Currently I’m an 18 year old junior in high school who will be a senior for the 2016-2017 school year. I’ve started thinking about colleges I want to apply to and my financial situation. When I was almost 8 my father and I moved to New York from Guyana. My mom and him had gotten a divorce prior, so she stayed back. On my 9th birthday my father passed away, which then left my grandma to care for me since my mom wasn’t in the country and in my life. She’s cared for me ever since and even now, however she is not my legal guardian. I’ve had contact with my mom but it was never stable (my family didn’t like her much because of the divorce and what not). Three years ago (2013) my mom came over to NY to visit and that’s when I had physical contact with her for a week or so. During that time, my family and her had a lot of problems and ever since I didn’t speak to her since. I’m not sure where she is, but as of right now I don’t have a relationship with her at all. I’ve spoken to my guidance counselor about my situation and she said I’d have to file for a dependency override. Can someone please help me understand how a dependency override works and how I’d go about filing for it? Also she mentioned something about a CSS profile. Can someone clear that up as well? Thank you 
Are you a U.S. citizen or permanent resident?
If so…for financial aid, you will need to complete the FAFSA for just about any school you apply to. You would not use your grandma’s financial information. Normally…you would use your mom’s.
Some colleges require the CSS Profile which is an additional financial aid application form. This is used by some private colleges, and a handful of public universities.
I would agree that you would be a good candidate for a dependency override. @kelsmom when exactly does this student ask for that??
On face it seems like an agreement was made between your parent(s) grandparent for you to stay in the US. Whose mother are you staying with; your maternal grandmother or your paternal grandmother?
Your relationship with your mother is not irreparably broken.If it were, it would have been very easy for your grandmother to obtain legal guardianship. You know where she is. She must complete the FAFSA and the CSS profile, anywhere she is in the world in order for you to get financial aid. It has nothing to do with how other family members feel about your mother. She did not abandon you; she chose to allow you to stay in the U.S.
If your mother does not make a lot of money it may be an easier and cleaner process for you to use her income and assets than to get a dependency override (which will be hard to get on what you have mentioned here).
Does not compute… Does not compute…
It is going to be very challenging for OP to get a dependency override based on what she wrote here. She cannot simply state that she does not know where her mother is (if her mother has been having challenges with the rest of the family, someone knows how to reach her).
Most of the overrides that I have been a part of involve kids who were moved out of the custody of their parents; and the school has no contact orders, copies of restraining orders, etc.
@sybbie719 is correct - it’s a pretty involved process to get a dependency override, and it will be difficult if the student doesn’t have an “irreparably broken” relationship with Mom. Unless it is impossible for any family member to locate the mother - and they can prove that they have tried to do so with no success - her info is necessary. OP, if you believe you must request a dependency override, I suggest contacting your school’s aid office NOW. It is best that you discuss your situation with them as soon as possible to try to sort things out.
Does your mom work and/or have assets?
To clarify, in 2013 after my family fought with my mom, that’s when I last saw and heard of my mother. I made it clear that I didn’t desire a relationship with her anymore, and ever since we’re had no contact whatsoever. This was because of the way she was acting and disrespecting my family and me. So it was either she stayed in NY, or went straight back to Guyana. She had a boyfriend here, so I don’t know what could have become of her. As of right now I have no way of contacting her. Also my grandma is from my dads side, and I don’t know if my mom work or have assets. I’m aware that the dependency override will be complicated, at least that’s what you guys and my guidance counselor are saying.
Here you can read about Dependency Override:
http://www.kidscounsel.org/financial%20aid%202008.pdf
http://www.finaid.org/educators/pj/dependencyoverrides.phtml
You never answered if you are a citizen.
Are you saying that you have absolutely no other family in Guyana either on your mother’s side or your father’s side?
You must make every concerted effort to reach out to your family members about your mother’s where abouts. From what I have seen over the past few years that dependency overrides are becoming harder to obtain based simply on no-contact.
Sorry about that-- permanent resident
And I have no other family in Guyana from my moms side
How can you be a PR if you haven’t live in the US for a long time, and the one parent that does, you claim to have nothing to do with and have no contact with? Your PR status may not still exist.
Deciding you do not want a relationship with the oarent is NOT a basis for a dependency override. Think about it…almost anyone could then say “I never want to have a relationship with you” to their parents. Plu, that was 2013…when you were what 15? Man teens feel that way about their parents from time to time.
@mom2collegekids the OP says they lived here since age 8…and is now 18. So that’s 10 years.
More info that might be useful:
http://www.bcc.cuny.edu/financial-aid/documents/Other/2013-2014-Dependency-Override.pdf
https://www.bcc.cuny.edu/Financial-Aid/documents/2015-2016/2015-2016-Dependency-Override-Form.pdf
How hAve you dealt with legal documents since your father died? Who carries your health insurance, who signs your school documents? Does someone have custody of you since you were 9 when your father died? Does someone claim you on a tax return? Do you have a job, and did someone sign for you? Were you under state custody? Did you have any state services like free lunch, medicaid?
You may be able to establish theat you were abandoned. If you are still in high school, even though you are 18, you may be able to still establish this through the school.
The easiest thing to do would be for you to establish that you were abandoned when you were 15, and make your grandmother your legal guardian (if you’re under 18).