If you are attending classes on at least a half time status (Undergraduates = 6 units, Graduate/Professional = 5 units), your COA is the estimate of:

• tuition and fees
• housing and food (or living expenses for students who do not contract with the school for housing and/or meal plans)
• books, supplies, transportation, loan fees, and miscellaneous expenses (including a personal computer)
• iCourse fees

You can view the University of Arizona’s estimated COAs by selecting the appropriate link below:

• Incoming First-Year and Transfer Students
• Current Undergraduate Students
• Arizona Online
• New and Current Graduate and Professional Students

OSFA may be able to increase your COA if you have allowable expenses that you are incurring during the academic year that are either not already included in your standard COA or are larger than what is included in the standard budget.

The following expenses are examples of expenses that can be considered:

• Cost of Child Care / Dependent Care 
• Purchase of a computer 
• Rent or utility expenses that exceed the estimated COA

A COA Appeal may also be requested in order to help clear an overaward.

Supporting documentation must be submitted with each appeal in order to verify the paid expenses.

To begin the process of submitting a COA Appeal, please contact OSFA to request an online form.

If a student indicates their educational expenses are more than the University of Arizona standard cost of attendance, they will need to provide official documentation and explanation of these expenses. Below is a list of what specific documentation is acceptable for each potential category a student may be interested in increasing. 

• Proof of Rent/Mortgage: Submit expenses for the student only.
  • If married or living with roommates, the cost is split evenly between contributing household members.
  • Additional expenses cannot be added if a student lives in military housing.
• Proof of Utilities: Utility statements should be submitted for the previous 3 months. The student’s share is then averaged to calculate expenses.
• Childcare/Dependent Care: Documentation may include a personal statement from caregiver, daycare bills, university daycare form, etc. The student can only include costs that accrue during the time of class, study time, field work, internships and commuting time.
• Books: Acceptable documentation includes itemized receipts of school books and supplies (art students purchasing software or writing utensils, etc.). It is unacceptable to provide screenshots of bookstore charges or receipts without an itemized list (Bursars receipts included).
• Transportation
  • Acceptable: 
    • Documentation (such as Google Maps) of the route driven to and from school must be provided. Appeals for mileage will be approved in cases where the mileage expenditure (based on the $0.445 per mile, the # of days per week, and the number of weeks in the semester that the commute is made) exceeds the standard COA budget. 
    • Major vehicle repair (need itemized list in student’s name).
    • Flight costs to home residence.
  • Unacceptable:
    • Car payments
    • Routine Maintenance (oil changes, air filters, batteries etc.)
• Cell Phone: Acceptable documentation is the cell phone provider bill which must be in the student’s name AND must indicate only their portion of the bill.
• Medical Insurance: Student must provide an insurance bill in the student’s name.
  • Dependent Students: Can submit only if they are not covered within their parent’s policy
• Out of Pocket Medical Expenses: These are not included in a student’s budget. Students can include both one-time expenses (an eye doctor visit with new glasses) AND re-occurring expenses (medical treatments). Bills which indicate the “patient’s responsibility” should be provided. 
• Computer: A student may request funding for a computer once per academic career. We can accept a billing statement or an estimated print out. This can include hardware/software programs. Special documentation from their department is required for students who have computer expenses above $3000. 
• Professional Conference Attendance: This is for graduate students only. Special documentation from the student’s department is needed for travel and hotel expenses. Acceptable documentation includes a receipt or print-out of conference registration fees, airline and hotel receipts.

Estimated Standard Budget Amounts

A student is given a standard budget amount for a variety of educational expenses for the year. This is based on the university’s average cost of living.  When a student exceeds these standards, we can increase their COA based on the documentation provided. View the chart below to review standard budget amounts per category for the current COA.

Invalid Circumstances

The conditions listed below, alone or in combination, do not qualify as unusual circumstances meriting a dependency override:

• Parents refuse to contribute to the student's education.
• Parents are unwilling to provide information on the FAFSA or for verification.
• Parents do not claim the student as a dependent for income tax purposes.
• Student demonstrates total self-sufficiency.

