Financial Aid Appeals Quick Guide

The presence of additional information that calls in to question the information reported on the FAFSA, which affects eligibility. Additional documentation such as proof of citizenship, identity, loan default status, tax returns and other financial statements can be sources of conflicting information.

This status is determined based on the personal circumstances questions, age and marital status that students report on the FAFSA.

Learn more about FAFSA Dependency Status

Video: Am I a Dependent or Independent Student on the FAFSA® Form?

The process of confirming family size, income, taxes paid, identity and other resources as reported on the FAFSA. This process is usually required for students completing a Special Circumstance Income Adjust appeal (see below).

A full-time professional staff member in the office of financial aid who assists students in answering complex financial aid questions, planning and the financial aid appeal process.

Learn more about how to schedule an appointment.

Students who indicate on their FAFSA that they have unusual circumstances or need a homeless youth determination, will be given provisional independent status (see more below).

FAFSA will calculate the Student Aid Index (SAI) based on details like student income. This shows what aid a student might qualify for—but the application is still incomplete until the student finishes the required appeal process.

Students cannot receive federal aid until this process is complete. It must be completed before the semester starts or while the student is enrolled after the semester starts.

The Student Aid Index is a number that is created based on a legally defined calculation for determining a student’s financial need. The lower the number the greater the financial need. The number is used to determine eligibility for Federal Pell, FSEOG, Federal Work-Study and subsidized Federal Direct Loan programs.

Learn More: Federal Student Aid – What is the Student Aid Index (SAI)?

Documentation that students are required, by law, to submit along with their signed appeal form.

Supporting documentation must corroborate the circumstances outlined in the student’s appeal form and/or personal statement (if applicable). Letters form third parties must all be signed and dated by the person who wrote them.

Students who meet the criteria below and are not otherwise independent on the FAFSA may be considered for a Homeless Youth Determination by a financial aid advisor:

Unaccompanied—when a student is not living in the physical custody of a parent or guardian.

Homeless—lacking fixed, regular, and adequate housing.

At risk of being homeless—when a student’s housing may cease to be fixed, regular, and adequate (e.g., a student who is being evicted or has been asked to leave the current residence and has been unable to find fixed, regular, and adequate housing).

Self-supporting—when a student pays for his or her own living expenses, which includes paying for fixed, regular, and adequate housing

Students who are not living with and not supported by their parents, or if their parents refuse to provide parental information on the FAFSA, and they do not qualify for an unusual circumstance.

Students appealing in this category are only eligible for an unsubsidized Federal Direct Loan and the dependent student loan maximums.

Special circumstances are financial situations (e.g., loss of a job) that justify an aid administrator adjusting data elements in the FAFSA need calculation often called an income or asset adjustment.

Special circumstances are financial situations (e.g., medical expenses not covered by insurance) that justify an aid administrator adjusting data elements in the cost of attendance. Often called an expense or budget adjustment.

Specific Unusual Expense Categories

You, your spouse, or your parents (if dependent) pay (or paid) tuition expenses for a member of your household at an elementary or secondary school.

You, your spouse, or your parents (if dependent) pay (or paid) unusual medical, dental, or nursing home expenses, not covered by insurance, for a member of your household.

You are in a study abroad program and incur additional costs related to that study.

For Dependent Students Only
One or both of your parents will be enrolled in a degree or certificate program at a post-secondary institution on at least a half-time basis during the current award year and the course of study is required by their employer or by law/regulation to retain their salary or job.

Non-Applicable Expenses
Standard living expenses such as those for utilities, credit card payments, vacation expenses, mortgage payments, income taxes and other taxes, and tithing/charitable donations are not considered unusual expenses and are not eligible for consideration for this process.

A significant loss of income has occurred due to a period of unemployment, termination of current employment, change of jobs, or a reduction of wages or hours from current employment.

Money was earned during the tax year information used on the FAFSA. However, money could no longer be earned after that tax year due to disability or natural disaster that occurred after the relevant tax year.

A student (if independent) or parents (if dependent) separated or divorced after filing the FAFSA.

A student’s (if independent) or parent’s (if dependent) spouse has died after the FAFSA was filed.

A student and/or parent previously received unemployment compensation or a type of untaxed income or benefit but have since completely lost that income or benefit. The untaxed income or benefit must be from a public or private agency, from a company, or from a person because of a court order.

For Dependent Students Only
When you filed your FAFSA, you were a dependent student. After you filed, your FAFSA your marital status changed from single to married.

Unusual circumstances are the conditions that justify an adjustment to a student’s FAFSA dependency status based on a unique situation (e.g., human trafficking, refugee or asylee status, parental abandonment, incarceration, etc.), more commonly referred to as a dependency override.

Circumstances such as physical or emotional abuse, severe estrangement, abandonment, parental drug or alcohol abuse, mental incapacity, or another such situation beyond the student’s control are what constitute severe situations warranting consideration for this appeal. For this type of appeal the student must be able to document a complete breakdown of the relationship with both parents.

Another applicable circumstance is that the student is a non-U.S. citizen (who is otherwise eligible to receive federal financial aid), and the student’s parents currently reside in a foreign country and the student is unable to obtain parental information because of long-standing political policy or civil unrest in that country that prevents mail or funds from passing between you and your parents.

A form that allows students who do not have an FWS offer on their aid package to request consideration for Federal Work-Study can appeal.

Learn more in step 2 of the FWS Student Process Guide.

The academic standards that students must meet to maintain eligibility for federal student financial aid programs like Pell, FSEOG, Work-Study and Direct Loans.

GPA
Pace of Progression
Maximum Timeframe

These standards and appeal process are outlined in detail on the SAP Standards Webpage.

The academic standards that students must meet to maintain eligibility for NY State TAP.

GPA
Progress
Pursuit

Learn more about the good academic standing standards for TAP.

Learn more about the TAP Waiver appeal process.