Special Extenuating Circumstances

If you or your parents are experiencing extenuating circumstances, such as unemployment, high medical expenses not covered by insurance, or private tuition for elementary or secondary education costs, we may be able to assist you.

The U.S. Department of Education permits college financial aid administrators to review and process a professional judgment to assist students and families who are experiencing financial hardships.

There are 2 types of special circumstances. Extenuating circumstances that allow us to process a professional judgment to award additional federal funds and those “other” circumstances, called appeals, that are impacting your family this year.

A valid Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) must be on file for the academic year. The FAFSA asks for prior year’s income information to determine a student’s need and eligibility for federal aid. However, this data may warrant recalculating the income information based on the current year’s income projections.

Extenuating Circumstances include:

  • Loss or decrease in parental income through separation/divorce
  • Loss of income due to death of a parent
  • Loss of income due to loss of employment or disability
  • Lump sum cash out of IRA funds that inflated Adjusted Gross Income
  • Parental expenses for private school tuition paid in 2021 for children other than students in college as already reported on the FAFSA
  • Parents’ unreimbursed medical expenses

If you do not meet one of the circumstances outlined above, you do not need to complete any form. Please submit a detailed letter explaining your appeal circumstances into the CSS Dropbox. If any additional documents are needed our Office will send an email request for information to the email address provided in your appeal request.

The Center for Student Services will make every effort to assist you with an opportunity to request reconsideration of your financial aid package. If you meet any of the circumstances outlined above, download the appropriate Reconsideration form and Verification Worksheet (Dependent or Independent) and submit the completed forms with supporting documents through our secure CSS Dropbox or mail to:

Marymount Manhattan College
Attn: Center for Student Services
221 East 71 st Street
New York, NY 10021

If any additional documents are needed our Office will send an email request for information to the email address provided in your appeal request. Once all documentation is received, the review and processing time is a minimum of 2 weeks depending on the volume of requests received. You can prevent delays by submitting all the required documents at the same time.

Students who are not required to provide parental information on the FAFSA form and are determined Independent may submit the following forms for reconsideration. 

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