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Changing Circumstances Can be Navigated

Your financial aid eligibility, as calculated by the FAFSA and other data, is meant to give a snapshot of what you and/or your family can reasonably help pay for education. In some cases, that estimate may not reflect your current financial situation due to changes like job loss, medical expenses or other circumstances.

To address this, Congress has empowered financial aid administrators with the authority to exercise their professional judgment, allowing them to consider these circumstances. Any adjustments made are discretionary and must be supported with documentation that specifically supports the extenuating circumstance. Documentation is key. 

Understanding Professional Judgment

Professional judgment is guided by the FAFSA Simplification Act, which amends section 479A of the HEA. It distinguishes between different categories of professional judgment:

• Special Circumstances: These are financial situations, such as job loss, that justify an aid administrator's adjustment of data elements in the COA or SAI calculation. 
• Unusual Circumstances: These are conditions like human trafficking or parental abuse, warranting an aid administrator's modification of a student's dependency status, commonly known as a dependency override. 

A student might have both special and unusual circumstances. Financial aid administrators can make appropriate adjustments for each student's situation with the requisite documentation. 

Tips for Submitting Documentation

Please contact Student Financial Services if you have any difficulty gathering required documents, have questions or need another option for document submission. 

We often have to pause processing due to documents not submitted complete, so please take the time to double-check. Students may check the status of the Special Circumstances request on GrizPortal and also via their UM email account.