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Special Circumstances

Student Dependency Override

The Higher Education Act allows an aid administrator to make dependency overrides on a case-by-case basis for students with special circumstances. If the administrator judges that an override is appropriate, he/she must document the special circumstances.

Dependency Overrides do not carry over from one school to another; they do not carry over from one year to the next. If the student is not independent from some other reason, the financial aid office must reaffirm each year that the special circumstances persist and that an override is still justified.

Generally the documentation of special circumstance should come from a third party who knows the student's situation (such as a teacher, counselor or member of the clergy), but in cases where this is not available, the school can accept a signed statement from the student detailing the special circumstance.

Portland State University financial aid office require students who are re-petitioning for a Dependency Override decision to:

  1. Provide a signed and dated statement from a third party (clergy member, attorney, counselor, medical doctor, officer of the court, law enforcement officer, mental health professional) on their professional letterhead.

    2. OR

  2. Student writes, signs, and dates a statement detailing the special circumstance.

Submitting the Petition with a statement of "the circumstances still exist" will not suffice. The student will need to detail the special circumstance each year. This detailed statement will need to be handed in with the Petition.

Professional Judgment

If you have unusual financial circumstances such as medical expenses not covered by insurance, involuntary job loss, or divorce, you may complete the following forms (as they apply to your situation).

  • Student Re-evaluation Form* (for income loss, divorce)
  • Student Medical Expenses
  • Parent Re-evaluation Form* (for income loss, divorce)
  • Parent Medical Expenses

These forms can be found on the Publications page.
(*Select the form specific to the aid year for which you are applying.)