My mom has been in and out of jail for a long time. My dad hasn’t been in the picture at all since I was a little kid.
I live with my great grandma, who has no income other than Welfare, but she is not my legal guardian. My mom is.
I don’t know if I can get any information about my mom, like SSN or taxes… I can’t just put my grandma can I? She’s who I live with but not the person with legal custody of me.
Ugh. Any help will be appreciated
Tiffany, big hug to you. Sounds like you’ve had a rough situation growing up.
Is there a social worker involved in your life at all? I think you need some help from a professional here- not just for FAFSA but for other situations-- do you have health insurance for example and if so, do you understand how it works and what needs to happen when you go to college to continue your coverage?
If not a scoial worker- have you had supervised visits with your mom and if so, is there an agency which has been in charge of that?
I do have health insurance, but I’m not sure how to continue with health insurance, no. I visit my mom every once in a while but it’s usually just grandparents supervising and no one else as I’m 17. Not sure if there’s anything extra that goes into that or not. More or less I’ve been going with the flow lol
I just figured this would be easier. I started the FAFSA a little until I got to the parent part. At first I put special circumstances, but I guess I thought there’d be something else to do so that it was completely filled out.
Thank you for being so kind 
How many colleges are you applying to? I think most of them, where you are accepted, will be willing to work with you. In terms of getting through the FAFSA right now, I would start with your GC at school.
I do have health insurance, but I’m not sure how to continue with health insurance, no. I visit my mom every once in a while but it’s usually just grandparents supervising and no one else as I’m 17. Not sure if there’s anything extra that goes into that or not. More or less I’ve been going with the flow lol
I just figured this would be easier. I started the FAFSA a little until I got to the parent part. At first I put special circumstances, but I guess I thought there’d be something else to do so that it was completely filled out.
Thank you for being so kind
I’m planning on going to Robert Morris University in PA. I’ve been accepted, I just don’t know how to go about asking for help
That school is private and pretty pricey. Make sure you apply to some more affordable schools as well. Like CCAC, which has some transfer degree programs I think.
Even if you get full Pell grant and (if instate for PA) state grant, that would only be about $10,000 in aid and the student loan you can borrow in freshman year $5,500.
Contact RMU financial aid office about some help with your situation and filling out FAFSA.
Do you live close enough to commute to any schools so you can save on room and board?
I think you need ot talk to them directly to see what they can do. They are not a meets full need school and you are going to need a lot of aid.
You might also want to look at a few other schools in PA that will meet full need. For example Franklin and Marshall. There is a very knowledgeable poster here on financial aid who might be able to help with your specific question @BelknapPoint
From the instructions for the 2018-2019 paper FAFSA:
*Notes for students unable to provide parental information on pages 6 and 7
Under very limited circumstances (for example, your parents are incarcerated; you have left home due to an abusive family environment; or you do not know where your parents are and are unable to contact them), you may be able to submit your FAFSA without parental information. If you are unable to provide parental information, skip Steps Four and Five, and go to Step Six. Once you submit your FAFSA without parental data, you must follow up with the financial aid office at the college you plan to attend, in order to complete your FAFSA.*
A pdf version is here:
https://fafsa.ed.gov/fotw1819/pdf/PdfFafsa18-19.pdf
The instruction provided is on page 10.
Edited to add: you cannot put your grandma’s information on FAFSA.
In your case, I would contact the school to discuss the possibility of a professional judgment determination so that you can file as an independent student. You can file as @BelknapPoint notes, but you need to contact the aid office to discuss your situation so you can (hopefully) get a PJ. Best to you!!