800 West Main Street
Whitewater, WI 53190
www.uww.edu/financialaid
p 262-472-1130 f 262-472-5655
uwwfao@uww.edu
P
age 1 of 3
2021-2022 Dependency Override Appeal
The US Department of Education does allow financial aid administrators to use professional judgment in cases where
extenuating circumstances prevent a student from being able to provide parental information on the Free Application
for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), commonly referred to as a dependency override or appeal.
The following are situations, in and of themselves, would not be considered a special circumstance for dependency
status appeal:
1. Your parents do not claim you as a dependent on their income taxes.
2. You do not live with your parents and/or you and your parents are having a disagreement.
3. Your parents refuse to provide their information on your FAFSA.
4. Your parents do not contribute to your college expenses and/or you are self-supporting.
If all four above apply to you, you do not qualify for dependency appeal/override consideration and must update
your 2021-2022 FAFSA at www.fafsa.gov with parental information and the signature of at least one parent
.
In
very limited cases, an otherwise dependent student may be able to submit the FAFSA without parental information
due to special circumstances, including:
• Your parents are incarcerated; or
• You have left home due to an abusive family environment; or
• You do not know where your parents are, are unable to contact them, and you have not been adopted.
I
nstructions: Return the completed form with the required documentation to the Financial Aid Office after completing
the FAFSA. Decisions made at other institutions are not accepted. All documentation received by our office will be kept
confidential. All decisions made by the UW-Whitewater Financial Aid Office are FINAL and not appealable.
Student Name: Student ID#:
Last First MI
Home Address: Phone:
Street City State ZIP Code
D
ependency Override Appeal Process:
1. Personal Statement: On a separate sheet of paper, tell us in your own words why you are requesting a
dependency override by outlining the mitigating circumstances and why you should be considered independent,
including your current living situation and how you are supporting yourself.
Be sure to describe the following: (1) The nature of your relationship with your parents; (2) the location of both
parents and when you last had contact with them; and (3) why you cannot obtain information and/or support
from your parents. Sign and date your statement. You will need to submit a personal statement with an update
of your situation every year.