When you apply for federal student aid, your answers to certain questions will determine whether you are considered dependent on your parents or independent. If you are considered dependent on your parents, you must report their income and assets as well as your own. If you are independent, you must report only your own income and assets (and those of your spouse, if you are married). Not living with your parents does not automatically classify you as independent. Students are classified as dependent or independent because federal student aid programs are based on the idea that students (and their parents or spouse, if applicable) have the primary responsibility for paying for their postsecondary education. For the 2004-2005 academic year, you are an independent student if at least one of the following applies:
• you were born before January 1, 1981
• you are married
• you are or will be enrolled in a graduate or professional educational program (beyond a bachelor’s degree) during the 2004-2005 school year
• you have children who receive more than half their support from you
• you have dependents (other than your children or spouse) who live with you and who receive more than half of their support from you and will continue to do so through June 30, 2005
• both parents are deceased or you are/were a ward/dependent of the court until age 18
• you are a veteran of the U.S. Armed Forces (“veteran” includes a student who attended a U.S. military academy who was released under a condition other than dishonorable)
If you claim to be an independent student, your school may ask you to submit proof before you can receive any federal student aid. If you think you have unusual circumstances that would make you independent even though none of the above criteria apply to you, talk to your financial aid administrator, who can change your status if your circumstances warrant it. The review is not automatic. You must request it and provide supporting documentation. That decision is based on the judgment of the financial aid administrator, and is final; you cannot appeal it to the U.S. Department of Education.