Financial Aid Special Circumstances Request (Fall 2023)

Document Submission Instructions
Carnegie Mellon is able to review the following special circumstances. Situations outside these are unlikely to adjust a financial aid award. To have your situation reviewed, complete this form and upload the appropriate Carnegie Mellon document and supporting materials (i.e. tax documents, letters, or invoices) to the CollegeBoard's IDOC service. It typically takes 3-5 business for documents to process through IDOC before we are able to access them.

The appropriate Carnegie Mellon documents and instructions for completing them can be found below.

Which type(s) of Special Circumstances are you experiencing?*

Reduced income since the tax year used to file the FAFSA and CSS Profile

Unreimbursed medical/dental expenses

Maintenance of a second household for employment reasons

Educational expenses related to care of a child with disabilities

Request for Noncustodial Parent CSS Profile Waiver

Changes to CSS Profile

Other

Reduced Income Instructions

To request additional financial aid consideration based on reduced income from the 2022 tax year, please submit this form and upload our 2023-2024 Reduced Income Form to College Board’s IDOC service.

Reductions of income greater than are reviewed using our Reduced Income Form (linked above) and copies of your 2022 tax documents (including full signed tax return, all associated tax schedules, W2s, etc) submitted to IDOC.

If you have not submitted the Verification of Household Information form, please do so by following the link found in the tips section of your Where Am I in the Process applicant portal.

Reduced Income Instructions

To request additional financial aid consideration based on reduced income from the 2022 tax year, please submit this form and upload our 2023-2024 Reduced Income Form to College Board’s IDOC service.

Reductions of income are reviewed using our Reduced Income Form and copies of your 2022 tax documents submitted to IDOC.

If you have not submitted the Verification of Household Information form, please do so by following the link found in the tips section of your Where Am I in the Process applicant portal.

If your income reduction is currently occurring in 2023, you must first submit your completed 2022 tax documents to IDOC and explain the situation with your request below. After submitting these documents, you must submit a copy of our Special Consideration for Projected 2023 Income form and conservatively estimate your 2023 income. Please also complete our Net Price Calculator and submit those results to us. We’ll review your submission and be in touch with next steps.

Unreimbursed Medical/Dental Expenses Instructions
Unreimbursed medical or dental expenses must be itemized on Schedule A of your tax return and must be greater than 10% of your Adjusted Gross Income in order to have an effect on financial aid eligibility. Please submit a copy of your Schedule A.

Maintenance of a Second Household for Employment Instructions
Expenses related to the maintenance of a second household due to employment reasons (i.e. job relocation) must be greater than 10% of your Adjusted Gross Income and only include monthly mortgage/rent and necessary utilities (i.e. not cable, internet, or grocery bills). Please submit a copy of your mortgage or rental agreement and invoices for necessary utilities.

Educational Expenses Instructions
Educational expenses related to the care of a child with disabilities include specialized programs like a school for the blind or hearing impaired. These expenses must be greater than 10% of your Adjusted Gross Income. Please submit copies of the appropriate invoices for these services along with an explanation. Regular private school tuition payments are not reviewed using this process.

Request for Noncustodial Parent CSS Profile Waiver
We're able to waive the Noncustodial Parent CSS Profile when noncustodial parents are unable, not unwilling, to contribute to educational expenses. However, we may still factor in a default contribution from noncustodial parents. Please upload the Noncustodial Parent Waiver Request form found in your IDOC portal or contact our office via email.

Changes to CSS Profile Instructions
Any changes to income information that are reflected on your tax documents don't need to be submitted to our office. We typically don't make adjustments to asset-related questions. To make non-income related changes, you can print out a hard copy of the CSS Profile, make changes in pen, and sign the paper. You may then upload your CSS Profile corrections to your CollegeBoard IDOC account.

Explanation of Special Circumstances*