On Jan. 1 each year, students can begin submitting the Free Application for Federal Student Aid for the upcoming academic year. While you can usually get federal financial aid up until the last day of classes, it does pay to get your FAFSA in early. That’s because schools use the information from this form to determine your institutional aid award, and the funds for that may be limited.
If you haven’t submitted your FAFSA yet, it may be because you’ve run into a common roadblock. The FAFSA asks for the financial information of the student’s parents. Moms and dads may not want to give these details out, and students may not file their FAFSAs as a result. However, your parents’ reluctance — as well as your inaction — may simply be due to some misconceptions about how the financial aid process works.
[Take three steps to file the FAFSA as an independent.]
Let’s tackle five of these myths.
1. By providing their information, parents become responsible for paying for college. Sometimes, parents think that completing the FAFSA will make them legally financially responsible for the cost of the student’s education. That’s not the case. Entering financial data does not bind parents to spend any money or take out any loans toward college.
2. Parents must be U.S. citizens for their children to receive aid. Another reason parents may not wish to contribute to the FAFSA could be their citizenship status. While undocumented students cannot receive financial aid, the citizenship of their parents has no bearing on aid eligibility — and the FAFSA actually won’t even ask parents whether they are citizens. The form will ask for their Social Security numbers, though. If your parents do not have this information, they can simply enter all zeros in its place.
3. Students can’t submit the FAFSA without their parents’ information. If the information above doesn’t persuade your parents to provide their information, you still have options for how to handle this question on the FAFSA. Most notably, you can look into your dependency status.
For financial aid purposes, the U.S. Department of Education classifies students as either “dependent” or “independent” of their parents. Independent students file their FAFSAs without their parents’ financial information. Dependent students must provide these details; however, the online FAFSA gives them the option to skip the parent section of the form.
[Get advice on avoiding common FAFSA mistakes.]
If a dependent student does this, it will affect the types of aid they can receive. Still, the Student Loan Ranger always recommends maximizing your federal student aid options before turning to alternate sources, like private funding. By completing the FAFSA, you’ll be able to take advantage of all of your potential financing options.
4. No parent information means no federal financial aid or loans. If you skip the parent section of the FAFSA, you may still be able to receive federal financial aid in the form of unsubsidized Stafford loans. But this is not a given. The school you attend will determine whether to give you this loan. If you go this route, contact its financial aid office as soon as you submit your FAFSA to discuss this possibility.
Unlike subsidized Stafford loans or Perkins loans, borrowers are always responsible for paying the interest that accrues on unsubsidized loans. That means these loans could end up costing you more money than other federal options, but they’ll still come with repayment, postponement, and forgiveness benefits that often aren’t available with private loans.
[Read additional tips and advice on paying for college.]
5. You can’t appeal your dependent status. Qualifying for independent status isn’t as easy as moving out of your parents’ house or not receiving financial help from them. But if you don’t fit the criteria to be considered as an independent student, you may still be able to receive the same benefits by meeting other special circumstances.
According to the U.S. Department of Education, these circumstances can include students who are unable to locate or contact their parents and who have not been adopted, as well as students who are self-supporting and between the ages of 21 and 24, among other situations.
If one of these applies to you, contact your school’s financial aid office to initiate a ” dependency override. ” This process will allow you to challenge your dependency status. Be prepared, though. To prove that you can’t provide your parents’ financial information, you will likely need to provide authentic documentation — photos, faxes or copies of documents will most likely not be accepted.
More from U.S. News
Take 3 Steps to File the FAFSA as an Independent
5 Places to Hunt for Free College Financial Aid Help
Some Colleges May Use the FAFSA in Unexpected Ways
5 Myths About Parent Information on the FAFSA originally appeared on usnews.com
