Professional Judgment
Professional Judgment is a process in which Financial Aid Administrators may evaluate a student’s account for additional aid eligibility due to special and unusual circumstances. The Free Application for Federal Student Aid, better known as the FAFSA, uses prior-prior year tax information as a guide to calculate your Student Aid Index (SAI). Your SAI is a factor used to determine the types and amounts of federal student aid you may be eligible for. If there has been a change to your financial situation since the tax year reported on your FAFSA, you may want to consider applying for the Professional Judgment process
Professional Judgment Categories
Special Circumstance
Cost of Attendance Adjustment
- Increases a student’s financial aid budget, allowing for more financial aid to be applied in a term or academic year.
- Common reasons to request this adjustment:
- Aviation fees for simultaneous courses
- Expenses related to student disability or costs incurred for child/dependent care costs
- Unusually large course load
Student Aid Index (SAI) Adjustment
- Decreases a student’s SAI, which can allow additional need-based federal financial aid (Federal Pell Grant, Federal Direct Subsidized Student Loan) to be offered to the student.
- Common reasons to request this adjustment:
- Loss/reduction of employment or self-employment income
- Private school tuition or parent college tuition costs
- Death of a supporting parent or spouse
Unusual Circumstance
Dependency Status Adjustment
- Reconsideration of a student’s dependency status from “dependent” to “independent,” if you fall into any of these categories related to no contact with your parents
- Legally granted refugee or asylum status
- An abusive family environment that threatens the student’s health or safety.
- Incarceration: includes single-parent incarceration without contact/support from another parent or both parents’ incarceration
- You should not request this adjustment if you fall into the below circumstances. Instead, please complete your FAFSA as a dependent student and include both you and your parent(s)’ information.
- Your parents refuse to contribute to your college expenses
- Your parents refuse to supply the necessary information for FAFSA or FAFSA verification completion
- You parents don’t claim you as a dependent for federal tax filing
- You demonstration complete financial self-sufficiency
How can I apply?
How does the electronic signature process work for a parent?
What does going through the Professional Judgment process look like?