Financial Aid Independent Student

It’s not easy for a student to be able to claim to be totally independent of his or her parents. Colleges will assume that a child is dependent upon his or her parents, and will use the family’s financial information in determining financial aid, unless the student meets certain criteria. A child cannot simply make a declaration of nondependency, nor is a parent’s refusal to provide support enough to give the student independence when it comes to applying for aid.

There are, though, some specific exceptions to this rule that the federal government (and thus the college aid office that is using federal aid money) uses. A student is deemed independent of parents if he or she meets one of these conditions:
• is orphaned
• is a ward of the court
• is at least twenty-four years of age
• is married
• has a dependent child
• is enrolled in graduate or professional school
• is a veteran of the U.S. Armed Forces

There are also some unusual circumstances that may earn an exception
but will probably require an appeal to the financial aid office:
• a student whose parents live in another country and are unable
to provide financial support
• a student who has been granted refugee status by the U.S.
Immigration Service and whose parents live in another country
• a student whose parents are incarcerated, or a student whose
parents have been served with a restraining order barring
contact
Read More: Financial Aid Independent Student