Special/Unusual Circumstances - Professional Judgement

Some students and their families experience special circumstances that affect their ability to pay for the cost of a college education. If the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) you submitted is no longer an accurate representation of your family’s current financial situation, the Office of Financial Aid will work with you to find the best options for your circumstances. When there are unusual situations or circumstances that impact your federal student aid eligibility, federal regulations give our office discretion, on a case-by-case basis and with adequate documentation, to make adjustments to the data on your Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) that impact your Student Aid Index (SAI). This allows us to gain a more accurate assessment of your family's ability to contribute to your cost of education. However, we cannot guarantee the appeal process will result in additional financial aid. Not all special circumstances appeals will result in new or additional grants.

There are different categories that financial aid administrators consider when reviewing a student’s circumstance:

Special Circumstances refer to the financial situations (loss of a job, death of the custodial parent, etc.) that justify an aid administrator adjusting data elements in the COA or in the data used to complete the FAFSA.

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

Special Circumstances

The Morgan State University Office of Financial Aid recognizes the following as qualifying special circumstances for financial aid appeal:

• Parent or student divorce.
• Death of a parent or student's spouse.
• Significant loss or reduction of income. 
• Loss of benefits such as child support, unemployment, alimony, Social Security/disability or worker's compensation.
• Unreimbursed medical and dental care expenses that exceed 10% of the household adjusted gross income. 

Please Note: The school does not have the authority to make direct adjustments to the SAI or to the formula used to calculate the SAI, just data elements on the FAFSA which may change the SAI.

If you meet one of the qualifying circumstances, please follow the procedure below to submit an appeal.

1. Submit the Special Circumstance Appeal with all requested supporting documentation

          2024-2025 Special Circumstance Appeal

2. Once our office has received all required documentation, your financial aid appeal will be reviewed. Additional supporting documentation may be requested for the appeal. If this is the case, the review will take longer to complete.

Please anticipate appeal reviews to be completed within three to four weeks from receipt of all requested documentation.

If your Special Circumstance appeal results in changes to your financial aid offer (such as eligibility for an increased or additional need-based grant, Federal Work-Study funds or Direct Subsidized Loan), we will update your financial aid offer and send you an email to view your revised financial aid offer within your self-service. 

If your financial aid appeal does not result in any changes, our office will notify you of this decision via email.

Unusual Circumstances

Students with unusual circumstances will be granted provisional independent status and can complete the FAFSA form without providing parental information. A financial aid administrator will make the final determination of a student’s unusual circumstances based on the documentation and information that the student submits to the school with their Dependency Override Request. If a school approves a student’s unusual circumstances, their independent student status will remain as long as the student stays at the same school and their circumstances do not change.

A financial aid administrator may conduct dependency overrides on a case-by-case basis for students with unusual circumstances.
Some examples of unusual circumstances include:

• Human trafficking, as described in the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (22 U.S.C. 7101 et seq.)
• Legally granted refugee or asylum status
• Parental abandonment or estrangement
• Student or parental incarceration.

Acceptable documentation for an unusual circumstance includes, but is not limited to:

• Personal statement explaining your situation with specific details
• A written statement on official letterhead from a third-party acting in their official capacity (e.g. attorney, clergy, police, doctor, etc.) that confirms the circumstances and the person’s relationship to the student
• A written statement from a Homeless Shelter Director or homeless liaison agency
• Court documents
• CPS/Police Reports

Examples that do not qualify as unusual circumstances:

• Parents refusing to contribute to student’s education
• Parents unwilling to provide information on the application for verification or on the FAFSA
• Parents not claiming student as dependent for income tax purposes
• Students who demonstrate total self-sufficiency

Please follow the procedure below to submit an appeal.

1. Submit the Dependency Override Request Appeal with all requested supporting documentation

          2024-2025 Dependency Override Request

2. Once our office has received all required documentation, your financial aid appeal will be reviewed. Additional supporting documentation may be requested for the appeal. If this is the case, the review will take longer to complete.

Please anticipate appeal reviews to be completed within three to four weeks from receipt of all requested documentation. Our office will notify you of this decision via email.