Students who feel that they have received an unsatisfactory response to a financial aid request can request an appeal. Along with the Need-Based Appeal Form, you can submit a letter to the Financial Aid Appeals Committee stating your situation and requested change.
Appeals
Students have the right to appeal or request a review of various financial aid components. The information below describes the most typical types of requests. When submitting an appeal, please use one of the following appeal forms as a cover to your request. Please note that submitting a request does not guarantee approval.
To help you determine if submitting an appeal may increase your financial aid offer, please consider the following:
- There is no exact income cutoff for the Federal Pell Grant, but in general, eligibility begins to decrease at a family income around $40,000 and is usually eliminated at approximately $70,000.
- Therefore, if your income was significantly impacted by unemployment, divorce, or death of a parent/spouse, but remained above $70,000 in a subsequent year, an adjustment to the amount of financial aid offered is unlikely.
- In comparing your current income to the FAFSA, consider severance pay, unemployment compensation, and projected future employment.
If you feel that you may qualify for an adjustment, please use the Need-Based Appeal Form below, explaining your special circumstances. A counselor will review your appeal, perform a rough calculation, and request a formal appeal if appropriate. Please note that appeal decisions are typically not final until after the start of school in the fall, as summer processing is devoted to finalizing initial aid packages for all students.
Satisfactory Academic Progress Appeal Form
Scholarship Appeal Form
Need-Based Appeal Form