You may submit an appeal to our office for specific circumstances.  Your appeal will be reviewed by our appeals committees and you will be notified generally within 3 weeks.

  • Exclusion of Stepparent Contribution
    Dependent students must provide parental information to be considered for financial aid. Stepparent information is required on your financial aid application. If you believe that a contribution should not be computed from your stepparent and you can demonstrate that you and your stepparent have not been part of the same family unit, you may appeal with our office by submitting the form (Requesting Exclusion of Stepparent Contribution) for the appropriate school year.
  • Marital Update for Dependent Student
    If you originally filed your financial aid application with parent data but have since then become married, you may submit the form (Revision Request Regarding a Marital Update of a Dependent Student) for the appropriate school year.  Our office will determine if it is appropriate to use your spouse’s information in determining your eligibility for financial aid rather than your parent’s information.
  • Appeal for Independent Status
  • Dependent students are required to provide parental information and signatures to be considered for financial aid. Aid eligibility is determined by using parent income and asset information in addition to your information. Appeals cannot be approved based solely on a parent’s unwillingness or inability to support a student’s college education or their unwillingness to provide the required information.
    • Unusual Circumstances:
    • If you cannot provide parent information due to unusual family circumstances, you may appeal to apply for aid without parental information. For this purpose, an unusual circumstance includes, but is not limited to, a permanent, irreconcilable break in the relationship with the parent(s) due to abuse, abandonment, or extreme mistreatment.
      If your appeal to apply for financial aid without parent information was approved in the last academic year you attended the UW, please complete the Reaffirmation of Independent Status form.
    • Unaccompanied Homeless Youth:
    • If you are an unaccompanied youth who is homeless or is self-supporting and at risk of being homeless, you may appeal to apply for aid without parental information.  For this purpose, a new determination must be made each school year to classify you as an unaccompanied homeless youth.
  • Priority Appeal: Late Application
    If you submitted your financial aid application after January 15, you may appeal to meet the priority date based on extraordinary circumstances. The FAFSA/WASFA priority filing date has been extended to February 28, 2024 due to changes to the FAFSA application for 2024-25. For more details, please see this announcement.
  • Priority Appeal: Reduced Credit Load Request
    If you are working with Disability Resources for Students (DRS) and will be taking a reduced credit load as an accommodation, you can request to be considered for priority funding even though you are not registered full-time. This appeal does not change your enrollment status, and certain aid programs must be prorated (reduced) even if this appeal is approved. Federal loan eligibility requires at least half-time enrollment. Students should contact their DRS coordinator to obtain the appeal form.  The form needs to be submitted to your campus’ DRS office at least 3 weeks prior to the start of the quarter and your registration should match the credits indicated on the form. It would generally not be possible to review a DRS appeal after aid has disbursed for the quarter.
  • Satisfactory Academic Progress Appeal
    If you did not meet the satisfactory academic progress requirements because you had special circumstances you may file an appeal with our office. You will need to demonstrate unusual circumstances beyond your control that are not likely to recur in the immediate future. You will need to explain what has changed in your situation so that you will now be able to make academic progress. If approved, you will need to meet the requirements of an individual academic plan to continue to receive financial aid.