The Federal Department of Education recognizes that a student, his or her spouse, or a parent if the student is a dependent, may be facing a special circumstance that affects his or her financial situation or an unusual circumstance requiring a change in his or her dependency status.
If, after you complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA®), you have encountered a special or unusual circumstance, you may request that your financial aid eligibility be reevaluated through a Professional Judgment (JP).
To request a re-evaluation of financial aid eligibility under a special or unusual circumstance, it is required to complete the Professional Judgment Application.
The request for Professional Judgment, together with the documents that support the situation presented, will be evaluated by the Director of Economic Assistance of your campus, within 30 days from the filing of the request for Professional Judgment.
Lack of documentation needed to perform the reevaluation may delay the process.
After evaluating the JP application, the Director of Financial Aid will inform the student in writing of the final decision of the Professional Judgment and the corresponding adjustments will be made to the student's financial aid file, as applicable.
The final decision issued by the Director of Financial Assistance will be documented in the file and will not be appealable to the Federal Department of Education.
Beginning in 2024-2025, the Federal Department of Education has instructed students and their taxpayers who were unable to manually enter their income on the FAFSA to send a copy of the Income Tax Return to the college or university where they will be attending. The Financial Aid Office at your campus will enter the tax information on the FAFSA.
For the academic year 2025-2026 (July 1, 2025 to June 30, 2026), you are required to submit a copy of the 2023 Income Tax Return. For the academic year 2026-2027 (July 1, 2026 to June 30, 2027), you are required to submit a copy of the 2024 Income Tax Return.