Types of Professional Judgment (Special or Unusual Circumstances)    

  • Dependency Override (DO) is an Unusual Circumstance referring to conditions of a student's unique situation such as human trafficking, refugee or asylum status, parental abuse, parental abandonment, or incarceration
  • Student Aid Index (SAI) is the number the school uses to determine if a student is eligible for need-based financial aid and is considered a Special Circumstance referring to a financial situation such as loss of income
  • Cost of Attendance (COA) is a Special Circumstance referring to a financial situation such as loss of income

     

What are Special Circumstances?

Special circumstances are used to personalize current financial circumstances based on unusual situations. The Special Circumstance process is for changes in income or cost of attendance after filing your 2025-2026 FAFSA (current students enrolled in the 2024-2025 academic year may still and are encouraged to contact the Office of Student Financial Services for any changes in costs of attendance after filling the 2024-2025 FAFSA). Special Circumstance cases will be reviewed after you receive a complete financial aid offer. Please read the information below before submitting the Special Circumstance Review form. Any questions, please reach out to sfs@alvernia.edu or 610-796-8201.
 


Acceptable and Non-Acceptable Circumstances

Reasons to Submit a Professional Judgment Request
  • Unusually high childcare or dependent care expenses
  • Unusually high medical or dental expenses
  • Changes in a family's reported income
  • Death or disability of a wage earner
  • Separation/divorce of the student's parents
  • One-time taxable income
Situations Not Considered Special Circumstances
  • Vacation expenses
  • Tithing expenses
  • Standard living expenses (e.g., utilities, credit card expenses, children's allowances, etc.)
  • Mortgage payments
  • Car payments
  • Lawn care/HOA fees
  • Credit card or other personal debt problems
  • All other discretionary expenses


 

What are Unusual Circumstances?

Unusual circumstances are when a student is unable to contact a parent or where contact with the parent poses a risk to the student. Examples include human trafficking, legally granted refugee or asylum status, parental abandonment or estrangement, and student or parental incarceration. Please read the information below before submitting the Unusual Circumstance Review form. Any questions, please reach out to sfs@alvernia.edu or 610-796-8201.
 

Unusual Circumstance Review

Under HEA Sec. 480(d)(9), the FAFSA Simplification Act incorporated unusual circumstances to consider when a student is unable to contact a parent or where contact with parents poses a risk to the student. In such cases, an override might be warranted based on the student's individual circumstances. These conditions would also not disqualify a student from being a homeless unaccompanied youth or self-supporting and at risk of homelessness. However, none of the conditions listed below, singly or in combination, qualify as unusual circumstances meriting a dependency override.

What Unusual Circumstances Include
  • Human trafficking, as described in the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (22 U.S.C. 7101 et seq.)
  • Legally granted refugee or asylum status
  • Parental abandonment or estrangement
  • Student or parental incarceration
What Unusual Circumstances Do Not Include
  • Parents refuse to contribute to the student's education
  • Parents will not provide information for the FAFSA or verification
  • Parents do not claim the student as a dependent for income tax purposes
  • A student demonstrates total self-sufficiency
Dependent Student Without Parental Support


Dependent students whose parents refuse to support them are not eligible for a dependency override, but they may be able to receive a dependent-level Direct Unsubsidized Loan only. For a student to be eligible for this provision the following must be documented:

  • The student's parents refuse to complete the FAFSA.
  • The student's parents do not and will not provide any financial support to him or her (include the date support ended)
     

If the parents refuse to sign and date a statement to this effect, documentation from a third party is needed (the student is not sufficient), such as a teacher, counselor, cleric, or court.

Unaccompanied Homeless Youth


A student is independent if, at any time on or after July 1, 2022, the student is determined to be an unaccompanied youth who is homeless or is self-supporting and at risk of being homeless. In determining independence due to homelessness, we shall consider documentation from the following entities—provided through a documented phone call, written statement, or verifiable electronic data match—to be adequate:

  • A local educational agency homeless liaison (or designee), as designated by the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11432(g)(1)(J)(ii))
  • The director (or designee) of an emergency or transitional shelter, street outreach program, homeless youth drop-in center, or other program serving individuals who are experiencing homelessness
  • The director (or designee) of a Federal TRIO program or a Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate program (GEAR UP) grant
  • A financial aid administrator at another institution documented the student's circumstance in the same or a prior award year

    OR
  • A written statement from or a documented interview with the student(s) confirming they are unaccompanied homeless youth
  • An unaccompanied youth at risk of homelessness, and self-supporting
     

Any student who is not yet 24 may qualify for a homeless youth determination and the financial aid staff will make determinations on a case-by-case basis.

