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.

Back to the FAFSA Blog

Wow, I am amazed to see that it has been over 2 years since I have posted a blog! I am back now and ready to start writing about the FAFSA and financial aid again.
Stay tuned..
FinAidGuy

CHEAP ENTERTAINMENT FOR THE COLLEGE STUDENT

How to Have Fun Even if You are Broke.

You’ve gone to classes, studied, folded laundry and checked your e-mail. Now what do you do? You’ve only got $10 dollars cash in your pocket and you’re looking for some fun. Here are some ideas for entertainment on the cheap:

1) Go to the library. College libraries are generally open all night long, and many college town libraries have great selections of VHS and DVD movies. Enjoy a movie night, and the best part is it’s free!

2) Call your friends over and play some cards or board games. Learn to play chess. Nothing takes care of boredom like a good friend! A game that I have found interesting is trying to challenge your friends to see how much they know about you. You’ll learn interesting things about your friends and hopefully spend hours having a blast!

3) Check out local museums and attractions. Many are free on certain days of the month, and others offer cheap student discounts. Enjoy some art or a zoo for an afternoon!

4) Concerts and sporting events at your college again offer deeply discounted tickets to students. Spend an evening hearing some good music or attending a game. To make it even more memorable, go with a group of friends.

5) Take a walk around your town. Visit the tourist spots, the historical spots you usually just pass right by. You may discover a small shop or little-known attraction that will spark your interest!

6) Spend the night star-gazing. Pick up an astronomy book at the library; bring a friend and a snack. See if you can find new constellations!

7) Swap old magazines with friends. You both get something new out of the deal.

8) Go to the mall, but leave your cash at home. You can window shop, go with a friend and try things on, but don’t buy! Get ideas for Christmas instead!

9) Lift weights. Most universities offer free access to exercise equipment. You’ll keep busy while you improve yourself.

10) Go bowling. Bring friends, of course!

11) Invite some friends over, turn on the radio, and spend the evening dancing!

Having fun when you are broke in college isn’t too hard, as long as you’ve got friends who are broke too and looking for fun! Try these ideas and figure out some of your own.

Lunch on a Budget: A College Student’s Must-Know!

Like many other college students, you’re famous for being short on cash almost all year long. Unfortunately, this state of perpetual poverty doesn’t relent just because you’re trying to eat. Sometimes you only have enough cash to hit the vending machines: a bad idea if you’re trying to give your brain fuel that it can use for studying.

Here are a few things that you can do to get a decent meal despite your tiny budget.

-Avoid your university’s food court. Snacks, meals and most beverages tend to cost more at these on-campus locations. Unless you’re forced to eat there – i.e. you’re in a dorm that comes with a meal plan – go off campus for lunch. Prices are often cheaper, and many restaurants and fast-food places near campuses offer student discounts to save you even more money.

-Check out your school’s campus organizations. Some offer free or very cheap lunches once a month or more often. In many cases, these are religious organizations. If you’re part of that faith, you can have the added bonus of finding a convenient place to socialize.

-Bring your lunch from home. If you live on campus, you can walk back to your place for lunch. This works best if your class schedule includes a break around lunchtime. Even if you didn’t think of this when the semester began, you can work things out. Put fruit, a sandwich or other small food items into your backpack or purse so that you can eat them on the run between classes. This will eliminate the temptation to hit the vending machines.

-Buy larger packages of food instead of single-serving packs. Example: if you know that you can return to your place for lunch, don’t stock up on single-serving bags of chips. Instead, buy a large bag and reseal it after you’re finished. You’re getting more chips for the same price as the smaller packages.

-If you have to grab lunch on the go, buy re-usable containers that fit in your bag and re-fill them from larger packages. Many snacks, from cheese crackers to bite-sized cookies, come in plastic containers that you can seal and re-use many times. Instead of throwing that handy little thing away, buy a big package of your favorite snack and re-fill the small container from that.

-Drink more water. If you have a filtration system – even a standalone pitcher that you can buy for ten dollars or less – you can re-use the plastic bottles of water that you’ve already bought. This is cheaper than buying twenty-ounce sodas a couple of times every day.

