FAQ: Special Circumstances

We recognize that the need analysis process does not always consider every family situation. If your family has experienced an unusual change in financial circumstances not considered on the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), you may wish to request consideration. Loss of income, excessive medical expenses, and other situations may impact your family’s ability to fund your education. Please contact our office to request a review. We will review your situation to determine if additional aid is available. We will make every effort to incorporate these circumstances into the need analysis calculation. A review may only be conducted for circumstances that can be documented.

When a financial aid recipient withdraws from a semester or unofficially withdraws by ceasing to attend classes, federal regulation requires a Return of Title IV Aid (R2T4) calculation to determine if any federal Title IV aid must be repaid. Federal Title IV aid includes Pell Grants, Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants (SEOG), Direct Loans, and PLUS loans.

The amount of federal Title IV aid to be repaid is calculated based on the percentage of time completed within a semester, which involves calculating the amount of Title IV aid earned by the student and the amount of institutional charges for that semester. Please contact us at finaid@rollins.edu prior to withdrawing in order to determine the impact on your financial aid.

When unearned federal Title IV funds are repaid, they are returned by the program and up to the disbursed amount for each program. Unearned federal Title IV aid will result in a reduction to each aid program in the following order:

• Unsubsidized Direct Loan
• Subsidized Direct Loan
• PLUS Loan
• Pell Grant
• SEOG

Additional reductions may be made to the Florida Student Assistance Grant, Effective Access to Education Grant (EASE), and Bright Futures according to state regulations.

You will be notified by mail no later than 45 days after the determination that you withdrew during the semester. Your notification will provide detailed information on the aid programs which were repaid. If the notification includes eligibility for a post-withdrawal disbursement, you will have fourteen days to respond to accept or decline the award. The return of these funds typically results in additional charges to your student account that is the student's responsibility to pay.

Withdrawing from the semester may impact future eligibility for federal, state, and institutional financial aid. See the section on Satisfactory Academic Progress for specific information.