their 2022 W-2s.
  

Allowable budget additions can be used to supplement a student's estimated cost of education in order to increase loan eligibility. In general the total budget additions cannot under any circumstances exceed 60 percent of a student's standard budget and typically result in additional loan eligibility. The allowable expenses are applicable to periods of enrollment only. Complete documentation must be received by the Financial Aid Office before these costs can be added.

• Transportation: Transportation costs to and from school that exceed the standard transportation allowance. (Note: neither the cost of a vehicle itself nor any major repairs or insurance are applicable.)
• Childcare: Reasonable allowance can be made for childcare costs (transportation, lunches, etc.). Such costs pertain to children up to age 10 for weekday enrollment periods only. This budget addition can be accessed if both parents attend school full time or if one attends school full-time and the other is employed at least 25 hours per week. All expenses must be documented before they can be added as an additional expense.
• Medical, Dental, and Psychotherapy Expenses: Out-of-pocket expenses, not covered by insurance, can be added to the budget with adequate documentation.
• Additional Costs for Students with Disabilities: Students with disabilities can have select additional expenses added to their standard budgets, such as additional books and supplies.
• Computer: Computer and peripheral costs (up to $2,000) can be added to the budget in your first year of attendance. These costs can be covered by outside scholarships or (additional) loan.

Disallowable Budget Items

The following items cannot be allowed in a student budget:

• legal fees
• consumer debt (i.e., credit card payments)
• pet expenses
• vehicle purchase and vehicle repair
• student living expenses during a period when you are not enrolled