Special Circumstance
If the information you filed on the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) does not reflect your current financial situation or does not take into account an unusual circumstance with you and/or your family you may submit a request for review of your financial aid status for special circumstances. This may occur due to your FAFSA being based on two years prior tax information.
In certain circumstances, the Financial Aid Office may make adjustments to the FAFSA information to more accurately reflect the current situation.
Special Circumstance Requests are available for the following situation:
- Change in Household Size (Marriage, Divorce, Change in number of dependents)
- Change in Income (Involuntary job loss, loss of other income-child support, disability benefits, etc.)
- Unusual Medical Expenses
Examples of situations that can not be considered Special Circumstance include:
- Voluntary job loss
- Removing funds early from a retirement account (401k, 403b, etc.) to pay debt
- Loss of other income that can not be documented or was not court ordered
- Loss of income due to commission-based employment
NOTE: Even if an adjustment is made, it may not result in additional aid.
To process a request for review we must have the following:
- The current academic year FAFSA must be on file with the University of Mary Washington
- You must be accepted for Admission and/or continuing a degree seeking program
- You must be meeting Satisfactory Academic Progress Standards
- The Office of Financial Aid must have a completed Special Circumstance Request with all required documentation
- All forms must be SIGNED
- A minimum of 16 consecutive weeks of income loss is required for appeals based on loss of earnings. Please submit your request after this period.
Additional documents may be requested throughout the process.
The parent and/or student must submit the appropriate Special Circumstance Form and all required documentation prior to review. Responses are sent by mail or email within two weeks after a decision is made.
The University of Mary Washington (UMW) will begin reviewing letters of special circumstance in January for the following academic year for all new UMW students. Requests received after that time will be processed as they are submitted. We are unable to consider loss of employment due to voluntary separation or a decrease in income for a student considered dependent on the Free Application for Federal Student Aid.
DEADLINES:
Fall: October 01
Spring: February 15
RESULTS:
Complete applications submitted to the Office of Financial Aid will result in one of the following outcomes:
- No change made
- Changes reduced EFC but did not change award
- Changes reduced EFC and adjustments made to the distribution of federal student loans
- Changes reduced EFC and adjustments made to federal Pell grant and student loans