Financial Aid Petitions
Federal regulations allow you to petition to have your financial aid eligibility re-evaluated if you have certain unusual or special circumstances. If you submit a petition and it is approved, it may allow you to receive Pell Grant funds. Depending on the circumstances of your petition, it may only change your loan eligibility to allow you to receive Federal Direct Subsidized Loan money, rather than just unsubsidized loans.
You may also be able to petition if you are not meeting Satisfactory Academic Progress standards (SAP) but have extenuating circumstances that prevent you from meeting SAP and receiving federal financial aid. Situations that are petition-able include, but are not limited to the following types of petitions.
For information about petitioning your scholarship, see the Scholarship Petitions page.
Timeframe for petition decisions
Once you submit all required documentation for a petition, Enrollment Services Counselors will review the petition and make a decision to approve or deny it within 30 days. If we determine that we need additional documentation to make a decision on the petition, the 30 day timeframe will start over once the additional documentation is received.
Contact us
If you have any questions about petitions to have your financial aid eligibility re-evaluated, or to find out if you may be able to petition your particular circumstance, we invite you to contact Enrollment Services to make an appointment to discuss your situation. Counselors are happy to assist you.
Types of Petitions
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Toggle ItemLoss of Income
Loss of Income petitions are for special circumstances and considered in situations such as layoff, death, disability, or divorce/separation, or one-time income (such as 401K funds pulled out to be used for essential and unique circumstances).
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Toggle ItemMedical & Dental Expenses
Medical & Dental Expense petitions are considered for special circumstances in which significant expenses paid out-of-pocket for the year that is 2 years prior to the start of the academic year you want to petition. (For example, if you want to petition for medical expenses during the 2023-2024 during academic year, you would petition the medical expenses paid during 2021).
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Toggle ItemDependency Override
Dependency Override petitions allow for dependency status changes from dependent to independent on that FAFSA due to an unusual circumstance. Such circumstances that can be considered are those such as abuse, abandonment, incarcerations of parent, etc.
*Note: It is not considered an unusual circumstance if your parents do not support you financially, do not claim you as a dependent on their taxes, or if you live on your own and demonstrate self-sufficiency.
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Toggle ItemCost of Attendance
Cost of Attendance (COA) Increase petitions are for special circumstances and allow you to request to have your COA increased. These extenuating costs include such things as dependent care expenses, a one-time computer purchase allowance, disability-related expenses not paid for by an agency or the school, and medical/dental expenses paid for out-of-pocket during the current academic year.
*Note: These expenses only increase your COA to allow you to receive additional federal or private loan funds. They do not increase or give you eligibility for Pell Grants.
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Toggle ItemHousehold Size
Household Size petitions allow you to petition to have your household size increased if you have already been verified and you or your spouse are expecting a baby that is due by June 30th at the end of the applicable academic year.
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Toggle ItemSatisfactory Academic Progress
Satisfactory Academic Progress petitions are considered if you do not meet one or more of BYU's Satisfactory Academic Progress standards if you have special circumstances that caused you to not meet the requirement(s).
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Toggle ItemComputer Purchase Allowance
Computer Purchase Allowance requests allow you as an undergraduate or graduate student to request a one-time, $1500 increase to your Cost of Attendance (COA) for the purchase of a new computer. If you are a Law or MSB student, a one-time allowance of $1500 has already been included in your COA for the purchase of a computer, as required by your program.
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Toggle ItemMarital Status Updates
Marital status updates may be considered for students whose marital status changes by June 30th of the academic year in which they want to receive aid.
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Toggle ItemParent Refusal for FAFSA (Apply for a Direct Unsubsidized Loan Only)
Parent Refusal for FAFSA petitions are considered for dependent students to receive Federal Direct Unsubsidized loans when their parents refuse to provide their information on the FAFSA.