Homeless Youth Determinations


A student is considered homeless if they lack fixed, regular, and adequate housing.

Determining Homeless Youth

  • Youth sharing housing with other people temporarily because they had nowhere else to go
  • Youth living in emergency or transitional shelters. For example, trailers provided by the Federal Emergency Management Agency after disasters
  • Youth living in motels, campgrounds, cars, parks, abandoned buildings, bus or train stations, substandard housing, or any public or private place not designed for humans to live in
  • Youth living in the school dormitory if they would otherwise be homeless
  • Youth who are migrants and who qualify as experiencing homelessness because they are living in the circumstances described above
     

Homeless Youth Definitions

  • At risk of being homeless: when a student's housing may cease to be fixed, regular, and adequate. For example, a student who is being evicted and has been unable to find fixed, regular, and adequate housing
  • Homeless: lacking fixed, regular, and adequate housing
  • Self-supporting: when a student pays for their own living expenses, including fixed, regular, and adequate housing
  • Unaccompanied: when a student is not living in the physical custody of a parent or guardian
  • Housing:
    • Fixed: stationary, permanent, and not subject to change
    • Regular: used on a predictable, routine, or consistent basis.
    • Adequate: sufficient for meeting both the physical and psychological needs typically met in the home.
       

The documentation must demonstrate the definition of this category of an independent student. The determination may be based upon a written statement from, or a documented interview with the student confirming they are an unaccompanied homeless youth, or unaccompanied, at risk of homelessness, and self-supporting.

 

Additional Resources

How can I be considered an independent student?


To be considered an independent student, you must meet one of the following criteria and provide documentation:

  • Born before January 1, 2002
  • Married (and not separated) 
  • A graduate or professional student 
  • A veteran 
  • A member of the armed forces 
  • An orphan 
  • A ward of the court 
  • Someone with legal dependents other than a spouse 
  • An emancipated minor 
  • Someone who is unaccompanied and homeless or self-supporting and at risk of being homeless 
What other types of professional judgment can students and families request?


Other types of professional judgment include:

  • Changes in dependency status
  • Changes in income or expenses after filling your 2024-2025 FAFSA
  • Changes in cost of attendance after filling your 2024-2025 FAFSA
  • Professional judgment cases will be reviewed after you receive a complete financial aid offer.


If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact sfs@alvernia.edu.

Financial Aid Appeals


First-Year Students

Alvernia makes every effort to provide families the best financial aid offer possible and will consider a Financial Aid appeal if one of the following has occurred within the past 12 months: Please note that for the 2025-2026 award year, Appeal Committee meetings will start after financial aid offers are mailed out and received by students and families. Appeals are reviewed only after complete financial aid offers are made.


Please attach a 1-2 page letter addressed to The Student Financial Services Appeal Committee along with completion of the Financial Aid Appeal Form (please see your admissions counselor for the form), outlining any mitigation circumstances and reason for appeal. Please be sure to include how you plan on covering your remaining balance if one exists after appeal approval or denial. If after review of your appeal the committee feels they need more information, you will be contacted in 48-72 hours.  If you are approved and/or denied you will be contacted within 48 hours at the email/phone number listed. This document must be completed in full or review may be delayed. Appeal Committee meetings are held each Monday after financial aid offers are published. Appeals are reviewed only after complete financial aid offers are made.

  • Decrease in income (but not applicable for Special Circumstance, see below)
  • Short term job loss (but not applicable for Special Circumstance, see below)
  • Special Circumstance Denial
  • Comparison to other school award letter
  • Other financial circumstances not reflected on the 2025-2026 FAFSA

     

Returning/Current Students

Returning/current students may also appeal for additional financial aid. Please email sfs@alvernia.edu with a complete appeal letter, which should be 1-2 pages long in a Word or PDF format (Google docs will not be accepted). Please include the following in the letter:

  • Details of mitigating circumstance not already covered by the Special Circumstance process (see below)
  • Financial options already explored
  • Current academic progress towards graduation
  • Academic success plan
  • Current financial status
  • Amount of request for additional aid
     

If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact sfs@alvernia.edu.

In This Section

FAFSA: What You Need To Know