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When
completing the Free Application
for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), students (and their families) are asked
to provide income and asset information, however they are not asked to
provide information about their expenses. In accordance with federal law,
WSU's Extraordinary Expense Petition allows students and families with
special circumstances to document their extraordinary expenses so that
the Office of Financial Aid may reevaluate students' financial aid awards.
Extraordinary
Expenses
Students
and families with one of the following special circumstances affecting
their households may be eligible to complete an Extraordinary Expense
Petition:
- Medical
or dental expenses (not covered or reimbursed by an insurance provider,
governmental agency, or other agency);
- Legal expenses;
- Elder care expenses for a member of the
household (not covered or reimbursed by an insurance provider, governmental
agency, or other agency);
- Disability care expenses for a member
of the household (not covered or reimbursed by an insurance provider,
governmental agency, or other agency);
- Parent's out-of-pocket expenses for parent
attending a college/university as a degree-seeking student;
- Child care expenses;
- Additional educationally related costs
incurred by the student specific to his or her field of study (e.g.,
Film, Art, Music, Theatre, Nursing, etc.);
- Excessive commuter expenses incurred
by the student for travel to and from home to attend WSU;
- Expenses for the rental or purchase of
a personal computer for students enrolled at least half-time; and/or
- Private school tuition (elementary or
high school) for a member of the household.
Extraordinary
expenses do not include everyday living expenses (such as rent or mortgage,
food, clothing, etc.) or credit card or loan debt.
How
to Petition Extraordinary Expenses
The
student and family must first complete the FAFSA and WSU must have the
results of the FASFA on file. The student and/or family then must contact
the Office of Financial Aid to discuss their special circumstances
with a Financial Aid Advisor. If the student and/or family is eligible
to petition, they will be given an Extraordinary Expense Petition to complete
and return (with appropriate documentation) to the Office of Financial
Aid. Extraordinary Expense Petitions are made available no sooner than
April prior to the start of the aid year.
If
approved, the student's cost of attendance may be increased or Expected
Family Contribution (EFC) adjusted to reevaluate the student's financial
aid awards (such as the Federal Pell Grant, Federal Stafford Loan and Ohio College Opportunity Grant). In some cases,
no change may occur to the student's financial aid.
Petitioning extraordinary
expenses is an annual process. If there are continual expenses that are incurred, then students (and families) can contact the Office of Financial Aid to petition extraordinary expenses for the next aid year. |
