Special Circumstances

For a variety of reasons, you may find it necessary to request a reevaluation of your financial aid eligibility or award. Reasons may include: changes in your family’s circumstances that significantly and unexpectedly affect your parents’ or your own ability to meet your expected contribution; requests to change the job vs. loan mix or to include additional expenses in the standard educational budget; and requests for consideration of additional information not previously available.

Requesting a revision to a financial aid award requires that you or your parents submit in writing a specific and detailed explanation of your situation. We ask that each family complete an Appeals form.  Circumstances such as changes in income or the number of family members in the household or college will likely result in changes to your parents contribution and will, therefore, change your eligibility for financial aid. Other situations, such as household expenses in excess of the income protection allowed by institutional methodology, do not generally alter the needs analysis, and, therefore, probably will not result in changes in eligibility for federal or Duke aid.

We may be able to adjust your parent contribution if your parents have had a change in income between 2008 and 2009, incurred significant medical, dental, or legal expenses; supported grandparents or other relatives; live separately supporting two households. It is important for you and your parents to be aware that we will not reduce expected contribution as consequence of a family’s financial decisions, such as refusing to pay educational costs or cash flow problems due to choices you and your parents have made in allocating or spending your resources.

Response time to requests for reevaluation varies, depending on the complexity of the issues involved and time of year. Newly admitted students requesting revisions to initial awards in April will usually receive a response within three weeks. Appeals submitted at other times of the year may require two to three weeks, or even longer. We will make every effort to respond as promptly as possible.