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A student has the right to request a review of her financial aid award at the time it is issued. Domestic students must reapply for financial aid each year, and thus are reviewed on an annual basis. International students are given an award at the time of admission for their entire Smith career and thus are only eligible for a review at the time of admission.
Domestic students may request a review of their financial aid awards at any time during their Smith careers if there has been a significant change in family circumstances since filing the application for financial aid or if the information on the original application was inaccurate.
International students seeking a financial aid adjustment after they have accepted an offer of admission should consult with Student Financial Services (SFS) for the appropriate course of action. The financial aid budget for international students is fully allocated each year as of the time of admission, therefore only very limited additional resources are made available to meet extraordinary circumstances. Serious consideration is only given when there has been a significant life-changing event. A life-changing event would include, but not be limited to, the death of a parent or enrollment of a sibling in a U.S. college or university. If you wish to appeal your financial aid award, please begin by contacting Student Financial Services.
When a review is requested it is conducted by the SFS Review Committee. In most cases, the decision of the SFS review committee is final. When the issue under review would require an exception to policy, a student may request it be reviewed by the Financial Aid Appeals Committee. Instructions for submitting an appeal will be provided by the SFS staff to the student if a policy is at issue. All reviews from international students for increased grant or loan assistance are considered exceptions to policy, and will be brought to the attention of the Financial Aid Appeals Committee.
The Financial Aid Appeals Committee is chaired by the Dean of Enrollment and includes one member of the faculty, the Dean of Students and the Controller. The Director of SFS is a non voting member of the Financial Aid Appeals Committee. The student must present her appeal in writing. The committee will consider the appeal as soon as possible. It normally takes one to two weeks for this committee to convene and review the appeal(s) in question. A decision will be given in writing to the student within 48 hours after the appeal is heard. The decision of the Appeals Committee is final in all cases.
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