Financial Aid For Independent Student

[sybbie719]

<p>The university of chicago states the following:</p>

<p>

What if I am financially independent of my parents?
You may be considered an independent (self-supporting) student by federal and state program guidelines, but for purposes of awarding University of Chicago grant assistance, we have a more restrictive definition of independence. </p>

<p>To be considered independent, you must be at least 24 years of age by December 31 of the award year (December 31, 2011, for the 2011–12 academic year).
In addition, you must provide proof to the Committee on College Aid that you have been self-supporting for the past three years and the current calendar year, and that you will be self-supporting in the calendar year following your enrollment in the College.</p>

<p>NOTE: If you enter the College as a dependent student, you will be considered a dependent throughout your undergraduate years. </p>

<p>Are there any exceptions to these rules?
If you do not meet our definition of independence but you are an orphan or a ward of the court, you may be considered self-supporting by the University. </p>

<p><a href=“http://collegeaid.uchicago.edu/files/1112_brochure.pdf[/url]”>http://collegeaid.uchicago.edu/files/1112_brochure.pdf&lt;/a&gt;

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<p>Will you be able to prove that you have received no support from your parents over the past 3 years (they have not paid for your school, they did not claim you on their taxes, etc?)</p>

<p>IN addition, the school does do database reviews (they can probably look at your past FAFSA):

</p>

<p>Database Reviews
The following are among federal agency databases reviewed by the Department of Education to confirm some
of the information on your FAFSA form:
Social Security Administration for confirmation of Social Security numbers and U.S. citizenship status;</p>

<p>Selective Service System for confirmation of Selective Service registration status, if applicable; </p>

<p>and
Department of Homeland Security (formerly Immigration and Naturalization Services) for confirmation of eligible noncitizenship status, if applicable.</p>

<p>If data you provided on your FAFSA does not match the data at these agencies, the Committee on College Aid will ask you for additional documents to verify that the information on the FAFSA is, indeed, correct. </p>

<p>Examples of documents that you will be asked to provide are a copy of your passport to confirm that you are a U.S. citizen and a copy of the Selective Service acknowledgement card to confirm that you are registered with Selective Service.</p>

<p><a href=“http://collegeaid.uchicago.edu/files/1112_finance.pdf[/url][/quote]”>http://collegeaid.uchicago.edu/files/1112_finance.pdf

</a></p>

<p>I think it would be a non-issue at Columbia because they state:</p>

<p>

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<p>I have taken some time off from school. May I still apply as a transfer?
Potential applicants to Columbia College **who have taken a break of more than a year in their education<a href=“with%20the%20exception%20of%20those%20who%20must%20complete%20national%20military%20service”>/b</a> should consider instead Columbia’s School of General Studies; the same is true for students who wish to attend a part-time program. Applicants to The Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science should proceed with this transfer application regardless of any break in schooling.</p>

<p><a href=“http://www.studentaffairs.columbia.edu/admissions/applications/transfer_faq.php#22[/url][/quote]”>http://www.studentaffairs.columbia.edu/admissions/applications/transfer_faq.php#22

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