Financial Aid Appeals
You have the right to appeal your award. In order for your appeal to be successful, you must present documentation of a financial situation that is not already presented in your application. To receive additional funding, the appeal must present information that results in the Financial Aid team being able to either lower your EFC or increase in your Cost of Attendance. Not all appeals will result in the awarding of additional aid.
Income Adjustment Request
If your family’s income has changed since the tax year presented on the FAFSA, your financial situation may not be accurately reflected by your FAFSA. You may be able to appeal your award by presenting more recent tax data. This kind of appeal is used to lower your EFC.
Some situations that may cause a change to the family’s income are:
- Unemployment or change in employment
- Separation or divorce
- Death in the family
- One-time income
- Disability
- Loss of taxable or untaxed benefits
To submit an Income Adjustment Appeal, log into Self Service. On the Financial Aid home page, select the Income Adjustment Request in the Form Links on the right side of the page. You will need to complete and submit the Income Adjustment Request form along with documentation of your situation. We recommend meeting with an Advisor to discuss the appeal and documentation required before submitting your appeal. If you are a dependent student, the parent whose information is reported on your FAFSA must also sign the appeal form.
Cost of Attendance Review
Your Cost of Attendance is used to determine your financial need and eligibility for most types of aid. Most items in the Cost of Attendance are allowances that may not reflect your actual expenses. If your expenses for some items are extraordinarily larger than the allowance in your Cost of Attendance, you may be able to appeal the Cost. This kind of appeal is used to increase your Cost of Attendance.
Some expenses that may be appealed are:
- Books and supplies
- Computer
- Program and/or course fees
- Expenses associated with a disability
- Dependent care
- Exceptional transportation expenses
To submit a Cost of Attendance Appeal, log into Self Service. On the Financial Aid home page, select the the Cost of Attendance Review form in the Form Links on the right side of the page. You will need to complete and submit the Cost of Attendance Review form along with documentation of your situation. We recommend meeting with an Advisor to discuss the appeal and documentation required before submitting your appeal. If you are a dependent student, the parent whose information is reported on your FAFSA must also sign the appeal form.
Dependency Override Request
Students are considered dependent and required to provide parental information on the FAFSA if they are not able to answer “Yes” to at least one of the dependency status questions. Depending on your situation, it may not be appropriate to collect parental information, even though you can not answer “Yes” to at least one of the questions.
The federal government allows the Financial Aid team to review your individual situation and determine if a Dependency Override is appropriate. A dependency override allows an otherwise dependent student to be considered independent for the purposes of determining financial aid eligibility. Students who have documented extenuating circumstances may qualify to receive a dependency override. Please note that having sufficient resources to support yourself, moving out of your parents’ home, or not being claimed on your parents’ taxes are not sufficient reasons for granting a dependency override.
To submit a Dependency Override Request, log into Self Service. On the Financial Aid home page, select the Dependency Override Request form in the Form Links on the right side of the page. You will need to complete and submit the Dependency Override Request form along with documentation of your situation. We recommend meeting with an Advisor to discuss the appeal and documentation required before submitting your appeal.
Depending on the nature of your appeal, MCC may ask you to document your situation again in future years. Regardless of whether you need to document the situation in a future year, the MCC Financial Aid staff will need to process the dependency override on your FAFSA each year that you qualify and attend. Please contact an Advisor for more information.