Special Circumstances
Occasionally, unique circumstances or changes may occur and impact students and/or families abilities to pay for college. These special circumstances may not be evident on the FAFSA, so students and/or families may need to indicate these changes to our Financial Aid office. When special circumstance situations arise, the Financial Aid office can re-evaluate a student’s aid eligibility based on current circumstances using the Professional Judgement (PJ) process. At Chaffey College, we have two ways students can submit those updates.
Option 1: Special Circumstance Appeal
Expected Family Contribution or Family Income Changes
We understand that students and their families may have special circumstances that cause a significant reduction in income that impacts their ability to contribute to the cost of college. If you or your family have experienced a significant drop in recent income compared to the income that was required to be reported on your FAFSA, you may be considered for an income reduction. The following are some examples:
- Loss of Income (2023 income is significantly less than in 2022)
- Death of a parent or the Independent student’s spouse
- Divorce/legal separation of parents/Independent student and spouse
- One-time income removal (e.g. inheritance, IRA distribution, retroactive lump-sum payment)
- Reduced or loss of untaxed income or benefits
2024-2025 Special Circumstance Appeal Deadlines
- Fall 2024 - November 22, 2024
- Spring 2025 - May 1, 2025
Option 2: Unusual Circumstance Appeal
Change of Dependency Status/Dependency Override
Unsusual Circumstances refer to the conditions that justify an financial aid administrator making an adjustment to a student’s dependency status based on a unique situation. An override may only be granted on a case-by-case basis for students with unusual & exceptional circumstances. These circumstances must show compelling reason for a student to be considered independent rather than dependent. The following are some examples of conditions that could warrant a Dependency Override:
- Abusive family environments
- Abandonment
- Incarceration or institutionalization of both parents
- An unsuitable household requiring legal intervention
- Severe estrangement from parents
- Death of a biological / adoptive parent
Typically, the Financial Aid office will begin to process dependency override appeals in May for the next award year. Processing time may take up to 4 weeks. You will be sent a notification of the result to your panther email account.
Renewal of Dependency Override
Beginning 2023-2024 if you had an APPROVED dependency override at Chaffey College in the prior aid year, you are not required to submit a dependency override appeal again.
2024-2025 Unusual Circumstance Appeal Deadlines
- Fall 2024 - November 22, 2024
- Spring 2025 - May 1, 2025
Professional Judgement (PJ) Process
If you have special or unusual circumstance that you would like to have evaluated by a financial aid administrator, please answer the questions in the Professional Judgement Assessment Form. Student should describe the circumstances in detail and must submit supporting documentation along with their request. You must have a processed FAFSA (a completed verification if you were selected) on file before your form will be considered.
Once your form has been received, the Financial Aid office will review your specical condition in accordance with Federal, State, and institutional guidelines, and determine if you would benefit from an appeal. If your condition does, you will be required to submit an appeal (either Special or Unusual circumstance) along with supporting documentation for processing. A Financial Aid staff member will be in contact with you after you complete the questionnaire and provide instructions on which appeal to submit. Your financial aid file must be complete prior to submitting an appeal, so be sure to complete your FAFSA for the applicable award year.
