Professional judgment (PJ) Intake Form
Professional judgment (PJ) refers to the discretion that federal regulations give to financial aid administrators to make adjustments, on a case-by-case basis, to certain elements of a student's FAFSA information to account for special circumstances. These adjustments are intended to provide a more accurate assessment of the amount of federal aid a student is eligible to receive.
PJ requests for loss of employment should be submitted approximately 6 weeks after the last date of employment. If an individual is recently employed, PJ requests will need to wait until you have at least 3 full paystubs.
Note: A change in student’s aid eligibility will likely not occur if:
- The person who lost employment has currently been rehired and is earning a similar or higher salary than the previous two years.
- The loss or change to income was not significant.
PRIORITY DATES
Summer 2023 - June 1
Fall 2023 - Nov 1
Spring 2024 - April 15
Submitting all required documents by the priority deadline ensures that a student's professional judgement can be evaluated during the current active period of enrollment.
Students are strongly encouraged to submit requests 60 days prior to the start of the semester to allow adequate processing time before bills are due. Not all PJ requests will result in receiving additional funding; therefore, students should not wait until the PJ has been processed to resolve their balance. Students are responsible for paying their account balance by the published due date in addition to being aware of the last day to add or drop with 100% tuition credit regardless of their PJ circumstances and submission.