JT A posted the right question with his "where do you draw the line argument"

Here is where I draw the line: whether the student designed and manufactured or bought his car part, he should be able to show the calculations and the validations that justify the choice he made.

A few weeks ago at FSI (Formula Student India) - but this is not an Indian story only - I saw several cars with the same impact attenuator and the same suspension parts that were obviously bought, not manufactured by the teams.
NO ONE of these students could present any engineering calculations (and of course even less validation) that could justify their choice. NO ONE of them could answer questions about the impact attenuator test report.

How could I give to students who just bought these "beautiful" parts - but can't give any engineering arguments for their choice - a bigger score than to the students who at least did TRY to calculate, compare, measure, validate and, yes, ideally manufacture their car parts ?

DESIGNING and building a FSAE / FS car is not playing Lego!