How do I apply for independence?

[brainsRcool]

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Hello!

To be considered for financial aid they ask for your parents information. I'm completely independent. I never needed need-based aid, because I received a full ride from my alma mater, and then worked to pay for all the other junk college kids need, like my gas etc. and I've filed my own taxes, have my own leases, and credit cards, yada yada.

When I contacted financial aid, they basically told me I can't have any contact with my parents to be considered an independent. My parents are marvelous humans. I don't have a poor relationship with them, however, they can't help me with school. My aunt had brain cancer (just passed away recently =(..) and my grandmother has Alzheimer's disease and has needed full time care for the past 5 years. My parents have been taking care of them with minimal help from medicare and medicaid, (both my aunt and grandmother never had steady income, so relied on my family a lot). My mother was also in school full time (receiving her Bachelor's degree, I'm very proud) until this past December. At the end of the day between hospital bills, and their own tuition, my parents don't have anything left over. FAFSA isn't able to see all of this, but if I could talk to a person I'm sure they could better see my situation.

I can't find any information on establishing independence when you are technically an independent. Can you even emancipate yourself as a 22 year old? If anyone has any information on how to establish independence, that would be great. I was accepted to medical school through a special program my sophomore year of undergrad, so I never had to pay for application fees or worry about applying for waivers. So far, I've been extremely lucky. I knew I'd have to take loans, but really hoping I can find some financial aid to help me pay for housing for the next four years.

Thank you for any responses!

 

[coffeeandcodeine]

Hi, I'm not exactly the right person to answer your question, but I wanted to clarify one point really quickly. Legally, you are considered an independent adult. For tax purposes, etc, you are no longer a dependent. However, for graduate school financial aid purposes, the definition of "independent" is defined by each school, and is sometimes arbitrary. For example, some schools have a strict cutoff of thirty -- when a matriculant is 30yrs or older, they no longer need their parents financial info, but before then it is mandatory. Some schools consider special situations, like yours. Some schools will waive your parents financial info if you're married/have children, while others won't. In this case, it seems as if your school defines an "independent student" as one who is totally estranged from both parents. Therefore there is no point to "declaring emancipation" -- you can't do so, since you're already legally an independent adult, and even if you could, your school wouldn't care.

All this to say, it is entirely up to your school to determine if they are willing to waive your parents financial aid info and offer you an award package based only on your own financial circumstances. I have to say that this is unlikely -- most schools are pretty strict about the circumstances under which they are willing to waive parent financial info. Some schools may still require your info, but allow you to give additional info (medical bills, etc) that they might take into account, and give you a better financial aid package.

I'm sorry, I know that the financial aid process is rough on those with special circumstances. I would call your school and explain your family's situation -- hopefully there is something they can do for you. Good luck!

 

[brainsRcool]

Hi, I'm not exactly the right person to answer your question, but I wanted to clarify one point really quickly. Legally, you are considered an independent adult. For tax purposes, etc, you are no longer a dependent. However, for graduate school financial aid purposes, the definition of "independent" is defined by each school, and is sometimes arbitrary. For example, some schools have a strict cutoff of thirty -- when a matriculant is 30yrs or older, they no longer need their parents financial info, but before then it is mandatory. Some schools consider special situations, like yours. Some schools will waive your parents financial info if you're married/have children, while others won't. There is no point to "declaring emancipation" -- you can't do so, since you're already legally an independent adult, and even if you could, schools wouldn't care.

All this to say, it is entirely up to your school to determine if they are willing to waive your parents financial aid info and offer you an award package based only on your own financial circumstances. I have to say that this is unlikely -- most schools are pretty strict about the circumstances under which they are willing to waive parent financial info. Some schools may still require your info, but allow you to give additional info (medical bills, etc) that they might take into account, and give you a better financial aid package.

I'm sorry, I know that the financial aid process is rough on those with special circumstances. I would call your school and explain your family's situation -- hopefully there is something they can do for you. Good luck!

Thank you! I'm going to reach out to my mentor at the school who knows my situation a little better, and maybe she can help me with financial aid.

 

[libahli]

For FAFSA itself, you are considered independent once you're applying to graduate school, regardless of age I believe. Each school though might have further requirements. For example, one school where I'm accepted at requires nothing else. Another school requires info on even my parents' monthly mortgage - even though I'm an older nontrad and it's been years since my parents paid for anything school-related for me.

 

[TheRealJohnDorian]

For FAFSA itself, you are considered independent once you're applying to graduate school, regardless of age I believe. Each school though might have further requirements. For example, one school where I'm accepted at requires nothing else. Another school requires info on even my parents' monthly mortgage - even though I'm an older nontrad and it's been years since my parents paid for anything school-related for me.

I am in a similar situation so I talked to a couple of financial aid counselors trying to get some direction. One school explained it to me this way: once you are in medical school, essentially everyone will be eligible for need-based aid because most medical students don't work during school. They need some sort of a "baseline" to assess for need based aid. So I guess it is more important to explain your situation if your school's scholarships are heavily need-based (as opposed to merit). If all your school has is merit scholarships it doesn't matter if your parent's information is on the FAFSA because it won't affect how much you can borrow.

 

[ChymeofPassion]

I think you send word to King George III

 

[kraskadva]

@coffeeandcodeine gave a great breakdown if the different meanings of "independent" so I'm not going to rehash that, but i just wanted to add a couple of points...
If your parent's info is actually being considered by the school, then they would also ask for info about other dependents and tuition paid for other family members besides you. Your grandmother would count as a dependent and your mother's tuition could be mentioned in there, so that would account for a lot of your parent's disposable income and paint a more accurate picture for fin aid.
But regardless, a discussion with fin aid would clear most of this up, so don't stress out about giving the info. If you have to, you have to, and there's not much to be done about it other than filling in more info to explain the situation.

 

[WhittyPsyche]

As someone who is married with kids, and have not been claimed as a dependent since age 16, I still have to submit my parents' information. I am considered independent, but that does not waive the need to provide that information.

FAFSA can give you the option to waive, but your schools will still require it. (And you should put it in your FAFSA as well because it makes secondary stages of the financial aid app easier.)


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile

 

[gertlush]

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