Financial Aid

Professional Judgment

We understand that there may be circumstances that affect your ability to pay for college. These changes may not be included in your initial financial aid information. The Financial Aid team is authorized to use professional judgment (PJ) to adjust, on a case-by-case basis, the cost of attendance or the values of the items used in determining the Expected Family Contribution to reflect a student’s special circumstance.

Main Categories of Special Circumstance

Changes in income such as:

Loss or change of employment
Child Support reduction or change
Divorce/Separation of parents/spouse
Change of marital status for dependent students
Death of parent(s) or spouse
COVID-19 related changes

Examples of Supporting Documentation that must accompany the PJ Application

  • Statement on letterhead indicating the last date of employment
  • Copy of the last paycheck including any vacation pay, severance, bonuses, or tips received
  • Documentation of the gross income of the person whose employment status changed
  • Documentation of any type of income being received including workman’s compensation, payments from 401(k) or 403(b) plans, the financial contribution made by individuals outside of the household
  • Student’s marriage certificate
  • Student’s and spouse’s most recent tax returns
  • Death certificate of the deceased individual
  • Documentation of the total amount of child support expected for each child
Undergraduate students who submit the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and do not meet the federal definition of an independent student may request a dependency override if the student can document other unusual circumstances that might warrant the treatment of the student as independent for purposes of establishing eligibility for federal and state need-based financial aid.  Please note that the following circumstances will not be considered unusual:

  • Parents refuse to contribute to the student’s education
  • Parents will not provide information for the FAFSA or verification
  • Parents do not claim the student as a dependent for income tax purposes
  • Students demonstrate total self-sufficiency

Examples of Supporting Documentation that must accompany the PJ Application

  • Personal statement explaining why you are requesting to be independent for financial aid purposes. The statement must contain your current living situation, last contact and frequency of contact with your biological parents, the whereabouts of your biological parents and their living arrangements, and how you are supporting yourself.
  • Two signed statements confirming your personal statement. One statement should come from a disinterested, professional, third party and one statement should come from a relative, friend or family member.
Qualifying out-of-pocket costs that may result in an increased Cost of Attendance (COA)/budget can provide eligibility for the student to borrow additional aid. These can include the following:

  • Costs associated with a student’s disability
  • Childcare expenses for a dependent child of the student
  • One-time purchase of a computer for education expenses
  • One-time costs of professional licensure required for student’s major
  • Other expenses related to COVID-19

Examples of Supporting Documentation that must accompany the PJ Application

  • Documentation of paid out-of-pocket medical expenses
  • Copy of Schedule A (tax form)
  • Proof of costs associated with professional licensure or proof of payment (This is a one-time adjustment. Preparatory coursework cannot be included.)
  • Receipts listing applicable expenses

How to Apply for a Professional Judgment

To apply for a professional judgement, please fill out the digital form to the best of your ability and include supporting documentation. If you have any questions, please contact the financial aid office at financialaid@scuhs.edu.

Apply for a Professional Judgment Appeal

Use the Professional Judgment Appeal form.

Professional Judgment FAQs

All PJ requests must be submitted online via our digital form along with supporting documentation.

Generally, the PJ review process can take up to 2-3 weeks. SCU students will be notified via their scu email if their request has been approved or denied.

Please note that incomplete submissions can take a longer timeframe as they will be pended until all requested documentation is received.

Please allow 7-10 business days for a student’s financial aid award to be updated.
Students with a denial outcome will receive the specified reason for the decision in their denial outcome email. Students have the option to be re-evaluated only if they have new documentation to submit. Students have the option to submit a signed copy of their family’s 2021 tax return once they become available for reconsideration.
Please refer to the special circumstance category that applies to you. We have listed examples of supporting documentation under each category.

A Professional Judgment review is a courtesy, not a requirement; a student has 45 days from the day of the initial request to submit to avoid being denied due to inactivity.