Increased Educational Costs

If you are incurring education-related expenses that are greater than our cost of attendance budget, you may submit a request for an appeal by contacting our office. Upon the receipt of your request, our office will assign a “Cost of Attendance Appeal” task on MyAid Verify. You will be required to submit a short statement describing the reason for your budget increase request in addition to supporting documentation. The additional expenses must be incurred during a period of enrollment at UC Santa Cruz. 

Your appeal may result in additional financial aid, depending on the availability of funds. Approved budget increases are generally funded with loans. Budget Increase Appeals will not be reviewed until the beginning of the Fall 2024 Term. The last day to submit a budget increase appeal for the current academic year is May 1, 2025. Please allow 4-6 weeks for your appeal to be reviewed and processed.

Expenses we generally consider

Documents required for evaluation

  • Rent/Mortgage or Utilities
  • Transportation expenses
  • Computer purchase
  • Medical, dental or vision expenses not covered by insurance
  • Special books, course fees, or supplies
  • Childcare expenses
  • Submit a Budget Increase Appeal
  • Acceptable documentation may consist of: Receipts, estimates of costs, billing statements, written statements, etc.
  • The documentation needs to show an educationally related expense that exceeds the allotment in the standard budget
  • For computer budget increases, we require a receipt follow up after we supply aid for the budget increase

See Also