-Find a public microwave on your campus. Many schools provide microwaves in or near cafeterias so that students can nuke things they bring from home. This is handy not just for leftovers, but for Ramen noodles and other packaged meals too.

How to spot a scholarship scam

With students scrambling for more money to attend college these days, more scammers are out there to try to steal it from you.

The most recent scam is you getting a phone call and the operator tells you that you have won a federal scholarship or grant, usually in the amount of about $8000. All you have to do is pay the small processing fee and they send the money right away. This is wrong, you should never have to pay money to get a scholarship and of course, the money is never sent.

You can read the FTC information page about scholarship scams.

New site about PLUS Loans

If you are a parent looking for money for your student in college, or you are a student in need of money, you will really want to check out PLUS loans. PLUS loans are parent loans for undergraduate students. Parents take out PLUS loans for students who just need the extra money for college. You can find out more at a new PLUS Loan site.

Congress expected to pass fixed Stafford Loan rate

In a new financial aid bill that is expected to pass through congress there are quite a few changes students need to be concerned about. Among other cuts, totaling billions from college financial aid over the next 5 years- is a fixed rate for Stafford Loans.

This fixed rate will be set at 6.8 percent. This is a major ordeal, as loan rates are now variable and change every year. Currently they are linked to the ninety-day treasury bill, which is as low as 4.7 percent.

In the past Stafford Loans interest rates have been as high as 8 percent, however, right now they are much lower than the proposed 6.8 percent lifetime rate.

This bill passed the senate, is expected to pass the house, and the president is expected to sign it into law.

There are several other important parts to the bill that will be dissected soon.

Stay Tuned.

How to get FAFSA help

If you are one of the many students who needs help filling out the FAFSA, you are not alone. This 101-question form is more comprehensive than most tax forms. The questions can be confusing and it might get a little frustrating filling out the FAFSA online.

In the near future, you will have no other choice but to file your FAFSA online. The government is going to do away with paper applications and online will be the only way to go.

So, you need help while filling out the FAFSA, and you have several places you can go for help.

The main place people go for help is the Federal Student Aid Information Center. This call center is staffed by several call takers who should help you fill out the FAFSA. They should also answer any questions you have and walk you through the form. The issue that I have with calling this number is that the center is staffed with lots of underpaid, uneducated, and untrained people. The management always pushed the call takers to keep their "talk time" low so they can take as many calls as possible in a shift. If you want someone to walk you through doing the entire application online, the person on the other end might do everything possible to get you off the phone so they do not get yelled at. If you want to contact them, call 8--433-3243.

Another way to get help is to take a look at the FAFSA tutorial at fafsaonline.com. This tutorial takes you through the FAFSA step-by-step and really leaves you with no questions on what to do. You can find this tutorial at:
FAFSA Online Tutorial

No matter what, you should never get frustrated filling out this form with the help described above.

FAFSA Renewal

It is that time of the year again: time to file your FAFSA renewal. The Department of Education has now stopped sending out paper FAFSA renewal applications. If you want to renew your application for financial aid, you must do it online.

Most students who have never done the FAFSA online are accustomed to getting a paper renewal FAFSA every year. The government is trying to save some money by requiring students file all FAFSA's online.

You must have your Department of Education PIN to do your renewal application. If you do not have your PIN, you must do a federal PIN retrieval You can apply for your PIN at www.pin.ed.gov and you can file a renewal FAFSA at:

Renewal FAFSA site

If you have any questions about renewing, you can call the Federal Student Aid Information Center at 1-800-433-3242

File your 2006-2007 FAFSA Application

If you plan on starting school in the fall of 2006, you need to fill out the 2006-2007 FAFSA.

The 2006-2007 FAFSA Application is available from the government on January 1st. It is highly recommended that you fill out the FAFSA on January 1st or as soon after as possible.

If you want to get the 2006-2007 application out of the way now and do not want to worry about it, you can file it now with easyaid.com at:

The 2006-2007 FAFSA at easyaid.com.

Easyaid.com will check over your answers to ensure that you have no mistakes and your application will not be rejected. The application will be filed precisely when the new application is available, at midnight central time on January 1st, 2006.