When significant changes occur that could impact your ability to pay for college during the academic year, you should contact us immediately. Depending upon your situation, we may ask you to complete a Change in Circumstance Form. We can offer appropriate guidance based on your new situation. Please do not submit documentation without a request from our office.
Change in Circumstance
What to do if you have a change in your financial status
Common Changes to Consider Reporting
The most common changes affecting aid awards include:
- A sibling attending or graduating from a college
- The receipt of a new outside scholarship
- The loss or growth of an income
- The loss or growth in value of savings (which includes stocks, trusts and other investments)
- A household move
- The retirement of a parent
These changes could affect your qualification for need-based grants, such as the Ithaca College Grant or the Ithaca Sibling Grant. Merit scholarships, which are performance-based rather than need-based, will not be affected by changes like these.
Other Factors
New aid from outside the college, such as a scholarship from a third party, could change your financial need and therefore your other aid. Be sure to submit the Outside Resources Form to us when you have been awarded a new scholarship.
In addition to changes in your family’s financial circumstances, you should be aware that failure to meet standards for academic performance and not completing financial aid applications by the priority deadlines can also have an impact on the amount of aid you receive.