I am 19 currently and about to enter sophomore year of college. I do live with my parents however I am paying rent. They told me if I don’t pay the rent I will be kicked out of the house and I will have nowhere to go. Because of this, I put that I am at risk of being homeless on my FAFSA Application and did not include my parents information. The rent covers a portion of the mortgage, bills, and food. I am still wondering if my application will get accepted because college will be too expensive for me. Due to my circumstances, am I still at risk of being homeless?
Any help will be much appreciated, Thank you.
I think you still have to include it even if they have no intention of paying for college unless you are legally emancipated from them.
OP is 19 years old… legal emancipation is not a factor here.
No. Your parents expecting that an adult child living at home work and contribute to the household expenses is NOT the same thing as being “at risk of being homeless”. You do need to have your parents fill out the FAFSA.
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You are not at risk of being homeless. You need to change your fafsa.
But until students are 24 their parents’ income and assets will be considered.
What @BelknapPoint means is that to become an emancipated minor, this process must be completed by age 18. That ship has sailed for this student. Yes, parent income and assets will be considered.
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Chiming in to agree that you are not at risk of being homeless. You have a home … you would be making a choice to leave that home to escape a parental rule that doesn’t harm you.
You would need to get someone at a shelter type of place to sign off on it.
I know that at 18 a student is an adult, I thought there was a legal way to prove the parents are not contributing financially (although that would mean not living in the same residence).
The only thing a student can do is have their parents sign and agree that they are not contributing anything to support the student. This includes everything including declaring the kiddo as a dependent on taxes. If that happens, the student might be eligible for addition Direct Loan money…but that’s it. This would be $4000 additional per year of Direct Loan money.
@kelsmom do I have that correct?
In the very vast majority of cases, the income and assets of the parents are required on the FAFSA form unless the student meets one of the criteria to be considered independent for financial aid purposes…married, has a minor child they support, veteran of the armed forces, in legal guardianship or foster care before a certain age, over age 24, has a bachelors degree.
This student doesn’t meet any of these criteria so far as we know. Parents just saying they won’t pay for college does not matter at all.
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Do you want to be homeless?
No, you wanting to sit at home and pay for none of your own expenses does not equate to “risk for homelessness”. It only equals immaturity.
Doesn’t matter. Unless the student was declared by a court, before they were 18, to be an emancipated minor, then their parent has to file a FAFSA for them, for them to be eligible for ANY financial aid, including an unsubsidized federal loan. They’re out of luck if the parent refuses to file. They can appeal to the college for institutional fin aid. I recall a pretty undergrad who went crying to the fin aid office that her parents were refusing to pay for college because they didn’t like her major, and she was deemed indigent, and got a free ride for the last two years of college. I have a feeling that if she had not been so attractive, the outcome might have been different.
A student is eligible to file their own FAFSA for the academic year that they are turning 24 (so if they are turning 24 at anytime in the August to May (or even August) aid year, they can file their own FAFSA for that year).
I don’t know if the OP can get away with it. But they are most definitely NOT at risk of homelessness, just because, at age 19, the parents expect them to work and contribute to the household expenses.
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Yes, a student can submit without parent information & try to get just an unsubsidized loan. Here is information about that: Federal Student Aid. The FAFSA will reject & the student will need to work directly with the school financial aid office.
Thanks! Although paying over 1k in rent/month hurts
How much does a studio apartment cost in your area?
Look, I empathize with you. The only way that I would charge my kid room and board would be as a learning tool, so that they don’t think that they’re rich working a crappy, low-paying job, because they don’t have any living expenses. And I would, unbeknownst to them, save for them every penny that they pay me - but I have the luxury of being in a good enough financial position that I can do that. Also, a lot of families will not ask a kid who is going to college to pay room and board.
Is it more than the cost of a room in a comparable house in your area, including utilities and board? Would your cost of living be less if you were to move into a shared apartment or shared house with other young people? Seriously, that is an option for you. It won’t change anything for the FAFSA, but you might be happier. Or is your family in financial straits, and really needs you to help out with money?
I find this post troubling. You mention that the girl was “pretty” (you realize that it is now discouraged to comment on physical appearance) and speculate that she got financial help because she was “attractive.” Seriously?
OP why were you omitting your parents; income and assets?
If you can find a better rental outside of your parents’ house, and take classes part-time, that might improve your situation. If you have to work full-time, college is tough.
I know young people in your situation who moved out, and worked, and waited until age 24 to go to college.