Special & unusual circumstances
Students and families affected by COVID-19, recent national emergencies, or natural disasters
If you or your family have been affected by national emergencies like COVID-19 or natural disasters like flooding, tornadoes, or hurricanes, you may consider requesting a special circumstances review. A review does not guarantee additional financial support but does allow Financial Aid & Scholarships to consider any loss of wages or out-of-pocket expenses you or your family incurred as a result of the incident.
Special circumstances
Adjustments may be considered for loss of income for the following reasons:
- Job termination or loss of income (due to change of job, reduction in hours worked, natural disaster or retirement)
- Divorce or separation after the FAFSA was completed
- Death of a parent or spouse after the FAFSA was completed
- Loss or reduction of untaxed income or benefits
- Loss or reduction of child support/alimony received
- Child support paid
- Housing expenses
- Medical or dental expenses
- Dependent care expenses
- Private school tuition
As part of the special circumstances process, Financial Aid & Scholarships will ask for applicable financial estimates for the student, parent(s), or spouse (if married). When estimating income, please include all sources of potential income for the year, included but not limited to wages, bonuses, severance, unemployment, and disability.
How to request a special circumstances review
- Complete the relevant aid year FAFSA at fafsa.gov
- Contact your financial aid counselor to schedule an appointment to discuss your changed financial circumstances
- The financial aid counselor will asses eligibility for special circumstances, and if they determine the circumstances justify further review, they will request a written narrative and supporting documentation
The special circumstances review cannot be processed until all documentation is submitted. Once all documentation has been successfully submitted, please allow up to four to six weeks for processing.
Special circumstances impact
If the special circumstances review results in increased eligibility for aid and if funds are available, you may receive additional assistance. If your review results in increased eligibility, you may be asked to provide documentation (such as federal income tax documents) at the end of the calendar year to verify the accuracy of your income projections or projected expenses. If changes need to be made and these changes result in reduced eligibility, you may have to repay aid. Additionally, student loan amounts are limited by federal regulation.
Budget adjustments
All KU students have an estimated cost of attendance, or a budget, and Financial Aid & Scholarships staff cannot award financial aid in excess of that. However, there are some scenarios where we are able to adjust the cost of attendance so that additional financial aid can be awarded. Adjustments to Cost of Attendance do not guarantee additional financial aid will be awarded. If you have increases based on one or more of the following types of non-discretionary expenses, adjustment of your academic year cost of attendance may be possible.
- Medical/dental/disability expenses for the student
- Childcare expenses
- Computer
- Additional required educational expenses
- Additional transportation expenses
- Excess housing costs and/or food and shelter for dependents
- Other
If you would like to request a budget adjustment, log in to ku.verifymyfafsa.com and click the "Add+" button. Budget adjustment requests are evaluated only after the original FAFSA and all supporting documents have been reviewed. It may take 2-3 weeks to evaluate your request.
If your request results in increased eligibility for aid, you may receive additional assistance if funds are available. However, if the documentation you submit results in reduced eligibility for financial aid, you may be required to repay aid and/or previously awarded aid may be canceled or reduced.
Federal Direct loans amounts are limited by federal regulation. However, additional aid options may come in the form of a Parent PLUS loan (undergraduate dependent students only), a Graduate PLUS loan (graduate students only) or a private/alternative loan such as the KU Endowment Association loan.