FASFA, Financial Aid?

Question

So here is the deal. Last year was the second year I applied for the Fafsa, but they never get back to me. I think it might have to do with the fact that Neither of my parents have jobs, and I was on my own at age 18, but never emancipated, and I paid for everything. I was told by a a school counselor to then leave them blank. so last year, I ended up paying cash for my classes. What are you supposed to put, if you don't speak to either of your parents? Technically it says, that you're a dependent til your 22..Could I be exempt?

Answer 1

I've struggled with them, but they responded. I was not eligible because I was not Independent. Back then the stipulations to be independent were:
25 years or older
Be a veteran
a Ward of the Court or an orphan
Be married
or have Children.

I wrote them a long letter stating why I was independent and how my parents were not financial responsible for me. They denied my application.

The age has now dropped from 25 to 23 years old. They should have at least sent a letter of denial. I would encourage you to contact them or ask a counselor at the school to assist you.

The grant follows by very strict guidelines. You should have been eligible for financial assistance, especially if you had documentation from your parents.

Answer 2

FASFA just wants to know how much income you make per year in order to give you a financial aid package that would best fit your needs. I have a slightly different but still unique situation like yours. Basically, I just put down my legal guardian's information on the form and things went smoothly. Since you live on your own and your parents are still alive, why don't you just put down their financial information even though they are not working? You would be telling the truth and you would also include your own financial information on the form. Call FAFSA to find out how they can help you. Also, get a second opinion from a different school counselor that you can trust. This one doens't seem to be giving you much information.

Answer 3

if you do not speak to eaither of your parents then you can leave the information blank . If they make no money then put 0. Those two are different.

Once you file , you should get your SAR back in the email or online, depending on your method of filing. In either case due to the fact that you will put 0 or leave it blank for parental information, your file will be flagged and thus will require review from your school.

Your school will request documents from you, such as income taxes. If you can prove independant status to your school then they will correct the fafsa on your behalf and you will recieve independant status.

If you seriously do not talk to your parents then just file independantly. but if you do talk to them, and they do not work, and your the one that provides support for the family it will benefit you more to report them. However, if they live off of savings and have millions in the bank, it benefits you more to be estranged from them .

See your financial aid advisor, they will assit you in filing.

And in any scenario, if you filed you recieve things in the mail or in email, there is no way they just reply to you with nothing. its best for yout o file anyways, tahts how you qualify for grants and scholarships through school. (at most schools)

Answer 4

This is a very good question. I am inclined to say that since you have been legally adopted and were never in state custody after the age of 13 you are considerd DEPENDENT and need to put your adopted parents information. When someone adopts you they ARE your parents for all intents and purposes. For further clarification and to get it "straight from the horses mouth" (The Dept of Education, the folks that oversee FAFSA) call them at 1-800-4FEDAID because I could be completely wrong!!! Good luck.

Answer 5

In general, you do have to complete your FAFSA to qualify for federal student aid. I have found one site that provides a lot of free advice and information: http://www.FAFSAonline.com

They offer you some specific information related to your question here:
http://www.fafsaonline.com/fafsa-tutorial/fafsa-form-guide-page-3.php

Another good resource is the Dept. of Education's financial aid hotline: 800-4FED-AID Call them for status checks, dependency questions and help in all areas related to the financial aid application and federal aid.

Also, remember, it is the FAFSA (not the FASFA), see:
http://www.fafsaonline.com/financial-aid-application/fasfa.php

FAFSA stands for Free Application for Federal Student Aid...

Answer 6

No one is exempt. Most likely they did not receive your application. You can check with your school's Financial Aid Office to check on the status of your FAFSA. You can also check out their website, which I believe is www.fafsa.gov

Answer 7

you will need to provide documents on why you don't talk to your parents; something extreme. For instances, were both parents abusive to you. This is can make you an independent student. You will need a witness who are willing to write a statement support this claim or whatever caused you not to talk to you parents. Remember it can't be that you choose not to speak with them b/c they didn't want you to go to a certain college.

Answer 8

No matter what your financial situation, FAFSA must get back to you. If you aren't getting a response at all it's probably a different problem than how you filed.

Answer 9

There are specific rules that govern whether you're independent or not. Sallie Mae explains them:
http://www.salliemae.com/get_student_loan/apply_student_loan/understanding/financial_aid/dependency/dependency.htm