Special Circumstances
The FAFSA uses the tax information from two years before your school year. We understand that your financial circumstances may change in the interim. If you feel the FAFSA does not represent your current income situation, you contact the Financial Aid Office at 405.717.4315 to set up an appointment to discuss your financial situation. Please note that any outstanding verification requirements must be resolved and completed before a Special Circumstance can be completed. You must provide the Special Circumstances Review Form with all the documentation to substantiate your current income. For example, if you, your spouse, or a parent (for a dependent student) are unemployed, you may need to provide documentation of the last date of employment, the unemployment benefit statements, and a recent pay stub showing your year-to-date earnings.
Unusual Circumstances (Request for Independent Student Status, Including Provisional Independent Students)
Students who have circumstances they would like to have reviewed to be considered an independent student, including Provisional Independent Students, may submit a Dependency Review Form.
Under federal regulations, students age 24 and under are considered dependent for purposes of filing the FAFSA, and must provide parent information.
When completing the FAFSA, if a student answered 'Yes' to having Unusual Circumstances that prevent them from contacting their parents or that contacting them would put them at risk, the Financial Aid Office must review and approve the Dependency Review Form. Based on the documentation provided, the Provisional Student Aid Index (SAI) will become the actual SAI if the Review is approved.
If the student does not meet the criteria or cannot provide supporting documentation for the Dependency Review, the student will need to go back to the FAFSA and change their answer to having Unusual Circumstances to 'No,' invite their parent(s) to provide consent for the IRS Direct Data Exchange for their tax information and add their other financial information. The student will then be a dependent student. The Provisional SAI will then become void, and the student will be notified of an updated SAI based on the family's income and assets.
All Dependency Review forms are reviewed case-by-case after a thorough review by the Financial Aid Review Committee. It is the student's responsibility to provide all of the necessary documentation requested with the review form to avoid any delay in processing. Once a complete submission has been received, it will be considered by the Review Committee as soon as possible. Students will receive communication with the outcome by letter, email or a phone call.