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Special Circumstances

Form submission: We strongly encourage you to submit forms electronically via the Document Submission Portal. Forms may also be faxed or mailed to the SUNY Cortland Financial Aid Office.

Sometimes there may be unusual situations or special circumstances that affect a student’s federal aid eligibility. When this happens, federal regulations give a financial aid administrator discretion or professional judgment (on a case-by-case basis and with adequate documentation) to make adjustments to the data elements on the FAFSA that affect your Student Aid Index. This helps to gain a more accurate assessment of a family's current financial situation.

Students can apply for a special circumstance, dependency override or budget increase request. These appeals initiate a re-evaluation by a financial aid administrator of their financial aid eligibility, dependency status or cost of attendance (COA) based on significant, unexpected changes in income, family status or expenses. Appeals require supporting documentation.

  • Special Circumstances may refer to significant changes to you or your contributor's financial situation
  • Unusual Circumstances may refer to a situation where a dependent student is unable to contact a parent or where contact with a parent poses a risk to the student, more commonly referred to as a dependency override
  • Budget Increase refers to the inclusion of exceptional expenses to increase the COA which may allow you to borrow additional loans as needed

Special Circumstances, dependency overrides and budget increase requests are reviewed on a case-by-case basis and may not be approved. Contact the Financial Aid Office if you have questions about your circumstances or the requirements. 

Special Circumstance Request

The Special Circumstance Request is for students and families who have experienced a significant change in income due to an unexpected life event. A review of your special circumstances does not guarantee you will be eligible for additional financial aid.

If the student already has a Student Aid Index (SAI) of "0" or less, submitting a special circumstance request will not result in additional financial aid as the maximum amount was already awarded.

Examples of Special Circumstances that may be considered
  • Loss or significant reduction of employment, wages or unemployment compensation
  • Widowed, separated or divorced since filing the FAFSA
  • Unusually high unreimbursed medical expenses paid
  • One-time income received in tax year listed on the FAFSA
Instructions
Considerations
  • These requests are used to determine federal aid adjustments only and do not apply to New York State aid. However, an increase in federal grants could impact any Excelsior Scholarship funding a student may receive
  • If the student wishes to pursue an appeal with NYS, contact a NYS HESC representative to discuss your situation
  • Requests can take up to 4 weeks for processing once all supporting documentation has been received

    Dependency Override Request

    If a student has an unusual circumstance and cannot provide parental information, then a financial aid administrator can review their request for an updated dependency status. Commonly referred to as a Dependency Override request, this is for students who feel they should be considered independent from their parents for financial aid purposes but do not meet the federal criteria to be considered independent.

    Common Reasons for Dependency Override
    • Abusive family environment that threatens the students health or safety
    • Parental abandonment
    • Student is unable to locate their parents and have not been adopted
    • Incarcerated parents
    • Student was granted refugee or asylee status and are separated from parents
    • Student is a victim of human trafficking
    Considerations:
    • We cannot override dependency in cases where:
      • Parents refuse to contribute to the student's education
      • Unwillingness of parents to provide information
      • Student demonstrating total self-sufficiency
      • Parents not claiming student as a dependent for tax purposes
    • Requests are reviewed on a case-by-case basis and may not be approved
    • Students seeking a dependency override for New York State aid will be sent an email from NYS Higher Education Services Corp (HESC) to request supporting documentation
    Instructions
    1. Submit the Dependency Override Request form
    2. Submit a personal letter of explanation regarding your extenuating circumstances to be considered independent. Your request must include the following information:
      1. Last date and nature of contact with both parents, timeline of events
      2. Location of your parents
      3. How you have financially provided for yourself
      4. Current living arrangements
    3. Submit a minimum of two statements signed by third-party professionals who have first-hand knowledge of the situation. The letters should be from people who are unrelated to you but are aware of your circumstances, such as a counselor, clergy, social agency official, court official, law enforcement official, etc. A personal acquaintance or family member is not considered an acceptable third-party but can be submitted in addition.
    4. Submit documentation of how you the student is financially supporting yourself (current paycheck stub, tax return, etc...)
    5. Submit additional documentation, if applicable (police report, court documents, documentation of parental incarceration, etc...)
    Subsequent Year Requests
    • Any continuing student that was previously approved for a dependency override will need to inform the Financial Aid Office in subsequent years that their circumstances are unchanged. In addition to submitting the FAFSA each year, students will need to also submit the following:
      1. Dependency Override Request form
      2. Detailed explanation that extenuating circumstances have not changed from previous year

    Budget Increase Request

    If you have exceptional expenses not already included in your cost of attendance (COA), you may be eligible for a budget increase. This allows our office to adjust your COA, which could make you eligible for additional financing in the form of loans to cover these additional costs.

    What is the Cost of Attendance (COA)

    Your COA is an estimate of the total costs of attending SUNY Cortland which includes:

    • Tuition and Fees
    • Housing and Meals
    • Books and Supplies
    • Transportation
    • Personal and Miscellaneous Expenses

    You can view your estimated cost of attendance in the financial aid "offer" tab of your myRedDragon account. Keep in mind that this is not your actual billing statement.

    Examples of budget increases considered:
    • Higher housing costs
    • Books, equipment, or supplies for your education (computer purchase)
    • Study abroad expenses
    • Unexpected medical costs
    • Childcare expenses while attending college
    • Other educational-related expenses
    Instructions
    • If you feel you meet the requirements for a budget increase request, you will need to submit the Budget Increase Request Form with all required documentation
    Considerations
    • Requests are reviewed on a case-by-case basis and may not be approved
    • Approved requests can increase your eligibility for PLUS or private loans only

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