Special and Unusual Circumstances

A special circumstance refers to an unforeseen condition in the student and their family’s financial situation and their ability to pay for college. The unforeseen condition could justify the use of professional judgment to adjust data elements in the EFC or the Cost of Attendance (COA). The most common types of special circumstance include, but are not limited to the following:

• Total loss of employment 
• Substantial decrease in income
• Loss of benefits
• One-time payment received
• Death of a parent after the FAFSA has been completed
• Death of a spouse after the FAFSA has been completed
• One-time purchase of a computer
• Books, course materials, supplies, and equipment exceeding the standard allotted amount in the COA

Circumstances that do not warrant a special Circumstances Professional Judgment include, but are not limited to:

• Standard living expenses
• Personal debt
• Vacation expenses
• Different college offering more financial aid

Please note that not all Professional Judgment requests result in an increase of financial aid.

An unusual circumstance refers to a situation in which a student, who would normally be considered dependent, is unable to provide parent information on the FAFSA because it would pose a risk to the student. For students who are unable to provide parent information, the student’s dependency status could be adjusted through professional judgment (also known as a dependency override). Unusual circumstances that warrant professional judgment include, but are not limited to:

• Abusive family environment
• Abandonment and/or estrangement by parents
• Unable to locate or contact parents
• Human trafficking
• Legally granted refugee or asylum status

Circumstances that do not warrant an Unusual Circumstances Professional Judgment include, but are not limited to:

• The student answering yes to any of the following questions:
  
  • Are you 24 years of age or older by January 1st of the school year for which you are applying for financial aid?
  • Are you married?
  • At the beginning of the school year for which you are applying for financial aid, will you be working on a master’s or doctorate program?
  • Are you currently serving on active duty in the US Armed Forces for purposes other than training?
  • Do you have children or dependents who live with you and receive more than half of their support from you?
  • At any time since you turned age 13, were both of your parents deceased, were you in foster care, or were you a dependent or ward of the court
  • As determined by a court in your state of legal residence, are you or were you an emancipated minor?
  • At any time on or after July 1st of the school year for which you are applying for financial aid, were you considered an unaccompanied you who was homeless or were self-supporting and at risk of being homeless?
• Parents refuse to contribute to the student’s education.
• Parents will not provide information for the FAFSA or verification.
• Parents do not claim the student as a dependent for income tax purposes.
• Student demonstrates total self-sufficiency

Please note that not all Professional Judgment requests result in an increase of financial aid.

Students who are considered under legal guardianship, orphan or ward of the court, unaccompanied homeless youth or are self-supporting and at risk of homelessness are also included in unusual circumstances. If you are in one of these categories, review your myHGTC student portal to see if you have any unsatisfied requirements and then complete the outstanding requirement with the appropriate documentation. Once the documentation has been received and reviewed by the financial aid office, you will be notified of the decision through your HGTC email.

Students whose parents refuse to complete the FAFSA are strongly encouraged to email the Financial Aid Office, from you HGTC email address, to discuss your specific situation.  You may still be eligible for certain types of financial aid.

Student who made an error and did not include parent information when initially completing the FAFSA can correct the mistake.  Simply login in to your Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), add parent demographic and financial information, and have your parent sign your FAFSA with his/her FSA ID.

The requests for professional judgment can be found with the Financial Aid Forms. You will need to locate the award year in which you are requesting the Special Circumstance Professional Judgment and then select the appropriate Special Circumstance Form based upon your dependency status.

To complete the request for Special Circumstance Professional Judgment, you must provide the following information:

• Detailed statement of your current situation that includes an explanation of what you are asking us to consider and information about what has specifically changed financially between that tax information reported on your FAFSA and your current financial situation. Please remember to include applicable dates regarding your circumstances.
• Dated documentation that supports your special circumstances. Examples of acceptable documentation are listed in the Professional Judgment form.

In addition to this, all students who wish to apply for a Professional Judgment must complete verification for the award year and provide all relevant tax information including but not limited to:

• Tax Transcript or a signed and dated 1040 Federal Tax Return with all required schedules
  and
• Wage and Income Transcript or W-2s

Please note that if a parent has more than one student attending HGTC, the request for a Special Circumstance Professional Judgment and documentation must be submitted for each student separately.

The requests for an Unusual Circumstance Professional Judgment can be found with the Financial Aid Forms. You will need to locate the Unusual Circumstance Professional Judgment (DO) form for the award year in which you are requesting your dependency status to be re-evaluated.

To complete the request for an Unusual Circumstance Professional Judgment, you must provide the following information:

• A detailed statement explaining the relationship between you and your parents.  
• Two statements of support from people who are aware of your relationship with you parents. At least one of the statements must come from a professional or be a formal document. Examples of a professional include but are not limited to a teacher, counselor, social worker, police, lawyers, or religious leader. Examples of formal documents include but are not limited to Federal or State agency documents or court orders.

If additional information is required, you will be notified by the Financial Aid Office through your HGTC email. Please submit any additional information as soon as possible to prevent delays in the processing of your application.

Each request for Professional Judgment is reviewed on a case-by-case basis. Because the Professional Judgment process is extensive and requires thorough review of your financial aid file, please allow 4-6 weeks for your request to be processed.

To avoid processing delays, please carefully review the information provided on the form and ensure that adequate and appropriate documentation is provided. We also encourage you to check your school email regularly. If additional information is needed to process your request, you will be notified by the Financial Aid Office through your HGTC email.

You will receive notification of the results through your school email. Please note that not all Professional Judgment requests will result in increased aid.

The Financial Aid Office’s decision regarding your request for Professional Judgment is final and cannot be appealed to the College’s President or the U.S. Department of Education.

If you have additional questions, you may contact the Financial Aid Office. You can reach us in several ways:

• Email the Financial Aid Office at financialaid@hgtc.edu through your HGTC email address
• Call us at 843-349-8324
• Visit Tech Central to speak with someone in person. Tech Central is located on the Conway Campus in Building 1100, Room 132D. Tech Central is also located on the Grand Strand Campus in Building 200, Room 117.