Professional Judgment Request

The FAFSA uses a past year's financial data because it is easily verifiable (e.g. taxes and W-2s). However, sometimes changes in employment, marital status, or health can make past financial data become outdated for the purpose of estimating current year financial data. Professional Judgment (PJ) may be utilized for special circumstances that the FAFSA does not take into consideration. For example, loss of income, high medical bills, and extenuating family situations. Professional Judgment is the process of having the ORU Financial Aid Office override FAFSA data for federally-approved situations using reasonable methods for adjusting the FAFSA data inputs. No changes are made to the FAFSA's SAI formula.

Professional Judgment is also used for students who are considered Dependent by FAFSA but have unusual family circumstances that allow the ORU Financial Aid Office to determine the student is Independent for FAFSA. Dependency Override situations include abusive parents, incapacitated parents, and other sensitive family situations. Dependency override adjustments are rare so a follow-up questionnaire may be requested, and full documentation is required to be considered for approval.

How do I petition?

If you have already submitted your FAFSA, you may inquire about your eligibility for Professional Judgment by completing this form. If determined eligible for an adjustment, you will be sent a petition to complete for requesting additional funds, and a list of documentation to include. Once you submit the form and accompanying documentation, your information will be reviewed and the Financial Aid Office for an adjustment using the information you provided. Please allow two weeks after documentation is complete for processing of PJ adjustments.

What is the deadline?

Professional Judgment Petitions can only be obtained after first submitting a FAFSA for the applicable school year, even if the FAFSA will be unofficial or rejected as a result of not having a Dependency Override processed yet, for example. If your SAI is already $0 or lower, only a Dependency Override PJ Petition would be considered. Also, any PJ Petition for the fall semester should be fully documented before the end of July 1st. The further after July 1 that a PJ request is submitted, the less likely it is to be completed in time for the Fall semester to begin. The Financial Aid Office accepts PJ requests all year, however it may be determined that an adjustment would better aid the student in the following aid year.

PLEASE NOTE: Dependent students requesting a professional judgment for 2025-26 will have to provide a completed 2024 tax return or transcript for their parents as part of the adjustment, if they were required to file.
Independent students requesting for 2025-26 will need to provide a 2024 personal (and possibly a spouse's) tax return or transcript as part of the adjustment, if they were required to file taxes.
Student Name Student Name First Last
Name of person completing form. Name of person completing form. First Last
Relation to student
Student Z number (include Z)
Must be 9 characters. Currently Entered: 0 characters.
Year in College

PLEASE NOTE: Grad students and beyond are not eligible for this type of adjustment.
Aid year for adjustment request
Have you had a professional judgment with ORU before?

Have you had a professional judgment with ORU before? Yes No
Does student have any immediate family members enrolled at ORU in at least 6 hours per semester?

Does student have any immediate family members enrolled at ORU in at least 6 hours per semester? No Yes Yes, but not sure about hours
Best Email for response
Best Phone Number for Response Best Phone Number for Response - ### - ### ####
1. What is the change or circumstance for which you are requesting a professional judgment? Please be sure to include specific change that took place, how it affects your finances and the dates the change took place.

PLEASE BE ADVISED: Debt cannot be considered in the FAFSA application initially or by a PJ adjustment
Minimum of 75 words required. Currently Entered: 0 words.
2. What is the estimation of income or money lost due to the circumstance? $ Dollars . Cents
Does the Student or Parent(s) (dependent students) have any alternative means of income? This can include full or part time employment, self-employment income, real-estate revenue, child-support, commissions, retirement benefits, etc?

Does the Student or Parent(s) (dependent students) have any alternative means of income? This can include full or part time employment, self-employment income, real-estate revenue, child-support, commissions, retirement benefits, etc? Yes No
Please give an estimate of the amount of alternative income. If no, please answer n/a
3. Do you know how long your current situation is expected to last? If yes please include.
Timeline Acknowledgement
July 1st is the last day that any professional judgment requests and their documentation will be guaranteed completion for the beginning of an aid year. Please type your initials if you understand that after July 1st, our office cannot guarantee that a request will be processed in time for fall registration, and students should plan accordingly.
Must be 2 characters. Currently Entered: 0 characters.
***PLEASE BE ADVISED: For students with a Student Aid Index of 0 or lower(as determined by the FAFSA application), there is no need to request a professional judgment based on a change of income since our office has already awarded the maximum amount of federal/state financial aid.

Additionally, please note the professional judgment is a detailed process and can take up to two weeks from the date of the last needed item received.

Draw or Type

I understand this is a legal representation of my signature. Clear

Full Name

I understand this is a legal representation of my signature.

Professional Judgment Request

Professional Judgment Request

Timeline Acknowledgement