<p>I am a rising sophomore at a 4 year state university in the south, and am trying to transfer north next spring to escape my emotionally abusive parents. I have on campus housing during the school year, but my house is literally a 5 minute walk away from my dorm even then and my parents have harassed me to the point where I simply can't stay here any longer. I'm working on getting two part time jobs this summer in addition to summer classes so I can be financially stable and self supporting. I won't be 18 until August and I have looked into getting emancipated, but my parents refuse to let me leave even though I have a full ride scholarship including housing, tuition, food, etc and virtually support myself already. I was admitted to all 5 universities I applied to, including Carnegie Mellon (which was my first choice), but because my parents are extremely affluent (although they refused to pay for any of my college education) I didn't receive any financial aid and ultimately had to stay here. I'm not even telling them I'm transferring- I'm actually planning on completely cutting ties with them as soon as I can. </p>
<p>How can I claim independence from them in order to receive financial aid so that I can transfer? I can get letters of reference from my therapist on campus, as well the hospital I was admitted to for severe depression due to their abuse this year validating my situation if needed.</p>
<p>My father is a faculty member, and there is specific scholarship housing so they could easily find me. It’s also a fairly small town. I’ve already read over the dependency status questions.</p>
<p>You will be a transfer student. First, you need to check what being independent will net you in financial aid. You are talking about either attending an OOS public university or a private university. Both will be well over $40,000 a year. Even with a FAFSA EFC of $0, you would be only guaranteed a Pell of $5600, and a Direct Loan of $6500.</p>
<p>You need to check whether the schools you wish to transfer to provide full need based aid to transfer students. Some don’t for transfers that do for incoming freshmen.</p>
<p>I agree. You have a full ride where you are. Find a place to live, and just stay there. </p>
<p>I’m looking in particular at Boston University which does, I believe. Once again, the university I go to is in a small town, and my father works at it. It would be incredibly easy for them to find me. If I have to go $200k+ in debt to leave here, I’ll do it.</p>
<p>Boston University does NOT guarantee to meet full need for all students. Not at all. They never have, and they do not.</p>
<p>When my son’s EFC was $22,000 a year, he got only his $10,000 merit award, and not a cent of need based aid except a loan. The cost to attend was about $48,000 a year at that time. It is now about $60,000 a year. It is highly unlikely that you will get $60,000 in financial aid from BU.</p>
<p>You are so lucky to have a free ride! I would suggest seeing a counselor or clergyman and figure out how to deal with your situation. It will be FAR less expensive than attending Boston University.</p>
<p>Boston University has a reputation of not being good with need-based financial aid, so it may be unaffordable even if you do get college financial aid independence.</p>
<p>Perhaps you can look into stalking laws and restraining orders if you stay at your current school.</p>
<p>But even if emancipated, this student will NOT be guaranteed to receive enough need based aid to fund an OOS public university OR most private schools as a transfer student. </p>
Perhaps, but first things first. As noted above, this student has a limited window of opportunity (until his or her 18th birthday only) to become emancipated. This student needs to consult with an attorney ASAP about the steps needed to become emancipated. Given the OP’s age, he or she should be able to find an attorney who’d take the case at no charge. Start making calls TODAY!</p>
<p>You have read what you need to be considered independent for FAFSA purposes, right? So barring those ways, you cannot. Doesn’t matter if your parents don’t give you a dime, that you are self supporting, that you don’t live with them, yada , yada , yada. You pretty much need to get a court ordered emancipation BEFORE you turn 18 or it’s tough beans for you. The only other way is getting married, getting a dependent, becoming a veteran (which would take time) or becoming homeless. But that homeless status is something that has to be verified, is up to professional judgement and has to be updated each year and may entail actually living in a homeless shelter to get that status. Most schools do not judge on abuse issues of the home, it has to be court/police documented.<br>
So I’m with Dodgersmom on this. </p>
<p>The thing is, you really can’t afford to thumb your nose at your parents if you are dependent on their financial information even if you don’t get a dime from them. They refuse to fill out the FAFSA, you get don’t get need based awards. Simple as that. If you are getting enough money to get buy with merit money that has nothing to do with them and you don’t need them or their financial information, then you are home free once you are 18. Get a restraining order and simply refuse to have anything to do with them. Get a job and a place to live in the summer At age 17, your parents have some rights regarding your welfare, your business. The cord is legally cut at 18 but not for college fin aid pruposed. You are in the gravy if you don’t need their information, because under most college rules, including federal and state laws, you cannot get the fin aid without revealing their finances and they do not have to give it. </p>
