<p>I want you to help me out on this one.. before when I was single lived with parents I got my associates in science and got approved for financial aid, now Im married, seeking my bachelors degree, transfer student with no children... my question is would i still be able to be approve for financial aid? or should i still put single?</p>
<p>If you lie on FAFSA you are committing fraud. </p>
<p>It sounds like you would still qualify for Federal aid since you don’t have a Bachelors degree.</p>
<p>Use your correct marital status…not only is it illegal to lie on applications for student aid, but your FAFSA is also based on your tax return which will presumably show that you’re actually married! FAFSA requests divorce/separation dates and colleges will request documentation if you’re selected for verification (around 1/3 of all FAFSA’s are verified each year).</p>
<p>Again, there are others on this forum who are a lot more knowledgeable about this, but is not usually an advantage to declare as “married” as they student is considered emancipated even if the student is less than the age of 24? I would assume that only the student’s (and the spouses?) own assets count in this case, not the parents? In most cases a married 22 year old may not have much income or assets, unless there are special circumstances like a trust that the student got money from if they were married etc. So it appears to me that mentioning “married” on the application (questions 16, 17 and 50) is not only the honest thing to do but also the most beneficial, at least in a majority of the cases. Please correct me if I am wrong.</p>
<p>This is what I found on FAFSA website</p>
<p>*These questions appear in Step 2 of the online FAFSA (FAFSA on the Web) or in Step Three of the PDF or paper FAFSA.</p>
<p>Purpose: These questions are used to determine, according to law, whether you are a dependent or an independent student for purposes of calculating an EFC. If you answer “No” to all of these questions, you are a dependent student, even if you do not live with your parents. On a case-by-case basis, a financial aid administrator (FAA) may make an otherwise dependent student independent if he or she can document in the student’s file that the student’s individual circumstances warrant the decision. The reason must relate to that individual student and not to an entire class of students. The FAA’s decision is final and cannot be appealed to the U.S. Department of Education.</p>
<p>A dependent student moves on to Questions 56-89, and provides information about his or her parents in the purple areas of the paper FAFSA or in the area designated for parental income on FAFSA on the Web. An independent student skips Questions 56-89 and picks up with Question 90 and continues through to the end of the application. All students must complete the rest of the application from Question 97.a. through the end.</p>
<p>You must answer all of the following questions: </p>
<p>…</p>
<ol>
<li>As of today, are you married? Answer “Yes” if you are legally married on the date you complete the application. As previously stated under the instructions for Question 16, marital status cannot be projected. “Married” does not mean living together unless your state recognizes your relationship as common-law marriage. Answer “Yes” if you are separated but not divorced. </li>
</ol>
<p>…
If you answered “Yes” to any of the questions 48-55, you should now skip to Question 90.</p>
<p>*</p>
<p>Whether or not it is beneficial to be married depends on the individual student’s situation. Sometimes students get more aid if they are independent; other times they get less. NEVER lie, though … your situation is what it is, so apply & find out what is offered to you.</p>
<p>Interesting if they consider students to be married even if they are legally separated on the day the app is filed. Parents are considered single if they are legally separated but not difvorced for FAFSA and tax purposes. Is this correct?</p>
<p>Whether it is to your advantage or not, is a moot point. You are married. So you have to file the FAFSA as a married student (unless legal separation is recognized which another poster has said it is not, and if you legally separate). Folks often fill out the FAFSA both ways, as single and a dependent on the parents or married and independent when they are contemplating marriage. Some come to the conclusion that they are better off not marrying until done with school because of the numbers. </p>
<p>But in your case, the decision has been made. You are married. Doesn’t matter what would be in other circustances.</p>