Valid Circumstances

1. Abandonment by parents
2. An abusive family environment that threatens the student's health or safety
3. The student is unable to locate their parents

In such cases a dependency override might be warranted. If you believe that you have other unusual circumstances that do not fall under the qualifying circumstances above, then you will be required to explain your circumstances and provide the required documentation.

To begin the process of submitting a DO Appeal, please contact the OSFA to request an online form.

• A signed personal statement
• You may also include official documents which can include a court order or official Federal or state documentation
• Please ensure the documentation submitted addresses the qualifying circumstance you are appealing

We understand that you may be eagerly anticipating a decision on your appeal. Our office will review your appeal and submitted documentation as quickly as possible to ensure a timely response but within 2-3 weeks so that you may be better prepared to determine how you will pay for college.

If you do not have circumstances that would qualify for a dependency override, you must correct your FAFSA to include your parent’s information.

• If your parent(s) refuses to include their information on the FAFSA, they can be directed to review the Parental Data Override Form to potentially qualify for Federal Direct Unsubsidized Loans only. 

You may qualify as an Independent student if you are under 24 years old and:

• you are married,
• you have dependents (and provides more than 50% of support),
• you are an orphan,
• you are a veteran or active duty member of the US Armed Forces.

We encourage you to answer the corresponding dependency status questions on the FAFSA appropriately. You may also be required to verify your status with the school.

Your independent student status will renew each academic year unless circumstances change. You will still need to complete the FAFSA each year. If circumstances change and you no longer need to appeal your dependency status in the following year allowing you to add parent information to your following year FAFSA, you will be considered a dependent student unless you otherwise meet independent student requirements for that year”

If you or your family's financial situation has changed since filing the FAFSA due to special circumstances or if there are certain expenses not reflected on the FAFSA, you may request to submit a FAFSA Data Appeal. The following financial situations are examples of special circumstances that can be considered:

• Loss of employment
• Reduction in earnings
• Paid medical costs not covered by insurance
• Death of a parent
• Tax Liens
• K-12 Private Education Tuition
• Educational costs associated with paying for more than 1 student in college

Supporting documentation must be submitted with each appeal in order to verify the change in circumstances.

The following are not considered special circumstances:

• Pending reduction in income due to fluctuating commissions or consumer debt
• Refusal of a parent to provide financial support to the student

To begin the process of submitting a FAFSA Data Appeal, please contact OSFA  to request an appeal.

Note: If you already have a SAI of -1500 in 2024-2025, you are not eligible to complete an FAFSA Data appeal.

Review the table below for estimated processing timeframes based on the date you submit your Family Contribution Appeal. We encourage you to submit your completed appeal as soon as possible. In order to prevent any delay of your initial review, be sure to check out our list of required documentation above.

2024-2025

Please note, an approved appeal will not necessarily result in a change to your financial aid. We recommend using your current financial aid offer to plan for your educational expenses until you receive an updated financial aid offer.

General Appeal Submission Deadlines:

The 2024-2025 submission deadline has passed.

Please review common examples of situations giving rise to a request for an appeal below. Please note that while these situations may warrant submitting an appeal, they do not guarantee approval of the appeal.

• Student’s own mental/physical illness, injury, or disability
• Personal Reasons (students will be asked to explain the personal reasons in the appeal)
• Family circumstances, including death of a family member
• Other extenuating circumstances that are beyond the student’s control (students will be asked to explain the personal reasons in the appeal)

In general, appeals based solely on financial need cannot be considered. Students are encouraged to use Scholarship Universe to apply for scholarships for which they are matched. 

• Complete the General Appeal form in its entirety, including a personal statement explaining the circumstances of the request. Attach additional pages if necessary.
• Attach supporting documentation (e.g., a letter from a religious leader related to religious missions, a letter of acceptance into a non-Arizona-study abroad program, a call to active duty, a letter from an attorney or other individual confirming circumstances beyond the student’s control, etc.)

Important: The University reserves the right to modify this process at any time.  Submission of a General Appeal does not guarantee approval. Incomplete or missing documentation will delay the appeal process. Any changes to financial aid awards will be contingent on the types of funds available, eligibility policies, and regulations. After initial review, additional documentation may be required. Appeal review may result in required application corrections. Students waiting for an appeal decision should be fully prepared to assume responsibility for all course enrollment and account balance payment, regardless of the appeal decision.