Special Financial Conditions

How Awards Are Determined explains how we calculate Cost of Attendance Budgets and financial need based on the data you report on your Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). We use your budget and the Expected Family Contribution (EFC) from your FAFSA to determine your financial need for need-based aid programs.  Your budget also determines the total aid that you can receive from all aid programs each year (including student loans). 

The standard FAFSA application process accurately collects most of the data we need, but if you have any of the special situations outlined below, you must submit additional information to request adjustments to your budget and/or EFC.

For all adjustments, visit our FAFSA page to review which tax year your FAFSA used.  Most adjustments are relative to the data from that FAFSA tax year.

Most approved adjustments will increase your financial need by decreasing your Expected Family Contribution (EFC). Because aid funds are limited, even if your financial need increases, it may not increase enough for you to become eligible to receive additional aid. 

2021-2022 Workshop

If you think you might be eligible for any of these adjustments for the 2021-2022 academic year, please start by watching this recorded workshop.

• Special Conditions Workshop

Requesting Adjustments

• Please choose the relevant 2021-2022 form(s) below.  (The 2022-2023 forms will be available in mid-January 2022.)
• Please carefully follow all instructions.
• You must submit all the required documentation with your form.

Special Conditions Form

If you experienced any of these changes, please submit the 2021-2022 Special Conditions Form (PDF).

• divorce or separation after the FAFSA was submitted
• the parent(s) of a dependent student, an independent student, or student's spouse experience a significant reduction in annual family income since your FAFSA tax year because of job loss or reduction in pay/hours
• Loss/reduction of untaxed income received since your FAFSA tax year (i.e. child support ended)
• Loss of one-time income source received since your FAFSA tax year
• Parent/spouse/student reported unusually high medical expense deductions on your FAFSA tax year or the following tax year.
• death of a dependent student’s parent or a student’s spouse if the financial data reported on the FAFSA included the deceased parent or spouse’s income
• parent or spouse of student suffered permanent and total disability after January 1 of the prior academic year

Day Care or Elementary/Secondary Tuition Form

If you had day care or private elementary / secondary tuition expenses, please submit the 2021-2022 Day Care or Elementary / Secondary Tuition form (PDF).   

• For dependent students, the expenses must be for your younger brother or sister, and the approved expenses can help to reduce your Expected Family Contribution (EFC).
• For independent students, the expenses must be for your dependent child, and the approved expenses can increase your Cost of Attendance, which will increase your need but will not change your EFC.

Parents in College Form

If your parent(s) will attend college full-time for Fall 2021 or Spring 2022 in an academic program that is eligible to receive financial aid, we may be able to adjust your Expected Family Contribution (EFC) based on their enrollment.

• 2021-2022 Parent In College Form (PDF)
  

Housing Budget Increase Request Form

Your total aid from all sources (including loans) can’t exceed your assigned Cost of Attendance budget, which is normally based on these Standard Cost of Attendance budgets, but if your actual housing costs are higher than these standard allowances, you can ask us to increase your housing budget allowance based on your actual housing costs.

Budget increases usually only increase your maximum loan amounts, and rarely affect other aid. 

To begin this process, follow the instructions on the 2021-2022 Housing Budget Increase Request Form (PDF).