Financial Aid Appeals

In certain cases, the Financial Aid Office may use what's called "professional judgment" to adjust its calculation of a student's eligibility for financial aid.  The Financial Aid Office is required to collect additional information and documentation in order to justify any such adjustment.  Professional judgment may affect only federal aid, only institutional aid, or both.

Circumstances that MAY be taken into account, especially if financial impact is significant:

• Error made on the FAFSA and/or CSS Profile
• Involuntary loss or reduction of regular employment income
• Involuntary loss or reduction of untaxed income/benefits
• Unreimbursed medical/dental expenses exceeding 10% of a family’s income, as itemized on a Schedule A
• Unreimbursed expenses related to a natural disaster
• Death of a parent

Circumstances that are NOT GENERALLY taken into account, even if financial impact is significant:

• Negotiating a better offer: We are not able to negotiate; we simply offer need-based aid in response to the information a family supplies regarding income, assets, and who’s in your family’s household.
• Asking that we match an aid offer from another school: We do not match aid offers.
• Voluntary loss or reduction of employment income: This is generally addressed once the relevant tax year is reported on the FASFA and CSS Profile;
• Decrease in regularly fluctuating sources of income: Income fluctuations due to business earnings, bonuses, commissions, investment earnings, etc. are generally addressed once the relevant tax year is reported on the FASFA and CSS Profile.
• One-time sources of income: Because we assess only a portion of total income in any event, in most cases we do not ignore one-time income.
• Recent divorce/separation of parents: Since we ask for a contribution from both biological/adoptive parents regardless of their marital status relative to each other, a recent divorce/separation is not apt to substantially affect the financial aid we award.
• Change in asset values since the FAFSA and Profile were submitted: Assets are considered as a “snapshot in time” and are not updated until the next year’s application is filed;
• Students seeking to declare themselves independent of their parents: Generally students are considered independent only if they meet one or more of the dependency criteria listed on the FAFSA. In certain cases it may be appropriate to submit an Unusual Circumstances (Dependency Override) Appeal.

• Admitted Students: Appeals from admitted students, regardless of whether they applied early or regular decision, will be considered beginning in April. Appeals should be submitted by April 15 to maximize the chances of receiving an appeal decision before May 1.  Except in extraordinary circumstances, entering-student appeals submitted after April 30 will be
  • held for processing until most returning students have received their aid offers (usually by sometime in June) and 
  • processed only if they are submitted before the start date of the term for which assistance is requested. In other words, institutional appeals will generally not be granted retroactively for a semester that has already begun and for which any balance due should already have been paid.
• Enrolled Students: Except in extraordinary circumstances, appeals will be processed only if they are submitted before the start date of the term for which assistance is requested. As noted above, institutional appeals will generally not be granted retroactively for a semester that has already begun and for which any balance due should already have been paid.

Entering Students:

• Early Decision applicants – Appeals are possible for those admitted under an early decision plan; but, as noted above, all entering-student appeals will be processed after April 1.  Handling all entering-student appeals at the same time allows us to apply consistent standards to all appeals.
• Regular Decision applicants – We strongly encourage that admitted, regular-decision students who feel the need to appeal their aid awards do so before paying the enrollment deposit. 

All Students:

• When submitting a Financial Aid Appeal, please be sure to provide official documentation of your application error or special circumstance.  Adjustments can only be made with supporting documentation.
• For appeals relating to decreased income in the calendar year immediately following that reported on the FAFSA and Profile, please ensure that, if not already submitted, one of your uploaded documents is a copy of parent(s)’ complete federal tax return (including all schedules, W-2s, and 1099s) for the year of decreased income.
• You may securely upload at least one and up to three separate PDFs with your appeal form.
• If you need to submit additional items, please submit your appeal form, then contact the Financial Aid Office to request a link to update your submission.

What to Expect After Submitting an Appeal

• Financial Aid staff will generally be able to provide a response within 10 business days of your submitting the appeal form.  (Please note that it may take longer if the Financial Aid Office needs additional supporting documentation from you or if you have submitted your appeal prior to or after the primary appeal window for your specific population, as noted in the bolded categories in the point immediately below.)
• Our first communication after confirming receipt of your appeal will either provide an immediate decision or a sense of when a decision may be reached. For example:
  • Admitted students applying under either an early or regular decision program who submit appeals by April 15 will generally have their appeals reviewed by May 1.
  • Returning students, regardless of when they appeal, will have their appeals reviewed after we issue offers for all on-time applicants, beginning sometime in June.
• We cannot guarantee that all appeals will be successful or that all successful appeals will result in increased grant aid. Sometimes there is no aid eligibility, or no increased eligibility, even after an appeal.
• Most appeal-related adjustments are fairly modest. We have finite financial aid resources; and because we tend to use them primarily to meet students’ calculated need with our initial aid offers—without awarding loans—we have limited funds available for appeals. However, we will always do what we can to be helpful within those limitations.
• Once we are able to consider your appeal formally, we will issue a decision as soon as we can.  While spring and summer are particularly busy times in the Financial Aid Office, to the extent possible, we will attempt to be sensitive to students’ understandable desire to receive their appeal results prior to their enrollment deposit dates, billing due dates, or other key deadlines.

After an Appeal Decision is Made

• Appeal decisions will be made for the full academic year and are considered final.  We are not able to provide any further consideration of the family contribution unless there is a new and substantial change in family circumstances not addressed in the original appeal.
• Appeal approvals will result in an updated financial aid offer.  Appeal denials are communicated via e-mail and, given their confidential nature, are sent only to the individual who submitted the appeal.
• If you wish to explore various methods of meeting your family contribution, our website contains information about loans or other sources of funding.  We are also happy to discuss the details of payment plans and other financing options.