Special Circumstance; Q & A

Q:           What is the purpose of the Loss of Income Form?
A:            The Loss of Income form is used to provide our office with additional information to further review your financial situation to determine a more accurate Expected Family Contribution (EFC).  This form can be completed and submitted with all required documentation to indicate if either you or your parents have had a loss of income due to layoff, termination, or reduction of hours.  It also can be used for divorce or separation, death of a spouse, or loss of child support.

Q:           How long does it take to review my Special Circumstance Form?
A:            Forms are reviewed in the order they are received.  During peak seasons, there may be a 5-7 business day      processing time for the request.  

Q:           Is there anything that would hold up the review of my Special Circumstance?
A:            Yes. If your file is selected for verification, your Special Circumstance request will not be reviewed until that process is complete. Also, if your special circumstance packet is incomplete or additional information is needed, it will not be reviewed until those issues are resolved.

Q:           How will I know what the results are?
A:            You will be notified via your UTSA preferred email account. The email will tell you what changes were made and what the next steps are. If there was no change to your award, information on other options you may want to pursue will be provided.

Q:           What additional financial aid will I get?
A:            Submission of the Special Circumstance request does not guarantee an increase in your financial aid. It will depend on the changes made that will determine if you are eligible for additional aid.   Changes could result in you being eligible for a pell grant, or an increase in Pell Grant if you are originally awarded a partial amount, or you may be awarded a Stafford Loan, or in some cases part of your unsubsidized Stafford Loan may change to Subsidized Stafford, thereby reducing your interest payments.  Please note: that although there may be a significant drop in your expected family contribution,  due to annual and aggregate loan  maximums, you may not be eligible for an increase in student loans if you are already at those maximum limits.

Q:           How much lower does my or my parent’s income need to be in order for it to be worthwhile to complete the loss/reduction of income section?
A:            It depends on various factors, including your family size, assets, etc. One thing to keep in mind, however, is that we use combined income for your parents if they’re married. So if one parent had a reduction of income, but the other had an increase/raise, you have to look at whether they had an overall reduction in family income before submitting the form.

Q:           Why do you ask for an estimated of my 2011 income on the form? What if I don’t know what it will be or I estimate it incorrectly?
A:            Since your original award is based on 2010 income, and the change in your situation is in 2011, we use your projected 2011 income when recalculating your eligibility. Although your projections may not be 100% accurate, we ask that you do your best to estimate what you expect your 2011 income will be. If you have absolutely no idea what your 2011 income will be, you should wait until the end of December 2011 to submit your form.

Q:           Why do you need my W2s forms?
A:            We use your W2s to determine how much each family member contributed to the total household income. 

Q:           Why do you need my 2010 tax documents?
A:            Federal regulations state that we can only adjust data elements that were correct in the first place. Your 2010 tax documents will be used to verify that the information you initially reported on your FAFSA was accurate.

Q:           If I don’t have my 2010 tax documents, how can I get them?
A:            If an accountant or tax service prepared your taxes, contact them to request a copy or you can call the IRS at 1-800-829-1040.

Q:           If I turned in my 2010 taxes for Verification do I need to submit them again?
A:            No. We can access the forms you submitted for Verification.

Q:           Who do I contact if I have any questions?
A:            You may call the Student Financial Aid and Enrollment Services Office at 210-458-8000 or toll-free at 1-800-669-0919 or by email at financialaid@utsa.edu .

For more information about special circumstances, visit http://www.utsa.edu/financialaid/specialcircumstances.html.