corinthianblue asked:
My parents refuse to give me their W-2′s and other crap, in fear of ID theft. I don’t turn 24 until December, 4 months AFTER my classes start. My parents don’t claim me as a dependent nor do I claim them as mine. There has to be a way around this.
Florence
My parents refuse to give me their W-2′s and other crap, in fear of ID theft. I don’t turn 24 until December, 4 months AFTER my classes start. My parents don’t claim me as a dependent nor do I claim them as mine. There has to be a way around this.
Florence
Willie
Talk to a financial aid counselor at your school.
Neil
There are “ways around this” but they are almost all illegal. Not worth it!
If you really want to be considered independent for financial aid purposes, just wait until after your 24th birthday to file then start classes in the spring. In the meantime, research private scholarships and grants.
BTW, being independent doesn’t automatically make you more eligible for aid, especially if you don’t have any dependents. The financial aid formula assumes that more of your disposable income will be used for your education, which could make you LESS eligible for aid.
Gregory
On the fasfa, it asks you will you be 24 for the new aid year, and for you, that is a YES.
So based on your age for 09-10, you will be an independent and won’t need your parents information at all.
Are there loop holes? Of course, but those are generally for students with extreme or unusual circumstances that they can’t provide their parents information. The statement “they refused to help me” doesn’t count.
Vicki
Corinthian:
I’m confused.
Question 48 on the FAFSA asks the very simple question: Were you born before January 1, 1986?
If you’ll be 24 on December 4th, 2009, my guess is that you were born on December 4, 1985. Quick math suggests that December 4, 1985 is 28 days BEFORE January 1, 1986, which means that you can answer Question 48 as “yes”.
One “yes” answer in the dependency classification section of the FAFSA (Questions 48 through 60) qualifies you as an independent student for federal financial aid purposes.
You don’t need a work around – you will be classified as an independent student for the 2009-2010 school year, and you will not be required to provide your parents financial information.
I’m also going to agree with the other respondent who pointed out that the classification of “independent” does not always translate to more financial aid. When the EFC formulas evaluate income, students are expected to contribute a much larger percentage of their OWN income to their educational expenses than the parents are.
Applicants whose primary support is derived from their parents may get more financial aid despite their parents higher annual income.
I hope that helps you. Good luck.
Joe
The first question in the dependency section of the 09-10 FAFSA will ask: “Were you born before January 1, 1986?” You were born on Dec. 4, 1985, so that means that you would answer YES to this question. this will result in you being considered an independent student, therefore parent information will not be required whatsoever.
So basically, you are stressing out over nothing. You are independent anyway and can file the FAFSA without any information from your parents from now on.
PS: there is a process called Dependency Override to appeal your dependency status, but the regulations for approval of a DO is extremely strict.