Appealing Your Financial Aid Offer

If your financial circumstances have changed significantly or you are experiencing circumstances beyond your control, you may be eligible to appeal your financial aid offer. We will review your situation and determine whether an adjustment to your aid eligibility is appropriate. Review the appeal options below to find the one that best matches your circumstances.

Cost Of Attendance (COA) Appeal
Student Aid Index (SAI) Appeal
Unusual Circumstances Appeal
How to Submit an Appeal

Cost Of Attendance (COA) Appeal

Formerly known as the Budget Increase Request, this appeal is a request to re-consider a student's allowed COA.

Every student is given a set budget for each academic year. However, we understand that there may be situations that where students will need to increase their budget because they need to make room for additional aid towards their educational expenses (Ex. Loans, Scholarships outside of FAFSA/CADAA, Stipends, etc.). The COA appeal is an option students may take in order to increase their budget to cover additional educational expenses.

Please note: This appeal does not increase Grant or Direct Loan amounts. If approved, it can only increase PLUS Loan and Alternative Loan amounts awarded to the student.

COA Appeal Criteria

Allowed	Not Allowed
Computer purchase (Allowed only once during the student’s academic career) Departmental expenses required for major Medical or dental expenses Mileage Child care expenses Increase in Housing payments Other - Depending on professional judgment used by Financial Aid Counselor reviewing paperwork	Increase Grant amounts Increase Federal Direct Loan amounts Paying past due charges for previous semesters Paying off credit card debt Non educational expenses for personal reasons

Student Aid Index (SAI) Appeal

Formerly known as the Special Circumstances Petition (SCP), this appeal allows our office to review income changes that could not be reflected or explained on the FAFSA.

Please note: Only undergraduate students with a Student Aid Index (SAI) greater than 0 can be considered. Students with an SAI of -1500 or 0 are already awarded the maximum Pell Grant amount.

AB 540 Dream students and graduate students are not eligible to submit this petition due to limited financial aid options.

SAI Appeal criteria

We will generally consider:

We will not consider:

Loss or reduction of income, including but not limited to loss of employment, reduction of pay, death of a parent or spouse, and reduction/loss of child support
Divorce or separation
One time only income distributions
High out of pocket medical and/or dental expenses
K-12 private school tuition, or tax liens
Costs associated with a natural disaster

Changes to assets or inability to liquidate assets;
Loss of overtime or bonus
Bankruptcy, foreclosures or collection costs associated with outstanding debt
Consumer debt (credit cards, car payments, loans, etc.)
Lottery or gambling winnings or losses
One-time income used for non-life essential items (e.g., family vacation)
Parents (step-parents or biological parents) who do not wish to provide support
Marital separation where the parents are still living together

Unusual Circumstances Appeal

Formerly known as a Dependency Override, this appeal allows us to review and potentially update a student's dependency status.

What determines dependency status

According to the U.S. Department of Education, students are considered dependent for financial aid purposes until age 24, regardless of whether their parent(s) provide financial support. Living or working independently does not qualify a student as independent.

Learn more on the FAFSA Dependency Status Webpage.

Unusual Circumstances Appeal Criteria

Students may request to be considered independent if they can demonstrate unusual circumstances.

Please note: This is not a guaranteed process. A Financial Aid Counselor will review your appeal and determine whether the request can be approved.

Situations that may qualify

Situations that do not qualify on their own

You may be considered for a dependency override if you can clearly demonstrate an adverse family situation, such as:

Human trafficking
Legal refugee or asylum status
Severe parental abandonment or estrangement
Student or parental incarceration
Abusive home environment (physical or emotional)
Being homeless or at risk of homelessness
Being an unaccompanied youth

The following situations alone do not qualify:

Parent(s) unwilling to provide information on the FAFSA/CADAA
Parent(s) refusal to contribute to educational costs
Parent(s) do not claim the student as a dependent for tax purposes
Student does not live with parent(s)
Student demonstrates total self-sufficiency

How to Submit an Appeal

Follow the steps below to access the Financial Aid Student Forms portal and submit your appeal through the SFSU Gateway.

Log in to the SF State Gateway using your SF State credentials.
In the Launchpad section, select “See all apps.”
Scroll to the Finance & Jobs section and select “FinAid Student Form.”
If prompted, create an account or log in to the Student Forms portal.
Once logged in, select “Manage Requests.”
Locate the appeal you want to submit. Confirm you are on the correct school year, then select the “+” (plus) icon to begin the form.