Why do i have to fill out my parents info on my fafsa when i am independent ?? ?
In the federal government’s eyes, all students are considered primarily responsible for funding their higher education. But the government also recognizes that most parents contribute financially on some level. Parents provide assistance whether they’ve been saving for years to fund their child’s degree or simply provide housing while their children study. Taking this into account, the federal government applies two different standards for students, one for dependent students and one for independent students. Dependent students are assumed to have parental support while independent students are not. The result: Independent students might qualify for more aid. Being considered an independent student is not merely a matter of being responsible for your own educational expenses. You must meet at least one of the following seven criteria to be declared an independent student for the purposes of the FAFSA: Be 24 years of age or older by December 31 of the award year; Be an orphan (both pare
Because the government assumes that every parent will support their children through college no matter what. But I know that some parents do not or cannot support their kids through college… Luckily I got enough grants and loans to cover state school tuition or else I could not afford to go to college on my own. And it doesn’t matter if you can file your FAFSA as independent, they still assume you are getting support from your parents. When my younger sister went to college, she lived with me and worked 2 part-time jobs to pay her share of the rent. Yet when it came time to file the FAFSA she was told it would be to her advantage to use our mother’s information because she was living off of Social Security/Pension and did not have a large income. They said if she did not list our mother, they would assume she was getting more support than she really was.
FAFSA has their own definition of independent. You might THINK you are independent but if you do not meet their criteria you are not considered independent for financial aid purposes. They need to change that word, everybody gets all hung up on that. Read their definition of independent. If you meet the criteria, you do not need to submit parents info.
This has always angered but I am not if you can do anything about it. Some parents will not assist their children with college even if they have the money to do so. My friend’s father thought college was a waste of time for his kids so he would not assist them, but they still had to put his information in when applying for aid.
