The U.S. Department of Education determines each student's dependency status based on the information provided on the FAFSA.
Students may submit an appeal to UMGC requesting that their dependency status be overridden, but such an appeal can only be
approved in certain limited and exceptional circumstances. Unwillingness and/or inability of your parents to financially support
you, or living on your own and paying your own bills are not by themselves considered to be exceptional circumstances.
FDEPAP
Academic Year: 2019-2020
Form: Dependency
Appeal
Student’s ID # _ Student’s Name: ________________________________________
Please scan and submit your appeal documents at www.umgc.edu/help/submit-case.cfm.
UMGC Office of Financial Aid | 3501 University Boulevard East, Adelphi MD 20783 USA
Student’s Signature _____________________________________________________ Date __________________
(must be signed by hand, not typed)
I, the undersigned, attest that I have read this form in full and that the information provided in my appeal is, to the best of my
knowledge, true and accurate. I acknowledge that submission of this appeal does not guarantee a change in my dependency status
nor receipt of additional financial aid, and that all decisions of the Special Conditions Committee are final and cannot be changed.
DEADLINE: Complete dependency appeals for academic year 2019-20 must be received by May 1, 2020.
INSTRUCTIONS:
1) Complete and submit the 2019-2020 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) online at www.fafsa.ed.gov.
Be sure to include UMGC’s school code, 011644.
2) Complete, sign and date this form to indicate that you have read it in full.
3) Type, sign and date a one page personal statement explaining your exceptional circumstance(s).
Your signed statement must include a complete history of:
• your relationship with your biological and/or adoptive parents;
• specific dates of events that caused your separation from your parents;
• where you have lived since separating from your parents; and
• how you have supported yourself while living separately from your parents.
4) Gather proof of your source(s) of income, including copies of your 2017 W-2 / 1099 forms and a signed copy of your 2017
IRS Form 1040/A/EZ federal tax return. If you do not have a copy of your federal 1040, please request a free official 2017
Tax Return Transcript from the IRS at https://www.irs.gov/individuals/get-transcript.
5) Obtain signed and dated testimonial statements from two different third-party professionals (clergy members, counselors, social
workers, lawyers, police officers, physicians) typed on their official business letterhead, documenting their firsthand knowledge
of your exceptional circumstance(s). The Financial Aid Office may need to contact these references for clarification of your
situation, so complete contact information must be included.
• The statements should be detailed and refer to specific events the writer has direct personal
knowledge of. They should not be reiterations of information you have shared with them.
• An official police report may be substituted for one testimonial statement.
• Statements from friends or family members are not acceptable.
6) Scan your appeal form, personal statement, income documents and testimonial statements and submit them to the Financial Aid
Office via UMGC’s secure document submission web page, listed at the top of this form. Be sure that your scans are clear and
legible and that all attachments have a Windows compatible file extension, such as “.jpg” or “.pdf”. Scans that are illegible or
cannot be opened may cause your submission to be delayed or rejected.
Appeals submitted without all required documentation listed above cannot be considered.
If your dependency appeal is approved for the current academic year, your status must be reevaluated for each subsequent
academic year until you naturally meet the federal criteria for being considered an independent student.
Internal Use Only
Date:________ APP DEN Signatures:________________
________________ ________________ ________________
________________ ________________ ________________
