🏫 College Advising

A family experiences a significant decrease in income due to a parent's unexpected job loss after submitting the FAFSA. Which of the following actions should the college financial aid office consider?

A Automatically adjusting the student's Cost of Attendance (COA) to reflect the new financial situation.
B Advising the student to re-submit the FAFSA with updated income information.
C Initiating a Professional Judgment review to re-evaluate the student's aid eligibility based on special circumstances.
D Informing the student that federal regulations prohibit changes to the FAFSA once submitted due to income changes.

✓ Correct Answer: Option C

Professional Judgment allows financial aid administrators to adjust data elements on the FAFSA or COA due to special circumstances like an unexpected job loss, providing a more accurate assessment of a family's ability to pay.

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