College application processes are designed around a family's financial snapshot from two years prior (the FAFSA's tax year requirement). When circumstances change significantly, families often don't know they can ask for reconsideration. They can — and they should. Here is how.
What 'Changed Circumstances' Covers
Financial aid offices can consider: a significant loss of employment (job loss, reduction in hours, retirement), large unreimbursed medical or dental expenses, divorce or separation that has changed the household's financial structure, a death in the family, unusual mandatory expenses (elder care, disability costs), or natural disasters that have affected the family's assets or income.
Professional Judgment: The Process
'Professional judgment' is the legal authority granted to financial aid administrators under the Higher Education Act to adjust a student's financial aid determination based on documented special circumstances. To trigger a professional judgment review: contact the financial aid office (in writing, by phone, or in person), explain your circumstances factually and specifically, and provide documentation of the change (termination letter, medical bills, divorce decree, etc.). The financial aid officer will evaluate whether an adjustment is appropriate.
Timing Matters
The earlier you contact financial aid offices, the more flexibility they have. Contacting them in February or March — before aid packages are finalized — is more effective than calling in April after decisions have been made. If circumstances change after you receive your award letter, the appeal process is still available, but earlier is always better.
Talking to Admissions
If financial changes affect your ability to pay an enrollment deposit by May 1, contact the admissions office directly and explain the situation. Many schools will grant deposit deadline extensions for documented financial hardship while your aid appeal is processed.