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Financial Aid

Special Circumstance Review

When you complete the FAFSA, you鈥檙e required to use income and asset information from two years earlier. For the 2026鈥�2027 FAFSA, that means using 2024 tax information. However, we understand that life can change over time, and your current financial situation may look very different today.

If your family鈥檚 financial or personal circumstances have changed and are not accurately reflected on your FAFSA, you may be eligible to request a special circumstance review.

Dependency Status and Special Circumstances
When completing the FAFSA, most students are considered dependent, which means parent information is required. However, some students may be considered independent based on specific criteria (such as age, marital status, military service, or other circumstances defined by federal guidelines).

If you are required to provide parent information but are unable to do so due to unique or challenging family circumstances, we may be able to review your situation.

Requesting a Dependency Override (Unusual Circumstances)
Students with unusual circumstances may request a dependency override. This process allows us to review whether you can be considered independent for financial aid purposes.

Examples of situations we may consider include:

  • Documented abusive or unsafe family environments
  • Parent abandonment or estrangement
  • Parents whose whereabouts are unknown (verified by a third party)
  • Parental incarceration
  • Human trafficking
  • Refugee or asylum status

Situations That Typically Do Not Qualify
While we understand that many families face financial challenges, federal regulations limit what can be considered for a dependency override. The following situations generally do not qualify:

  • A parent鈥檚 unwillingness to contribute to educational costs
  • A parent鈥檚 refusal to provide FAFSA information
  • A parent鈥檚 unwillingness to borrow loans
  • General financial hardship (such as debt or changes in investments)
  • Differences in aid offers from other schools

Documentation
If you request a review, you will need to complete a Dependency Override form and provide supporting documentation. This may include statements or records from third parties such as:

  • Social workers or case managers
  • Counselors or medical professionals
  • Government or community agencies
  • School or program representatives (e.g., TRIO, GEAR UP)

Additional documentation may be requested depending on your situation.

Our office is required to follow federal regulations when reviewing these requests, and each case is evaluated individually. If you believe your situation may qualify, we encourage you to reach out so we can guide you through the process.

Special Circumstance Appeal Form

Please email the Office of Financial Aid (financial-aid@wittenberg.edu) or call us at 937-327-7321 to learn more about the process and any documentation required to complete the process.

For financial aid (FAFSA) purposes, a student is considered a dependent of their parents and must submit their parents鈥� financial information on the FAFSA, unless the student is:

  • 24-years-old
  • married
  • serving on active duty in the US Armed Forces
  • a veteran
  • a parent with dependents
  • an emancipated minor
  • homeless (as declared by a third party)
  • assigned a legal guardian before the age of 18

If a dependent student does not provide parental data on their FAFSA (effective for the 2026-2027 academic year and beyond), the Office of Financial Aid is obligated to contact the student and request additional information, prior to completing an award. Students who may qualify for a dependency override, as outlined below, are required to complete, sign, and submit the Dependency Override Form to our office, including any/all supporting documentation.

Dependency Override (Unusual Circumstances) Form:

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Unusual circumstances we consider:

  • Documented Abusive Family Situations
  • Parental Abandonment/Estrangement
  • Parents cannot be located (as verified by third party)
  • Parental Incarceration
  • Human Trafficking
  • Being legally granted refugee or asylum status

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Circumstances we do not consider:

  • Different university offering more aid
  • Reduced 401K values
  • Reduced investment values
  • Credit card debt, car payments or other elective household debt
  • Student/Parent/Guardian鈥檚 unwillingness to participate in paying for college
  • Parent/Guardian鈥檚 inability or unwillingness to borrow Parent PLUS loans
  • Elective enrollment in private primary education of other children in the household
  • If student already has a Student Aid Index (SAI) of -1,500 to 0

Examples of supporting documents we may request include (but are not limited to):

  • Submission of a court order or official Federal or State documentation that the student鈥檚 parents or legal guardians are incarcerated
  • A written statement which confirms the unusual circumstances from a state, county, or Tribal welfare agency
  • An independent living case worker who supports current and former foster youth with the transition to adulthood
  • A public or private agency, facility, or program servicing victims of abuse, neglect, assault, or violence
  • A representative of a TRIO or GEAR UP program which confirms the circumstances and the person鈥檚 relationship to the student
  • A documented determination of independence made by a financial aid administrator at another institution in the same or a prior award year
  • A document from a medical professional confirming physical abuse
  • A letter or email from the 51吃瓜网 campus counseling team documenting the unusual circumstance.

The Office of Financial Aid must adhere to guidance provided by the US Department of Education for these processes, as outlined by the Higher Education Act of 1965:

To submit the form to us for review, please use the document portal linked below. Please be sure to include all supporting documents to avoid delays:

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