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Professional Judgment

Sometimes special circumstances can impact your financial aid situation, including a change in family circumstances, traumatic events, or reductions in income that may occur while you're at Temple. This may result in the need to clarify your situation with the Student Financial Services office.  

Please note that a request for Professional Judgment (Special Circumstances) consideration does not guarantee the receipt of new or additional financial aid. Our ability to help will depend on the unique circumstances of the request, the strength of the documentation provided, and the availability of financial aid funding at the time of the result.

Cost of Attendance Appeal

This appeal permits a student experiencing unusually high education-related expenses to appeal their Cost of Attendance so as to increase their budget and overall borrowing limit. This appeal does not result in additional non-loan funding. 

Such expenses include higher rent than budgeted on the aid offer, dependent-care expenses, significant exam fees related to the degree program, or a new computer.

The appeal is student-initiated via the SFS Dashboard.

Dependency Overrides

This appeal permits students who cannot answer 'yes' to one of the dependency questions on the FAFSA but who also cannot provide parent data to file the FAFSA with only their information.

Appeals may be opened by our office after receipt of a student's incomplete FAFSA, or by the student via the SFS Dashboard.

Family Contribution Appeal

This appeal permits a student's federal aid eligibility to be reviewed after a significant change of financial resources. The best possible outcome is a federal Pell Grant of $6,895 for 2022-2023. Examples of these circumstances include parents' unemployment, divorce after filing the FAFSA, or a one-time lump sum reported on the taxes.

Appeals are student-initiated via the SFS Dashboard.

Maximum Time Frame (MAX) Appeals

This appeal permits students who have exceeded 150% of their program length to appeal their federal aid ineligibility. Students must complete an appeal form outlining the circumstances that prevented them from reaching degree completion within 150% of the program length, and students must provide supporting documentation.

Approved MAX appeals are for federal aid only. There is no guarantee we can reinstate a student's institutional aid upon final appeal approval.

Appeals are opened for students and completed via the SFS Dashboard. The Fall deadline is September 1 and the Spring deadline is January 15. Due to the compressed timeframe, we do not accept appeals for Summer. 

Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) Appeals

The Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) appeals permit a student who has failed to pass at least 67% of their overall attempted credits to appeal their ineligibility. Students must explain what impeded their progress, what has changed to remove that impediment, and their plan for success moving forward. Approved appeals will require the student to meet with their academic adviser and create an academic plan for submission to SFS that will be used to offer federal aid.

Approved SAP appeals are for federal aid only. There is no guarantee we can reinstate a student's institutional aid upon final appeal approval.

SAP Appeals are initiated for students via the SFS Dashboard. The Fall deadline is September 1 and the Spring deadline is January 15. Due to the compressed timeframe, we do not offer or accept Summer SAP appeals.