Appeals

We understand that there may be circumstances that affect your ability to pay for college, which may not be apparent in your initial financial aid information. Perhaps your and your family’s income has changed since the application was filed. Or, you may have educational expenses that weren't included in your financial aid budget. Our counselors can help with our appeal process, which will allow us to evaluate the impact of your special circumstances on your eligibility to pay for college.

DEADLINE: Three weeks before the end of the academic year. Some funding may be limited so try to submit your appeal as early as possible.

EVALUATION PROCESS: Appeals are typically reviewed in 10-15 business days. During busy processing times (such as the summer), it may take longer for your appeal to be evaluated. Once the review is completed, if your appeal is approved you will receive a revised notification of eligibility on MyUCLA reflecting the changes made to your award. If your appeal is denied, you will receive an email to notify you of the reason(s) for the denial.

Please take a look below at the list of most common reasons for an appeal.

Changes that affect your income

If the student’s or student's family finances change after filing the FAFSA or DREAM application, our office can consider an appeal, to account for the change of circumstances in calculating the aid the student is eligible for. Please bear in mind that not all appeals are granted. 

Circumstances that qualify for a reevaluation of income are:

  • Loss of employment
  • Divorce
  • Death of a Parent
  • Parents’ out-of-pocket medical and/or dental expenses (please submit a statement explaining the circumstances, copies of parents’ federal tax returns for the last year, verification of the medical condition that necessitated the expenditure and verification of out-of-pocket costs paid).

You can use a Projected Year Income Petition to submit an appeal based on loss of earnings. Please read the instructions carefully and submit the appeal form and all supporting documentation to Financial Aid and Scholarships office.

All appeal forms can be found on our Forms and Publications Page Please ensure you select the correct academic year.

Changes that affect your cost of education (financial aid budget)

If the student’s qualified educational expenses during the academic year exceed their basic financial aid budget, an appeal can be submitted to request additional assistance. Student’s cost of education can only be adjusted to reflect student’s (not parents) expenses. If a budget increase is approved, the difference will be funded with additional loans.

These appeal forms can be used to document qualified additional expenses for the student. Please read the instructions carefully and submit the appeal form and all supporting documentation to Financial Aid and Scholarships office.

  • A Housing Adjustment Form from our forms and publications page should be submitted to request a change in your housing status (for example off-campus to on-campus) or to request a budget increase because your housing costs exceed the standard allowance that is already included in your financial aid budget.
  • A Budget Increase Request from our forms and publications page can be submitted if your aid needs to be increased to cover the following costs:
    Computer purchase
    Student’s medical/dental/optical expenses not covered by insurance
    Childcare expenses
    Special Projects
    Airfare – cost of travel to visit family for the holidays or in an emergency

Appealing for On-Time consideration

Financial aid is limited for students who do not submit their FAFSA or Dream Act Application before the March 2nd deadline. In addition to meeting the March 2 deadline, students applying for aid during summer sessions must submit their Application for Summer Aid before April 30 deadline to be considered on-time. 

We understand that there may be circumstances, which prevented you from filing their application(s) in a timely manner. If you are in this position, we encourage you to submit a Late Application Appeal Form, explaining what prevented them from submitting their application(s) on time. If there is any documentation that you want to submit in support of your appeal, please include it with the letter. Please ensure that the student’s name and University ID are included on your correspondence.

These appeals will be judged on the basis of your circumstances (were the circumstances beyond your control?), past record (if you are a continuing student, have you applied on time in the past?) and availability of funds (awarding priority is given to applicants who meet the priority filing deadline and some funding sources are limited).

You will be notified of our decision via email once the appeal has been reviewed.

The form may be found on our Forms and Publications Page. Please ensure you select the correct academic year.

Independent Appeals

If you are required to provide parental information on your application for financial aid but are unable to do so because there are adverse circumstances, which make obtaining your parents' information impossible, you can submit an appeal to be reclassified as an independent student for financial aid consideration. 

Please note that the criteria we can use to consider you independent for financial aid are different than the criteria used by the Residence Deputy to establish independence for tuition purposes. For example, you are required to document financial independence to be classified as a resident for tuition purposes. Financial hardship, parents' inability or refusal to provide support and/or student's ability to be self-sufficient cannot be used to classify you as an independent student for financial aid purposes.

The Independent Petition can be found on our Forms and Publications page Please make sure you select the correct academic year.