fafsa help

KelRN215, BSN, RN · Jun 4, 2012

I think it's because many university-based nursing programs enroll primarily college-aged students who are still dependents. College students are their parents' dependents until the year of graduation as far as tax purposes and things like collecting child support. If you're an independent adult, you don't need to include your parents' salaries.

Hawkeyet72 · Jun 5, 2012

Yes. That's what i had figured too. It says even if you're independent to put their info down. I just have been trying to decide which way is better to go. Thank you very much for responding!! :)

Trauma Columnist · Jun 5, 2012

lol - I have gone back to school several times throughout my life. The last time I filled out a FAFSA (which you have to do even if you KNOW you aren't going to get loans) was in 2009 - I was 51 years old, my parents were long dead and it seemed truly silly.

However, that's the government for you - lol.

Hawkeyet72 · Jun 15, 2012

Haha. It did seem really silly. After I was divorced they helped me slightly by giving me a roof over my head but I pay rent and do a lot around the house to help them. So I have been financially independent for some time. I ended up not putting them on there. It seemed like it wasn't the right thing to do. Thank you for the comment!

CT Pixie, BSN, RN · Jun 15, 2012

Until the age of 24 you are considered a 'dependent' (a few things exempt you from being a dependent) the government looks at your parent's tax returns for any student loans, grants, etc. My daughter was living in her own apartment, paying her own bills and over 18. When we did her FASFA it was required that our tax return info was entered on the form. I was livid. She's on her own and living in her own place and yet the government (who says she's a legal adult at 18 and is responsible for her own actions etc) says that until 24, the parent's income is figured in on how much she gets, yet I cannot claim her as a dependent on my tax returns! Maddening!

I also had a fellow student in LPN school who was 23, engaged to be married and lived on her own who was also required to use her parent's return to fill out info. She had been estranged from her parents since the age of 17 and they had not given one red cent in supporting her from that age on, yet she was expected and required to get the info. After some jumping through hoops, she was able to get the paperwork needed so that she did not need to get it from them.

Will I need my parents’ information?

If you can answer No to all of the following questions, you are considered a dependent student on the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA):

Were you born before January 1, 1989?
As of today are you married?
At the beginning of the 2012-2013 school year, will you be working on a master's or doctorate program (such as an MA, MBA, MD, JD, PhD, EdD, or graduate certificate, etc.)?
Are you currently serving on active duty in the U.S. Armed Forces for purposes other than training?
Are you a veteran of the U.S. Armed Forces?
Do you have children who will receive more than half of their support from you between July 1, 2012 and June 30, 2013?
Do you have dependents (other than your children or spouse) who live with you and who receive more than half of their support from you, now and through June 30, 2013?
At any time since you turned age 13, were both your parents deceased, were you in foster care or were you a dependent or ward of the court?
As determined by a court in your state of legal residence, are you or were you an emancipated minor?
As determined by a court in your state of legal residence, are you or were you in legal guardianship?
At any time on or after July 1, 2011, did your high school or school district homeless liaison determine that you were an unaccompanied youth who was homeless?
At any time on or after July 1, 2011, did the director of an emergency shelter or transitional housing program funded by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development determine that you were an unaccompanied youth who was homeless?
At any time on or after July 1, 2011, did the director of a runaway or homeless youth basic center or transitional living program determine that you were an unaccompanied youth who was homeless or were self-supporting and at risk of being homeless?

If you are considered a dependent student, your parents must answer the parental questions on the FAFSA.

If you can answer Yes to any of the questions above, you are considered an independent student and information about your parents is not required on the FAFSA .

Note: Health profession students may be required to provide parental information regardless of their dependency status.

If you have a special circumstance that prevents you from providing parental information you may be able to submit your FAFSA. However, your FAFSA will be incomplete. You must contact the financial office at your college and provide them with documentation to verify your situation

http://studentaid.ed.gov/students/attachments/siteresources/DependentorIndependent.pdf

ixchel · Jun 15, 2012

Why in the world would bring a health professional matter?! I don't remember ever seeing that before.

Anyway, contact your financial aid office. Every school has a different override process (although some have no override process at all). The 24 year old cut off blows my mind. I haven't lived with a parent since I was 15 years old. I was financially independent at 18 years old. When I applied for college at 19 years old, I had to use my mom's information, and then defend why my dad's wasn't on there (he didn't know about me until I was 19) by giving them my birth certificate, which doesn't have his name on it. What's worse- my mom lived in a different state than me, which made me out of state regardless of which state I chose to go to school in. I was trying to go to school in Maryland, had lived in MD for 5 years, but she lived in WV. The schools I applied to in both states said I was out of state.

I tutored a student last semester who was writing an essay about how unfair the financial aid system is. Her parents were in considerable debt because they cared for her deceased brother for years and based on their income, she didn't qualify for aid, even though they couldn't afford to send her to school. Honestly, I get that the financial aid system has to cut it off somewhere, but a parent shouldn't be on the FAFSA if they didn't claim their kid on taxes.

oklahomovna · Jun 15, 2012

Why does the fafsa form suggest to put your parents information for nursing or health professions? I got accepted to the program and want to make sure I do it right! Thank you in advance for any answers provided! :)

I'm getting ready to move in with my parents and start my school in the Fall. Taking a few prerequisite classes and hoping to get into the program which starts in January 2013.

I did not live with them last year, but going to be very much dependent for a few years because I definitely not going to be able to work through Accelerated Nursing Program.

I'll be getting some money as a child support from my ex and that will probably help them with bills and food for the time while I'm in school.

Well, I'm not going to put their info in fafsa because they are will be my lend lords.

I wonder if they will have to claim me and my daughter as dependent for this year or they'll show my child support as their income.

CT Pixie, BSN, RN · Jun 15, 2012

I'm getting ready to move in with my parents and start my school in the Fall. Taking a few prerequisite classes and hoping to get into the program which starts in January 2013.
I did not live with them last year, but going to be very much dependent for a few years because I definitely not going to be able to work through Accelerated Nursing Program.
I'll be getting some money as a child support from my ex and that will probably help them with bills and food for the time while I'm in school.
Well, I'm not going to put their info in fafsa because they are will be my lend lords.
I wonder if they will have to claim me and my daughter as dependent for this year or they'll show my child support as their income.

You are exempt from the 'dependent' status (if you're under 24) because you have a child. so no matter where you are living you are considered an 'independent'

Hawkeyet72 · Jun 26, 2012

Thank you everyone for the help and the advice. I can't believe some of the hoops that need to be jumped through to get some help. This is my first time getting financial aid. Everything else I paid upfront and that was before the age of 24. .. I have it all filled out and I think I am ready to go. Just nervous. Thank you again for the tips, advice and the help! CT Pixie- I think you did a better job than the financial aid meeting I had to go to!!! Thank you everyone!