Daily Financial Aid News #37
Daily Aid 37: The All Mail Bag Day
Tons and tons and tons of mail. Let’s knock it down.
Manuel writes in:
this dosent make any sense why am i still a dependent if im going to have no support of my parents.(moving out). is there another way?
Melissa writes in:
Hi I`m 18 years old and having the same problem I have’nt been living with my mother for over 2 years and dont have any contact with my father I started to fill out my fasfa and was ask to pervide my parent information. What can I do to become independent.
Dependency is judged based on the status listed. If you have no support of your parents and are fully self supporting, you can ask your financial aid officer for a professional judgement override of dependency status. Be prepared to provide a ton of documentation like rent and utility bill copies, etc.
Jean writes in:
Hi im am 22 yrs old and I am currently married. I will be getting divorced soon and want to know if this will revert my status to dependent because i am not yet 24.
Sorry to hear that. Your status would indeed revert to dependent student.
Bob writes in:
Can a student over 24 change his Fafsa status form dependent to independent for the current year?
holly writes in:
if i get married a couple months after i filed my fafsa for 08 09 school year, can i re-file as an independent if I am starting school spring quarter 09?
Yes. The student can file a FAFSA correction online to change their age and thus their dependency status.
Hema writes in:
Would fafsa would give me financial aid if I am going for a Second Bachelor Degree? My first Bachelor is from Mexico
Only if you’re a US citizen or eligible non-citizen.
Laura writes in:
I feel for all of you. We are parents of 3, we have a laughable number assigned as our family responsibility. This system is shameful. Our oldest is about to graduate with more debt due to loans than we ever would have imagined or desired for her. The Feds and all grants or other opportunities for this highly advertised “free money” are obviously skewed towards anyone who is not middle income or higher. She is ineligible for Pell which virtually removes loads of the “freebies”. Higher education is required to provide any true opportunity, in this country it should be a given being the land of opportunity and all. I feel like we provide more than ample opportunity to any and all but not our own. The more I delve into this system the more wretched I find it to be. The point of being one who can go to war but not be independent from one’s parents is really even more insulting. Who writes these laws? I know many students in the system I work in who do not truly apply themselves as compared with my own and yet they will be eligible to go to any number of schools cheaply vs my own kids. Does not do much for my confidence in the government whose salaries we pay.
That’s why everyone and their cousin needs to be hunting for outside scholarships. Have you grabbed a free copy of our eBook on finding scholarships?
Mary writes in:
I am attending Unversity of Phoenix since last year. WHen I applied I was paying my full tuition. I was EFC 834 eligible, but UOP did not give me the funding because I am legally married, separated since 1996. my tax returns support my head of household status, and now my daughters are 25, support single status. UOP says that I am not eligible. I do not have a husband. Who is correct?
That’s really confusing. If UoP denied you aid that you were eligible for, that’s a violation of a whole bunch of things. You can file a complaint at http://www.ombudsman.ed.gov/ or call toll-free 877-557-2575 to report a federal financial aid violation.
Thea Mills writes in:
Ok so i have a difficult situation. I just turned 18, i’ve graduated from high school, and i am now ready to start college. Since i have to pay my way through college i thought i’d fill out a FAFSA form to see if i can get any financal aid. The only problem is that my mother, who i am still dependent of, doesn’t agree with giving out all her personal/financial information. so what do i do?!? how am i supposed to get any financal help if i dont get my FAFSA filled out?!? i dont know what to do…please help!
Unfortunately, as long as you are a dependent of your mother, she is required to provide her information to successfully complete the FAFSA. The bottom line for her is that her child is potentially missing out on THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS OF FREE MONEY by withholding information that the government already has, thanks to the IRS. She’s not telling Uncle Sam anything he doesn’t already know in a different department. Feel free to share this with her.
lauren writes in:
Hi, I just i am 18 years old and just recently moved out on my own. My mother no longer claims me on her taxes I claim myself, so when filling out a fasfa how could I use my own taxes. I dont think its right to use my parents when they dont help. Is there any way around this ?
