Special circumstances
VCU Financial Aid will review aid appeals for the following special circumstances:
- Loss of wages (student, spouse or parent)
- Separation or divorce
- Death of parent or spouse
- Dependent care expenses
- Unusually high medical, dental, vision or prescription expenses not covered by insurance
- Exclusion from family income or assets any proceeds or losses from a sale of farm or business assets of a family resulting from a foreclosure, forfeiture, bankruptcy, or liquidation
- Adjustment to assets to consider additional costs incurred by the student because of a disability of the student, their dependent or spouse, or their parent or guardian
Some appeal circumstances may require additional information or documentation; please see below for further details. Once all documentation has been collected, the financial aid counselor will electronically submit the case to the professional judgment committee for review and a decision.
Decisions made by the committee are final. There is no appeal process to the U.S. Department of Education.
If your special circumstances appeal is approved, the office will determine if you are eligible for other federal aid programs, institutional, or state aid programs. In some cases, an approved appeal may not result in additional consideration for aid based on unique award eligibility requirements.
Appeal circumstances VCU will review
Have you or your family experienced a loss of income lasting more than two months? If your answer is yes, we offer an appeal process to determine if you are eligible for other financial aid programs.
Experiencing a decrease in income may be a new situation for you. We have reviewed many appeals within our VCU family of students with similar situations. We are here to guide you through the process.
You must meet with your financial counselor for review of your special circumstances, please make an appointment by logging onto Navigate , appointment scheduling.
We understand that your circumstances may be causing you anxiety. We will carefully review your circumstances within 2-4 weeks. When the appeal has been reviewed, we will send a communication to the student’s eServices account describing the results.
Not all approved appeals may result in additional consideration for financial aid programs.
Experiencing your situation may be new for you. We have reviewed many appeals within our VCU family of students with similar situations. We are here to guide you through the process.
You must meet with your financial counselor for review of your special circumstances, please make an appointment by logging onto Navigate , appointment scheduling.
We understand that your circumstances may be causing you anxiety. We will carefully review your circumstances within 10 business days. When the appeal has been reviewed, we will send a communication to the student’s eServices account describing the results.
Not all approved appeals may result in additional consideration for financial aid programs.
Experiencing your situation may be new for you. We have reviewed many appeals within our VCU family of students with similar situations. We are here to guide you through the process.
You must meet with your financial counselor for review of your special circumstances, please make an appointment by logging onto Navigate , appointment scheduling.
We understand that your circumstances may be causing you anxiety. We will carefully review your circumstances within 10 business days. When the appeal has been reviewed, we will send a communication to the student’s eServices account describing the results.
Not all approved appeals may result in additional consideration for financial aid programs.
Experiencing your situation may be new for you. We have reviewed many appeals within our VCU family of students with similar situations. We are here to guide you through the process.
You must meet with your financial counselor for review of your special circumstances, please make an appointment by logging onto Navigate , appointment scheduling.
We understand that your circumstances may be causing you anxiety. We will carefully review your circumstances within 10 business days. When the appeal has been reviewed, we will send a communication to the student’s eServices account describing the results.
Not all approved appeals may result in additional consideration for financial aid programs.
Experiencing your situation may be new for you. We have reviewed many appeals within our VCU family of students with similar situations. We are here to guide you through the process.
You must meet with your financial counselor for review of your special circumstances, please make an appointment by logging onto Navigate , appointment scheduling.
We understand that your circumstances may be causing you anxiety. We will carefully review your circumstances within 10 business days. When the appeal has been reviewed, we will send a communication to the student’s eServices account describing the results.
Not all approved appeals may result in additional consideration for financial aid programs.
Dependency override
A student may have unusual circumstances that justify a change in status from dependent to independent. All dependency overrides are made on a case-by-case basis. A student must submit the Dependency Override Request Form that can be obtained on the Forms website.
Financial counselors may be reached (804) 828-1550 or by logging in to Navigate.