For years, financial aid administrators and others have debated the nature and structure of need analysis. As it developed, need analysis was based on commonly accepted definitions and basic principles of economics. Beyond the fundamentals of need analysis, there also developed expertise about exercising professional judgment (PJ) in reviewing and, if necessary, adjusting the value of the data elements used in need analysis. This expertise about discretionary decisions has been shared formally in organized meetings and informally in day-to-day conversations. This publication discusses various ways of exercising PJ. It is not intended to be all-inclusive, but to provide financial aid administrators with guidelines or suggested alternatives that may be exercised in determining eligibility for federal financial aid and in analyzing a family's reasonable ability to provide for postsecondary educational expenses. Not all aid administrators will agree with every adjustment example cited in this Monograph. Instead, this publication is intended to provide a foundation on which financial aid administrators may develop good practices and consistent treatment of aid applicants at their individual institutions while simultaneously taking into consideration fluctuations in our economy or uncontrollable changes in family households. This monograph is the ninth, revised edition of a NASFAA publication that first appeared in 1983. It is a part of NASFAA's continuing effort to assist financial aid administrators in fulfilling their professional responsibilities. Most recently NASFAA staff revised the Monograph in 2023 in response to the phased implementation of the FAFSA Simplification Act, which was enacted into law as part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021. This revised version includes provisions that became effective for the 2023-24 award year. It will be updated in the future to capture the remaining FAFSA Simplification provisions which become effective for the 2024-25 award year.