Cost of Attendance (COA) Increase Petition

Cost of Attendance petitions are allowed in certain special circumstances. Your loan eligibility cannot exceed your Cost of Attendance (COA) minus any other financial aid. If you have remaining loan eligibility that you cannot access because you have met your cost of attendance with other aid, and you have higher expenses than what the standard cost of attendance covers, you may petition to increase your cost of attendance.

Common reasons for petitions

• Disability-related expenses: special services, personal assistance, transportation, equipment, and supplies not provided by another agency. You must provide documentation of expenses.
• Dependent care allowance: for students with one or more dependents. Documentation would include actual expenses incurred for dependent care while you are participating in educationally-related activities (such as class time, study groups, fieldwork, internships, and commuting time). Your dependent may be your child or other person you provide care for, such as your parent or spouse.
• Unusually high out-of-pocket paid medical expenses: documentation would include copies of bills, canceled checks, prescription statements from the pharmacy, insurance premium statements or wage statements showing premium amounts withheld, etc.
• Other unusual expense that are not covered in the standard cost of attendance.

Examples of expenses less likely to be eligible for COA increases:

• Increased living expenses for married students or families based solely on the fact that costs are higher than for single students or what is estimated in BYU's published COA
• Purchase of a vehicle or vehicle payments
• Auto repairs and standard maintenance
• Credit card or other consumer debt payments
• Costs incurred outside the current academic year
• Costs incurred by a family member or roommate

Instructions

1. Write a personal statement explaining the unusual expense you are experiencing.
2. Provide pertinent documentation of the expense. Examples include (but are not limited to):
   
   • Summary of Expenses form for medical expenses
   • Receipts of medical expense payments
   • Medical bills
   • Documentation of prescription medication
   • Documentation of daycare expenses while in education-related activities
   • Documentation of expenses for disability-related expenses incurred by student, not another agency

Click here for more information on BYU's Cost of Attendance.

Contact us

If you have questions about petitioning for a Cost of Attendance increase, we invite you to contact Enrollment Services to discuss your situation. Counselors are happy to assist you.