Special Circumstances Appeal
We are aware that many students and families have been impacted by the current pandemic in different ways, and we want you to know that we are here to support you however we can.
If you have lost employment or have experienced a significant reduction in income due to COVID-19, we may be able to adjust the income on your 2020-21 FAFSA to reflect your current financial standing.
Due to the volume of requests that we are likely to receive, along with trying to make this process as smooth as possible, we ask you to complete the following two steps before submitting your materials to us. Please know that we are trying to do everything that we can to help you and your family, but our responses may be delayed due to the amount of adjustments requested.
Step 1:
If you have lost employment, or have a significant reduction in your earnings, please compare your current estimated 2020 earnings to what was reported on your 2020-21 FAFSA. Since the FAFSA uses your 2018 income and tax information, it is possible that your 2018 income is lower than your projected 2020 income. For example, if you are a student and lost your job as a mail clerk in March of 2020, but in 2018, you were 16 years old and did not have a job or income, you would already have reported $0 in earnings for the year on the student section of the FAFSA. In this case, there would be nothing for our office to adjust.
Please check the information submitted on your FAFSA (both earnings and individuals reported on the FAFSA) to ensure that the income you need reduced is already reported on the FAFSA. You can check your processed FAFSA at www.fafsa.gov.
Step 2:
If the income reported on the FAFSA does need to be adjusted due to a significant change in income, please complete our 2020-21 Appeal for Special Circumstances Form. This form must be signed and submitted to us, along with all required documentation. You may submit both the request form and all documentation as one email to
The appeals form and supporting documentation can be emailed from the student’s college email account using the “encrypt” feature to or mailed to:
Housatonic Community College
Financial Aid Office-Lafayette Hall L111C
900 Lafayette Boulevard
Bridgeport, CT 06604
If you have any questions please contact the Financial Aid Office by email .
