A Special Circumstance for Parents (SCP) may be used when a family's financial status is not accurately reflected on the FAFSA. Our office can evaluate your circumstance to determine if it could have an impact on the type or amount of financial aid that is available. Documentation is required for all SCP Appeals and will not be reviewed until all documents are turned in and complete. It is important to remember that there is no guarantee that this will result in a change to your financial aid award.

Deadlines and Time Frames for 2020-2021

• The 2020-21 Special Circumstance Appeals will be available beginning April 2020 and must be submitted by August 1st, 2020 to be considered for the 2020-2021 academic year.
• For Spring enrollment (1st Semester attendance only) or Summer enrollment (1st Semester attendance only), Special Conditions Appeals must be submitted by December 1st, 2020.
• Processing takes approximately 3 weeks from the time the appeal is submitted with all required documents as requested by the Financial Aid office.
• 2020-21 appeals for "unemployment" will not be considered after November 1st, 2020. After this date, they can be considered for the 2021-22 academic year.

Appeal Requirements

To complete a Special Circumstance Appeal, you must speak to a financial aid representative in person to determine if you qualify to receive an appeal. In addition, you must complete the following:

• Have the current year's FAFSA completed
• Be included on the FAFSA information.
• Have a circumstance that is not already reflected on the FAFSA
• Provide all required documentation and any additional information requested during the Appeals process.
• Complete the verification process, if applicable. If the student's file was selected for verification and IRS Data Retrieval feature is not used to complete or updated the FAFSA, tax return transcripts and household verification will be required before we are able to process a SCP Appeal

Allowable Circumstances

IU Kokomo Financial Aid will consider making adjustments for the following situations:

• Income Loss (ie: involuntary loss of employment)
• Severance Pay
• Out of pocket Medical/Dental expenses in 2018 in excess of 10% of your AGI
• One-Time Out of Pocket Extraordinary Expense paid in 2018 (ie: needed home repairs)
• Unexpected death of parent and/or spouse that earned income documented on the FAFSA
• Change in marital status due to the reason of divorce; legal separations will not be considered 

Non-Allowable Circumstances

IU Kokomo Financial Aid will not consider making adjustments for the following situations:

• Bankruptcy
• Consumer Debt (ie: credit cards, card payments)
• "Lifestyle" choices (including high mortgage payments or second vehicles)
• Any circumstance experienced by a non-custodial parent (parent not listed on the FAFSA)
• Voluntary income losses