FAFSA Dependancy Override

I get questions every day from students who believe they should be considered an independent student in the eyes of the FAFSA. Unless a student is 24 years old by January 1st of the school year they are going to attend, have a child, are married, have a 4 year degree, have other dependents, or are a military veteran, then the student must provide parental financial information on the FAFSA. I know this does not sound fair because some students are on their own after high school. Your parents are not going to help you with college, or maybe you just want to get out and want to do everything on your own. Well, this is not the case most of the time. Even if your parents are not claiming you on their taxes anymore, you still need their financial information.

There is an exception to this rule called Dependency Override. A dependency override is when the financial aid office at your school determines that you should not have to use your parents information on your FAFSA. This sounds really great, but in all actuality, it is very hard to get a dependency override from your school.

Here are some reasons why your school will NOT give you a dependency override:
1. A student says that they are on their own and the parents do not help out at all.
2. A parent is unwilling to give the student any financial information
3. A parent no longer claims the student on tax forms.

Here are some reasons why your school would grant a dependency override:
1. You are or were living in an emotionally or physically abusive household.
2. You left a household that was unsafe.
3. Parental abandonment of the student.
3. The custodial parent is incarcerated.
4. The student was removed from the parent's house by court order.

The first step in applying for an override is to talk to the financial aid office at your school. You should do this before attempting to file your FAFSA. The financial aid office will review your dependency override case and tell you what steps you need to take to file your FAFSA.

Most financial aid offices are going to ask for detailed documentation regarding your situation and will probably ask for letters from adult mentors in your life to back up your story.

The school has the final word on your override and you can not appeal it to the school or the federal government. If you truly are in a situation where a FAFSA dependency override is necessary, then your school will give you one.

All schools might have different criteria on granting the override, so if you had one at one school and then change schools, it is not automatic that you are going to be granted one at your new school.