Caitlin Cheney, 22, a junior at Washington State University , knew that paying for college was going to be a stretch when she couldn’t afford the cost of a cap and gown at her high school graduation.
“I didn’t have anyone to fall back on for financial support,” says Cheney, who left home at 15 with her younger sister. “I found out that financial aid does help us if we have independent status as a homeless or an unaccompanied youth.” An unaccompanied youth is defined legally as a minor who isn’t under the physical custody of a parent or guardian.
Most undergraduate students aged 24 or under as of Dec. 31 are considered dependent for federal financial aid purposes.
[Take three steps to file the FAFSA as an independent student.]
Student can’t simply choose to file as an independent on the Free Application for Federal Student — commonly known as the FAFSA — the application that many schools use to determine financial aid awards. For the most part, the FAFSA relies on parental information unless the student is applying for grad school.
“Once you’re a graduate student you are considered independent for federal financial aid,” says Kathy Ruby, director of college finance at College Coach, and that applies to students aged 24 and younger.
College applicants, however, typically go through a complicated process for proving their independence for financial assistance.
By law, an associate or bachelor’s student must be married, a U.S. veteran, an orphan, an emancipated minor, a homeless youth, a parent who provides more than half of the financial support for a child or have been in foster care for any stint after the age of 13 to be considered independent on the FAFSA.
Financial aid experts say only a small population of students at traditional colleges are indepedent and the majority of those students are married.
But around 35.6 percent of undergraduates attending a public four-year college say they’re financially indepedent, according to a 2014 study by the American Association of Community Colleges.
Before 1992, a student who earned at least $4,000 for two consecutive years could be considered independent.
Today a student’s self-suffiency is not enough for financial aid adminsters to grant a dependency override, an adminstrative ruling that treats the student as independent.
[Consider these FAFSA tips to help nontraditional students pay for college. ]
Financial aid officers say it’s rare for a college to grant a dependency override and usually only given in a special “dire circumstance” such as for the student who may have recently received a divorce, come from an abusive home or have parents who are incarcerated, among other circumstances.
“Each school has to make their own decision on the dependency override,” says Ruby, who used to work at the financial aid office at St. Olaf College.
Ashley Moguel, 19, a first-year student at CUNY LaGuardia Community College, was estranged from her parents and living in a shelter when she applied for college last year. The teen says she was denied financial aid at her school.
The 19-year-old began the legal process of declaring herself as an emancipated minor when she was still in high school.
“By the time that I got that from the courts, it was too late because I had already had to pay for my courses,” says Moguel, who says the paperwork took more than seven months. The 19-year-old paid for her first year of school with several scholarships and money she earned working part time.
Moguel, now emancipated, will be able to apply as independent this year on the FAFSA.
A dependency override can be granted in a “dire circumstance.” A youth who is verified as homeless or at-risk of being homeless qualifies, experts say. That status has to be documented by a neutral third party such as a high school counselor, pastor or shelter director.
[Discover five myths about parent information on the FAFSA.]
“For the dependency override, the student has to jump through a lot of hoops to get one,” Ruby says.
Students who considered themselves independent because of parental refusal to fill out the FAFSA don’t qualify.
The guidelines say that a parent’s refusal to provide information on the FAFSA or a student’s self-sufficiency isn’t enough to warrant a dependency override, experts say.
“For those students with refusal of parental support , they can only receive a small student loan and aren’t eligible for any grants,” says Cyekeia Lee, director of higher education initiatives at the National Association for the Education of Homeless Children and Youth, which helps homeless youths and unaccompanied minors access higher education.
“Students may get an apartment, work in retail or fast food and put themselves through school because of parental refusal,” Lee says. “But that doesn’t grant independency status.”
Experts say these students who don’t meet the guidelines as independent, can take out unsubsidized loans, but they’re not eligible for grants.
For the students who do qualify for a dependency override, it’s important for those students to stay in contact with both the admissions and financial aid departments, Cheney says.
“Don’t be too proud , and try to talk to the financial aid office or admissions because they need to know about your home situation,” says the Washington State junior.
Trying to fund your education? Get tips and more in the U.S. News Paying for College center.
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Declare Yourself Independent for College Financial Aid originally appeared on usnews.com
