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By Laura DiFiore, with thanks to Shawn Lindstrom of The Financial Aid Resource Center Recently, I received the following email: I am only 20 years old, but I have not accepted a penny from my parents in 3 years. I am independent on my tax forms, and all of my bills are paid by me. But the college always wants me to put my parents' information on the form, and they won't accept my application otherwise. Why is this? If I declare myself independent, and my parents don't claim me, why do I need their income on my financial aid papers? The answer to this question is simple: According to the "rules," you are not an independent student. While you personally may be financially independent, you are still a dependent student. According to "The Student Guide," published by the Department of Education, you are an independent student if at least one of the following applies to you:
Regardless of whether or not your parents are giving you money, or you are accepting money from them, you are still a dependent student unless you meet one of the above requirements. The Governments' "attitude" is that it is the parent's responsibility to provide for their children's education. Even if they don't give you any money, their ABILITY to pay is considered when deciding your eligibility for financial aid. If your parents are REFUSING to fill out the FAFSA form, I would encourage you to sit down and talk with them, explain that your ability to receive any aid is being harmed by their refusal to fill out this form. You can't get ANY government aid at all without the FAFSA, and since you ARE still a dependent student, your parent's income WILL be considered in almost any aid decision. A common misconception is that by virtue of NOT being claimed on your parent's income tax for two years, you can become an "independent" student. This used to be true, but due to abuse it has not been true for a number of years now. Now, on the POSITIVE side... albeit not very positive... if you are without communication with your parents, and can show that you are truly financially independent, your financial aid officer *MIGHT* - big emphasis, *MIGHT!!* be able to grant you independent status. This is called a DEPENDENCY OVERRIDE. It is entirely up to the financial aid office to make exceptions to the dependency status rules...and it's also quite rare. You have to ask your financial aid office to grant you financial independence - it's completely up to them. There is no other way to be granted independent status. Be aware that if you are one of the very few to be granted a dependency override (independent status)... you MIGHT end up with LESS money! Case in point: My ex-roommate's youngest brother, Bobby. Bobby is 21. His parents combined income was $112,000. There were two children in college, and one of them is a diabetic, requiring insulin. He was awarded a total of $7,200 in financial aid, through work-study, subsidized loans, a college-based scholarship, and a few private scholarships. His family's contribution ("EFC") was set at $4,100. He - and his parents - felt that having to come up with an additional $4,100 was "ridiculous" and decided to conspire together to get Bobby independent status. Basically, both Bobby and his parents LIED to the financial aid office, and were successful - they convinced the financial aid office that Bobby was independent. Guess what? They REDUCED his total financial aid package to $4600. Why? Because he is now INDEPENDENT - and FIFTY PERCENT (50%) of a single student's income was considered for financial aid! The "income protection allowance" for single students was (at the time) only $3,000, much lower than for a family of four, and the percentage of FAMILY income vs. independent student income considered was lower (at the time, only 33% of the family's income was considered vs. 50% of Bobby's income). Bobby has no dependents, no extenuating medical circumstances. But his family - despite higher overall income - DOES. Bobby found himself having to come up with $6,700 as his contribution towards his education. By claiming INDEPENDENT status, Bobby ended up with LESS financial aid. One could say that was fitting justice for lying! This happened to Bobby for the 1998-1999 school year. For the 1999-2000 school year, the Department of Education has raised the "income protection" level for independent students to $6,000... which will have a small but not particularly significant affect on how much aid Bobby is going to receive for next year. (I'm not sure what the income protection level is now, it should show on your SAR report, or you can check with the Department of Education.) Bobby now works full-time while attending school full-time in order to pay for everything. This means he will earn more money this year than he did last year and might end up with even less money next year... Bottom Line: When deciding to pursue independent status, play with the numbers before you do so. There are numerous financial aid calculators online that can help you - go to any search engine and search on "Financial Aid Calculator." Bobby's situation is not that unusual. Financial aid decisions are NOT based ONLY on actual income - there are many other factors taken into consideration. It's a complicated decision and one you must pursue with some careful thought. By Laura DiFiore, with thanks to Shawn Lindstrom of The Financial Aid Resource Center Related Reading
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