Here at Lamar University, we recognize there may be circumstances that affect your eligibility for aid, which are not considered on the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) application. If the information filed on the FAFSA does not reflect your current financial situation due to "special circumstances", you may submit the Special Circumstance Request form. By submitting this form, you are requesting the Financial Aid Office to make adjustments to the data on your FAFSA, to more accurately reflect you and/or your family's current financial situation.
We have developed guidelines to help you understand what we consider to be "special circumstances" for approving a Special Circumstance Request, see below.
This could be because of the loss or termination from a job, a reduction in working hours, or a reduction in salary or hourly wages made without voluntary decision.
Dependent Student This could be because you or your parent had out of pocket medical/dental expenses not covered by insurance.
Independent Student This could be because you/spouse had out of pocket medical/dental expenses not covered by insurance.
Dependent Student This could be because you or your parent had substantial out of pocket expenses due to a natural disaster or qualifying emergency.
Independent Student This could be because you/spouse had substantial out of pocket expenses due to a natural disaster or qualifying emergency.
The following are NOT considered Special Circumstances:
Step 1: A current academic year FAFSA application must be on file with Lamar University.
Step 2: If selected for verification, complete the verification process
Step 3: Submit the Special Circumstance Request form
Step 4: Once the "Special Circumstance Request" form is received, the financial aid committee will determine if your situation is a qualifying "Special Circumstance". If so, a financial aid administrator will contact you within 12-15 business days, with a request for documentation. You must be able to provide adequate documentation to support your situation. All forms must be signed with a physical pen-to-paper signature.
If your situation does not qualify as a "Special Circumstance", you will receive an official denial letter through email.
Step 5: If your situation qualifies as a "Special Circumstance", submit the documentation per the financial aid administrator's request.
Please Note: There are instances, where although your situation may qualify as a "Special Circumstance", adjusting the income information on your FAFSA will not result in an increase to your financial aid award. In these cases, your request may be denied. An EFC of 0 will also not be eligible due to not being able to provide any additional monies outside of what the student is qualified for.
Special circumstance request for the same situation will not be granted for multiple aid years unless approved by the Director of Student Aid or designee.