Students with Unique Circumstances

The Office of Financial Aid understands that a family’s financial situation may no longer accurately reflect the family’s ability to pay educational expenses. In some cases, we may use our professional judgment to adjust income information on your FAFSA for special circumstances.

The FAFSA form determines a student’s dependency status based on a set of questions. If you are not able to answer “yes” to the dependency questions, you are considered a dependent student and will be requested to submit your parent’s information. The Office of Financial Aid understands in some cases, a student may be unable to provide parent information on their FAFSA. In these cases, we may be able to use our professional judgment to override your dependency status.

The Office of Financial Aid assigns all aid recipients an estimated Cost of Attendance, or budget. Your financial aid and scholarships cannot exceed that budget. However, in some cases, an adjustment can be made to your Cost of Attendance so additional financial aid can be offered. Please note that requesting an increase to your Cost of Attendance does not guarantee additional financial aid will be offered to you.