Student Loan Law: 2.5.5 Professional Judgment and Additional Limits on Borrowing
Financial aid administrators may use professional judgment on a case-by-case basis to alter the data used to calculate the expected family contribution or to adjust a student’s cost of attendance.144 This discretion includes refusing or reducing loan funds as long as the reasons are documented and not due to discrimination on the basis of race, national origin, religion, sex, marital status, age, or disability status.145 In some cases, the use of professional judgment allows a student to borrow