<p>I would think the first thing to do is report the abuse (and very quietly gather up your needed-stuff from your room because you will be leaving promptly without much time/focus to grab what you need.</p>
<p>if you have any evidence of the abuse (recordings from your phone, etc), safeguard that…email them to yourself to keep. If you dont have evidence, try to get some.</p>
<p>I want to tell you that transferring is probably NOT a good idea for you unless you get the emancipation and a school that will accept it AND also gives you a package that pays for all of your expenses. Transfers usually are not well funded. They are last on the list to get money. You are in about as good of a situation as you can be as you currently have close to full need met from merit awards so you don’t need any info or money from your parents Replicating that situation is nigh impossible elsewhere as a transfer.</p>
<p>To the best of my knowledge, an abuse report is not necessary in order for the OP to get an order of emancipation. That’s why I suggested the OP not waste time with social services, and go straight to a lawyer instead. Heck, worst case scenario, he or she can go straight to the courthouse and ask what paperwork needs to be filled out to request emancipation.</p>
<p>Simplified:</p>
<p>A social services/abuse report is needed in order to be declared a dependent minor and placed in foster care. That would give the OP independent status for FAFSA, but there’s no guarantee it could be accomplished before the OP turns 18. (In fact, given the OP’s age, the county could well decline to take any action at all.)</p>
<p>A social services/abuse report would be helpful, although not needed, to support an emancipation petition. A consultation with an attorney would be the best way to find out what the OP needs to do in order to get a court to grant his or her petition for emancipation. Do this ASAP - the deadline for getting the petition heard and granted is the OP’s August birthdate!</p>
<p>Before filing for emancipation, ask the financial aid office if that would mean not being able to qualify for the financial aid at your current school. If that would happen (since you would no longer be a dependent of your father) and you cannot get the aid at a transfer school, you would not be able to go to school at all.</p>
<p>You might be best off with the order of protection and staying where you are. As someone else said, your father cannot risk the exposure for violation of the order or he would lose his job.</p>
Wow - really good point!!! If the full ride scholarship depends on your relationship with your father (and his employment at the college), that’s something you need to consider.</p>
<p>And order of protection, however, may not be an option if the abuse is emotional only. That’s also something the OP needs to find out.</p>
<p>Get emancipated, using your therapist’s and doctor’s documentation of the abuse. Get it done without raising alarm so that it doesn’t get to your father and work quickly because once you’re 18, you’re stuck.
I agree that living at your abuser’s place of work is a bad idea!
No bank will loan you the money - you’re only entitled to $5,500 in federal loans.
So you’ll need Plan A, Plan B, Plan C.
For instance, Plan 1 would be applying to generous, 100% need schools (this will depend on your profile: 4.0, research, top recommendations would be important. Of course, recommendations that wouldn’t get back to your father.)
Some good schools also offer financial aid to transfers - I know that Gettysburg does, for instance.
Some in-state schools aren’t too expensive if you’re considered instate
Some in-state schools have automatic merit, even if for transfers the scholarships are much lower than for freshmen: UAlabama, Truman State…
Another possibility: once you’re emancipated, what you CAN do, is move to any other state and work there for a year. Once you’re considered emancipated and have worked for a year supporting yourself, you’re an independent, and you can qualify for instate tuition.
Some states also make it rather easy for you to claim instate residency for tuition purpose, such as Utah, but of course U Utah isn’t the best university out there.
Would the university that admitted you with a full scholarship still be interested in you? If you explain the situation (it was dream school but abusive parent, being a minor, forced to turn it down, now you’re 18 and still dream school…) they may have funds, although probably not a full ride.
Did you use federal (“direct”) loans freshman and sophomore years? If not, you’re allowed to use some of these loans for junior and senior year, meaning you’re allowed to use $14,000 for junior year, 13,000 for senior year, as long as you didn’t use the loans freshman&sophomore years.
Some universities will be interested in an 18 year old transfer so if you have taken advanced classes and have good grades you may have good chances. You’ll have to apply widely.
Don’t leave thinking you’ll never return. Always leave a window. But don’t tell your abuser where you’re going, even if you feel bad at some point. Don’t leave a phone number or an address.</p>