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Professional Judgments
When Special Circumstances Exist
If your family's financial circumstances have changed and the income information you provided on your FAFSA is no longer an accurate indicator of your family's ability to contribute toward your education costs, you may request that the Financial Aid Director make a "professional judgment".
A professional judgment can be requested when an independent student/spouse or the parent of a dependent student has a decrease in income. Examples of such decreases can be:
- a loss or reduction of employment income
- a loss or reduction in untaxed income such as unemployment compensation or social security benefits
- loss of income due to a separation/divorse/death of a parent or spouse
A student must complete his/her FAFSA based on the original income. However, once the student has received his/her first award letter, s/he may contact the Financial Aid Director in order to request that a professional judgment be made.
The Financial Aid Director will assist the independent student or parent of a dependent student in determining what the current year's federal tax return should reflect and make the appropriate changes to the income reported on the FAFSA.
The professional judgment forms are provided at the following link. Make sure that you choose the appropriate academic year and contact the Financial Aid Director at 218-723-4895 or 1-800-432-2884 to request that the professional judgment be made:
