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Special Circumstances Appeals

Temple University strives to offer our families the best financial aid offers possible within the boundaries of federal, state, and university funding. However, we understand the FAFSA does not always capture the most accurate financial snapshot of your household, and that certain circumstances may present your family with unique financial challenges. If your family has experienced a significant change of financial circumstances, you may be able to request a Special Circumstances Appeal to have your federal financial aid eligibility reevaluated. Requesting an appeal does not guarantee an adjustment can be made to the financial aid offer, and the review process will require our office to request additional documentation. 

We are now accepting Special Circumstances Appeals for 2024-2025. Please see the instructions below for submitting. Please note that if you have a negative SAI, you are already receiving the maximum amount of aid possible, and this appeal will not have further impact.

Steps for Initiating an Appeal
  • The student logs into temple.studentforms.com.
  • Click on the red "Manage Requests" button in the upper right hand corner.
  • Select the 2024-2025 Special Circumstances – SAI Calculation Appeal option.
  • Provide a brief description of the change. (ex: "Parent is unemployed," or "excessive medical expenses")
  • Complete and sign the embedded webform and submit all requested documentation.
Possible Circumstances for Appeal
  • Death of a principal wage earner reported on the FAFSA
  • Loss of full-time employment or income
  • Permanent reduction in full-time employment or a significant reduction in income 
  • Marital Separation after completing the FAFSA - Please refer to the Who is My Parent? guidelines when determining which parent's information must be reported on the FAFSA. 
  • Significant paid out-of-pocket medical expenses
  • Loss of child support payments
  • Lump sum or one-time payouts 
  • Other circumstances causing significant decrease in family resources since filing the 2022 taxes.
General Circumstances Not Considered for Appeal
  • Debts incurred due to outstanding tax liability, credit cards, mortgage(s), student loans, and/or parent PLUS loans
  • Utilities, household incidentals, and/or home improvement expenses
  • Reduction in income due to lack of commission or seasonal employment
  • Fluctuations in self-employment or business income 
  • Reduction in income due to lifestyle choice(s) 
  • Cost of college tuition and/or private elementary or high school tuition
  • Bankruptcy
  • Unemployment that ended prior to 2022
Possible Aid Outcomes

Family Contribution Appeals are only considered for additional federal Pell Grant, which carries a maximum award of $7,395 for 2024-2025. Students can also be considered for subsidized loan eligibility, which does not increase the overall aid offered to the student but changes the type of federal direct loan funding offered to the student. Federal Pell Grants are only offered to undergraduate students who filed the FAFSA and are working on their first Bachelor's degree. This appeal is only available to undergraduate students who are not already receiving the maximum federal Pell Grant. Please continue to consider all of your options for resolving your bill, as we cannot guarantee this appeal will result in enough aid to cover the student's expenses.

 

There is not a deadline for submitting a Special Circumstances Appeal. As long as you are actively enrolled, you may request the appeal during your registered term(s). However, there comes a point when we cannot provide a thorough review before the semester ends. As such, we recommend submitting your appeal no more than one week prior to the end of term to ensure our office can review before your enrollment ends for the year. Please see below for those suggested dates. We also strongly recommend providing all requested documentation with your appeal to ensure an efficient and timely review.

Due to condensed time frames, we cannot guarantee a timely review during the summer enrollment terms. Appeals requested during the summer sessions are reviewed on a case-by-case basis to ensure we can review and respond before the end of the term.

 

Enrollment Period

Last Day of the Enrollment Period

Last Day Students Can Submit and Receive a Review

Fall 2024 registration only

December 17, 2024

December 3rd, 2024

Spring 2025 registration only, or Fall 2024 & Spring 2025 registration

May 6, 2025

April 29th, 2025