How to Know If You're an Independent or Dependent Student on the FAFSA
January 6, 2010 — To help determine your financial aid eligibility, the federal government will want to know if you are a financially independent or financially dependent student. That distinction is not as simple as it sounds: for the FAFSA, these terms have specific criteria that help define them. So how do you know if you're an independent or dependent student?
Yesterday, we received a helpful email from an administrator in the Financial Aid Office of University of the Sciences in Philadelphia, PA. Ms. Pamela Ramanathan pointed out that "Students must provide parent information on the FAFSA unless they meet the qualification for independent student. Not being claimed on your parents' tax return does NOT make a student independent. Even if students are not claimed on their parents' tax returns, they usually still have to provide parent information." This is the kind of insight that's valuable because it comes straight from an expert working with real people in real situations.
What's the difference between independent and dependent students on the FAFSA?
Generally, students who meet the criteria for independent status report only their own income and assets (and those of their spouse, if they're married) on the FAFSA. They do not have to report their parents' income or assets.
Students who are considered dependent, however, must report their parents' income and assets in addition to their own. This is because federal student aid programs are based on the notion that parents have the primary responsibility for paying for their dependent children's higher education expenses.
You can determine whether you will be considered dependent or independent by consulting the criteria for independent student status. If you don't meet any of the independent student criteria, you're a dependent student as far as the FAFSA is concerned.
Criteria for "Independent Student" status
For the purposes of federal financial aid eligibility, you are an independent student if you can say "yes" to at least one of these qualifiers:
- You are 24 years old or older (Born before Jan. 1, 1986 for the 2009-2010 FAFSA; born before Jan. 1, 1987 for the 2010-2011 FAFSA).
- You're married on the day you apply for financial aid (even if you are separated but not divorced).
- You are or will be enrolled in a master's or doctoral degree program (beyond a bachelor's degree) at the beginning of the academic year* your FAFSA is for, 2009-2010 or 2010-2011.
- You're currently serving on active duty in the U.S. Armed Forces for purposes other than training.
- You're a veteran of the U.S. Armed Forces. (A "veteran" includes students who attended a U.S. service academy and were released under a condition other than dishonorable.)
- You have children who will receive more than half their support from you during the FAFSA academic year.
- You have legal dependents (other than your children or spouse) who live with you and who receive more than half their support from you now and through June 30, 2010.
- When you were age 13 or older, both your parents were deceased and you were you in foster care or a dependent or ward of the court.
- As of the day you apply for aid, you are an emancipated minor as determined by a court in your state of legal residence.
- As of the day you apply for aid, you are in legal guardianship as determined by a court in your state of legal residence.
- At any time on or after the July before you file your FAFSA, your high school or school district homeless liaison determined that you were an unaccompanied youth who was homeless.
- At any time on or after the July before you file your FAFSA, the director of an emergency shelter program funded by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development determined that you were an unaccompanied youth who was homeless.
- At any time on or after the July before you file your FAFSA, the director of a runaway or homeless youth basic center or transitional living program determined that you were an unaccompanied youth who was homeless or were self-supporting and at risk of being homeless.
If none of these criteria applies to you, you are considered a dependent student.
What do you do if you're considered a dependent student but you don't have any contact with your parents?
- Talk to your school's financial aid office before filing a FAFSA. Your financial aid administrator has the authority to evaluate your situation and make a determination to define you as an independent student even if you don't meet the criteria.
- However, your financial aid administrator can't automatically change your status just because you request it. You'll be required to provide documentation that illustrates your situation and supports your need for independency status.
- Your financial aid administrator can change your dependency status from dependent to independent based on adequate documentation of your unusual circumstances.
- If/when your financial aid administrator determines that it is appropriate for you to claim independent student status, you should file your FAFSA as soon as possible. Ask your financial aid administrator for any special filing instructions.
- The final decision about your dependent vs. independent student status is based on the financial aid administrator's judgment. You cannot appeal that decision to the U.S. Department of Education.
What do you do if you're a dependent student with divorced or separated parents?
- In this case, you should report the financial information of the parent you lived with for the greater amount of time during the 12 months preceding the date you file your FAFSA.
- If you didn't live with either parent, or if you lived with each parent an equal amount of time, then use information about the parent who provided the greater amount of financial support during the 12 months prior to the date you file your FAFSA application.
- If you didn't receive any parental financial support during that time, you must report financial information for the parent who most recently provided you with the greater amount of parental support.
What do you do if you have stepparents? Should you include their financial information?
Yes, even if your stepparent(s) does/do not plan to contribute to paying for your schooling, financial information from stepparents is required on the FAFSA if the parent you received financial support from was a single, divorced, or widowed parent who has remarried.
Get FAFSA Tip Sheets from the Federal Student Aid Site
For more details on how to know if you're an independent or dependent student and related topics, you can find downloadable tip sheets on these issues and more at the Student Aid on the Web Publications, Forms, and Brochures page.
And thanks to Ms. Ramanathan for taking the time to send CourseAdvisor an email! Expert knowledge from financial aid administrators is greatly appreciated.
* A number of Independent Student criteria are restricted to specific academic years. For the purpose of federal financial aid and the FAFSA, relevant academic years are defined as:
- 2009-2010: July 1, 2009 to June 30, 2010
- 2010-2011: July 1, 2010 to June 30, 2011