Sometimes students face unique challenges when applying for financial aid. These links
are designed to help you overcome these challenges and successfully navigate the financial
aid process.
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.
Unique Circumstances
Certain students face unique challenges when applying for financial aid. These tip
sheets are designed to help unique student populations overcome these challenges to
successfully navigate the financial aid process and access higher education.
