A Professional Judgment: Unusual Circumstance Appeal allows you to request a dependency status change from dependent to independent due to an unusual circumstance.
Before submitting an Unusual Circumstances Appeal for Preliminary Review to our office, you must have completed your section of the appropriate Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) with SSU's school code of 001156.
Federal financial aid guidelines state that the student and parent(s)/stepparent have the primary responsibility for paying educational costs; therefore, we will consider an appeal for independence if you document one of the following situations:
- Abandonment by parents
- An abusive family environment that threatens the student's health or safety
- Student is unable to locate their parents
A parent's inability or refusal to contribute to a student's coast of education, parents not claiming the student as a dependent for income tax purposes or a student demonstrating total self-sufficiency are not means to be considered independent.
Deadlines for Submitting Requests
Fall 2024 - Spring 2025
Please Note: Due to the late release of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and the Department of Education's (ED) delay in processing applications, we anticipate 2024-2025 Unusual Circumstance Appeals to be available sometime in March 2024.
- Attending Academic Year (fall and spring): May 1, 2025
- Attending Fall 2024 only: December 1, 2024
- Attending Spring 2025 only: May 1, 2025
Fall 2023 - Spring 2024
- Attending Academic Year (fall and spring): May 1, 2024
- Attending Fall 2023 only: December 1, 2023
- Attending Spring 2024 only: May 1, 2024
Timeline for Processing of Requests
You will receive an initial response to your Unusual Circumstances Appeal for Preliminary Review within 21 business days. You will be notified whether or not your appeal is eligible for further consideration. The response will indicate whether or not your circumstances meet the requirements of our policy. If the circumstances meet our policy, we will let you know if additional documentation may be required. Finally, the response will let you know when processing of your request will be completed.
Unusual Circumstance Appeal Forms
Make sure you view and request the correct form for the appropriate financial aid year. The semesters that correspond to each financial aid award year are listed in MyFA Forms.
The Unusual Circumstances Appeal is located in the MyFA Forms portal. After logging into MyFA Forms, click on the "Manage Requests" link located in the upper right hand corner of the portal landing page. Once the Manage Requests box opens up, select the "Professional Judgment: Unusual Circumstance Appeal" request for the appropriate academic/FAFSA year. Be sure to read the application completely and provide all of the requested supporting documentation.