Special Circumstances for Financial Aid Changes

• Loss of job or permanent/indefinite reduction of work hours.
• Separation or divorce.
• Personal bankruptcy that occurs during the current financial aid year.
• Death of a member of your immediate family.
• Reduction/loss of child support.
• Medical expenses not covered by insurance and that exceed 11% of the AGI. (Requires Schedule A of tax return)
• Termination of untaxed income, such as social security benefit. (Requires letter from agency that provided the benefit)
• Your parents took money out of their pension/retirement plan as a one-time payment to help cover expenses.
• Other documented special circumstances outside of your control.

• Information on your FAFSA resulted in a 0 Expected Family Contribution (EFC)*
• Standard living expenses (utilities, car payments, etc.)
• Mortgage payments
• Bankruptcy, foreclosures or collection costs associated with outstanding debts
• Consumer debt (credit cards, car payments, loans, etc.)
• Payments on back taxes owed to the IRS
• Vacation expenses

* Please note: If your Expected Family Contribution (EFC) on the student’s FAFSA is “0,” you’re already receiving the maximum in federal grant aid. However, we encourage you to pursue an income adjustment – we may be able to increase your budget (with proper documentation) for other cost of attendance components, and provide information about SNAP benefits, food pantry services, and reduced internet costs.

Requesting an increase in your budget increases your loan eligibility for PLUS, Alternative Loans, and Federal Work-Study.

Some examples of budget increases we can consider include:

• Additional required educational expenses related to your academic program.
• Unusual transportation expenses over and above what is already covered in your budget.
• Expenses due to a disability or unexpected medical cost.
• Childcare expenses while attending college.
• Other reasonable, education-related expenses.

If you think you might fit the criteria, you can submit the Change of Circumstance form with an explanation of your budget increase and attach documentation to confirm your additional educational costs.

Complete a Change of Circumstance Form

We ask that you please be patient while awaiting the outcome of your appeal – it’s our goal to conduct a thorough review of each appeal. Once a decision has been made, we’ll notify you via your DCC email.

Although Federal Financial Aid Professional Judgment appeal decisions are at the discretion of the campus and are based on guidance provided by the U.S. Department of Education and are completed on a case-by-case basis with all decisions considered final, DCC will make every effort to assist students in need.

Submission of a request for re-evaluation does not guarantee an adjustment to a student’s award. If the Expected Family Contribution (EFC) on the FAFSA is “0,” the student is already receiving the maximum in federal grant aid.