An Expected Family Contribution (EFC) is calculated for all families who file for financial assistance and is used to determine how much financial aid you may be eligible to receive. An EFC is a snapshot of a family’s financial strength and assumes that portions of that contribution will come from income, assets and the ability to borrow. Your family’s taxed and untaxed income and assets could all could be considered in the formula.* Also included are your family size and the number of family members who will attend college or career school during the year.

*The Department of Education has indicated that any aid received by victims of an emergency by either a federal or state entity for purposes of providing financial relief will not be counted as income for the calculation of Expected Family Contribution (EFC) or estimated financial assistance (EFA). This would apply to any funds a student will receive from a stimulus check and/or funds a student will receive from the CARES Act Economic Stabilization Fund — the fund to provide emergency grant aid dollars to institutions and students.

After you've applied for aid, we may review changes to your family’s financial circumstances through our Special Circumstances process. Changes may include reduction of income and/or assets as well as changes to the number in the household and/or college.

The majority of Special Circumstances requests include one or more of the following:

• At least a 20% reduction in income from 2018 to 2019
• At least a 20% reduction in projected income for 2020
• Unreimbursed medical or dental expenses greater than 10% of your Adjusted Gross Income
• Maintenance of a second household due to employment reasons that requires expenses exceeding 10% of your Adjusted Gross Income
• Educational expenses related to the care of a child with disabilities
• Long-term reduction in assets

Before beginning our Special Circumstances process, we ask that you ensure your financial aid application is complete based on 2018 tax and asset information.

We strongly recommend using our Net Price Calculator(opens in new window) tool prior to requesting a review of Special Circumstances. Our Net Price Calculator is designed to help families understand their net price cost. This is the amount you and your family will be responsible for contributing toward your education through a combination of income, assets and responsible borrowing. The Net Price Calculator is a very useful way to estimate the impact of changes to a family’s financial circumstances on a student’s financial aid offer. You’ll be asked to provide family information, including number in the household and attending college, as well as family income and asset information.

The Net Price Calculator(opens in new window) can be used more than once and is a great way to estimate different situations and their impacts to a family’s financial aid eligibility. Each time you complete the Net Price Calculator, you’ll receive a link that includes the data used and the results. You may send those results to us(opens in new window) so we’re able to discuss them with you.

Determining when to file a Special Circumstance request is important. If filed too soon, it may not completely capture or encompass all the financial circumstances which could affect a financial aid offer. There may be some value in waiting to determine the full impact of the financial circumstance changes. You can file a request any time through October.

You’ll be asked to upload supporting documentation to College Board’s IDOC service(opens in new window), which is the same service used to upload tax documents. Our office will review your request and will respond within 5-7 business days. Please be as accurate as possible when completing the Special Circumstances request form. We may request documentation later in the year to verify the information submitted on the Special Circumstances request form. If that documentation reflects an underestimate in reported income or assets and additional aid was provided based on those estimates, the financial aid offer may be adjusted and may result in a balance due to the university.

The Special Circumstances request is not limited to those that have filed for financial aid and received a financial aid offer. Those who were determined to have no financial need can also use this process.

1. Complete the normal process of applying for financial aid, making sure all documents requested have been submitted.
2. Utilize the Net Price Calculator(opens in new window) to review the impact of changes to income and assets and estimate potential impact on financial need.
3. Consider the best timing to go through the Special Circumstance process. 
4. Understand the implication of a change in financial aid offered and ask questions as needed.  Changes to a university financial aid offer resulting from completion of a Special Circumstance request may be subject to future verification. If the estimated reduction of income and/or assets is not realized, your financial aid offer could be adjusted, resulting in a balance due to the university. 
5. Call the Office of Admission for assistance at 412.268.2082 or 412.268.IMIN (412.268.4646).

You can complete the Special Circumstances request form here(opens in new window).