Nick writes in:
i am 21, my parent has cut all ties and communication with me. she will not provide her tax information for the next year. what can i do to become independent?
KB writes in:
Hi i will be 19 in a few months i have the same ? my parents on paper make to much money for me to recive fafsa but i am financially on my own i really need aid to go to school bc for two yrs its going to cost a lil over 50,000 dollars and financially i can not afford it i will be receiving no help from my parents and living on my own any advice?
If you don’t qualify for 1 of the 7 conditions of an independen student, no, there’s not much to be done. You can seek a professional judgement override from a financial aid officer at your school if you can document your independent status, but that’s entirely up to your school to grant.
Bob R writes in:
I am 39 and just lost my job. I’ve probably made around 30k this year but currently recieving unemployment. I just registered full time @ my local comm college. Although it doesn’t seem to matter that I have good credit, do I qualify for financial aid?
Sorry to hear that you lost your job. The only way you’ll determine whether you qualify for aid is if you file the FAFSA. It’s free, so go ahead and do that.
Lauren writes in:
I’m in a bind because i dont know what to do about my situation.. I am independent and do not keep in contact with my dad nor mom. They have nothing to do with me and do not support me so i live back and forth between a friend and my grandma. My issue is that my aunt and uncle claimed me on their tax return when i dont even live with them, and they dont support me. Basically, i’m on my own and get no help from my family. I don’t know what kind of documentation to show the financial aid office because i have none? I don’t know how to file the fafsa with my situation.
The only way you can be determined to be truly independent is with a decision by a court that you are an emancipated student, orphan, ward of the court, or under legal guardianship. As of the 2009 FAFSA, you would probably qualify as a homeless, unaccompanied youth and you should talk to someone at a transitional shelter about getting paperwork certifying that.
Ryan writes in:
Hi my question is do you get more finacial aid if your parents work for the state such as in a prison or is it just based on money ?
No sir. Financial aid is based on need alone. That said, there may be outside scholarships that are worth investigating for that kind of situation.
sam writes in:
Hi,
I recently married my wife who is 20 years old, but we are worried about her financial aid which is filed by her dad and covers about 99% of her tuition. I am also a student and 25 years old, and we are currently not living together. Although I have a job that pays around 40k a year, I am not currently supporting her and can barely support myself and I am not eligible for financial aid because I am not a US citizen.
She would like to stay as a dependent because I cannot support her nor her father or herself.
Since I am not supporting her in anyway, we would like to keep it as is. Do we have to file any differently? Also, since it is the truth, and her father is supporting her and paying for her and filing for her every year, would there be any changes to her financial aid program?
Regardless of age, if she is married, she is automatically an independent student and should complete the FAFSA as such. Being an independent student will actually work to her advantage, and her father can continue to support her. Congrats on your marriage.
Gary R. Anderson writes in:
A friend of the family (20) has moved into our home as an independent renter of an extra room. We did this since several of mom’s abusive boyfriends threaten her. Her non-contributing parent, who WAS on FAFSA never helped in housing or college, and the only past money in gifts came from a grand-parent –now it is ending, and she needs to change FAFSA as independent student, by petitioning the school to override standard requirements. “If approved,” will this increase her award to cover continuing in college? Is there any housing or dorm allowance?
If the financial aid officer at the school does grant a professional judgement override of dependency status, she’ll automatically qualify for additional financial aid. The aid granted should include total cost of attendance for the college with an eye towards only her finances now.
Nicole writes in:
If you could help me, that would be awesome! I am 20 years old and haven’t seen my dad in years, or lived with my mom for the last two. I had to provide her information for the FAFSA so I called my mom and she gave it to me. My question is, how can her income affect my financial aide, if none of it went to me at all. I live on my own rent free for now in my friends attic when I am out of school, and in a dorm when I am at school. I a full time job just to pay for it. It’s so frustrating and doesn’t seem right. Any suggestions?
If you can gain certification as an unaccompanied youth who is self supporting - from a HUD-approved homeless shelter, transitional program, etc. - then you would be granted independent student status for the 2009 FAFSA.
Scholarship of the Day
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