financial aid, parents wont contribute

[jeremy_m]

<p>Can I receive financial aid for next year if my parent’s are not willing to contribute anything?</p>

<p>I can't receive financial aid because my parent's make too much money, even though they wont be helping. </p>

<p>what are my options?</p>

<p>thanks</p>

[msmayor]

<p>Whether your parents contribute or not, you must still provide their income and savings information on the FAFSA. Schools do not take in to consideration the fact that your parents don’t WANT to pay. If it was possible to get aid simply because your parents don’t want to pay then everyone would say “My parents don’t want to pay”.</p>

<p>As others have said here before, at least you know up front that they are not willing to contribute. You will have to narrow your college search to those that you can afford to handle on your own.</p>

[mdoc]

<p>I don’t think need based aid is going to be an option. Unless you can make the case that you’re independent, which is unlikely, your parents’ income is going to be included whether they want to contribute or not. I would think your main options are to find a school that will give you merit aid, find an inexpensive school that you could afford on your own by working and borrowing the maximum Stafford loans available, or some combination of the two.</p>

[thumper1]

<p>You will be required to provide your parents’ financial information in order to apply for financial aid. The colleges will compute what they feel your family SHOULD contribute. It is a family decision whether or not they do so.</p>

<p>I would suggest that you have a serious chat with your parents regarding college and what they will and won’t do to help you. If they really are not going to fund your education at all, you need to look at less expensive options that you might be able to pay for yourself. I know it’s not probably what you want to do…but getting a job and going to a community college…maybe even part time…might be the way to start.</p>

[BigSister2007]

<p>I will be attending my first year of college this fall. My parents are no longer together, but have not divorced. My father has estranged from the family and “disappears” for months at a time. My sister supports the family as my mom does not work. Would I be able to use her financial information as my father has not been in the picture and can be difficult to locate at times? His estimated income is about $100K and my sister is ~$50k. The only thing my father does is pay the mortgage as that is his excuse for us to not contact him. we tried to have him give my sister guardianship, but refuses and my sister cannot afford to go through this process.</p>

<p>Any feed back would be appreciated.</p>

[swimcatsmom]

<p>No you can’t use your sister’s information. Even if she were your guardian you still could not use her for FAFSA. It is your Mom’s information you should use. If you are starting school this fall are you just now thinking of filing for financial aid?</p>

[thumper1]

<p>If you are starting school this fall, you will be receiving your first bill from the college very soon…and they will expect you to pay it before you enroll. How are you paying for college this year?</p>

[BigSister2007]

<p>I will be going to a community college as I am unable to to afford a school with a high price tag.</p>

[swimcatsmom]

<p>Have you filed FAFSA yet? I would suggest a sit down with a financial aid officer (they are generally very helpful) for advice on how to file (considering the rather complicated situation).</p>

[BigSister2007]

<p>Not sure what I am going to do as this same situation happened to a friend recently and he used his sister’s income. He received a significant package of aid and was able to go away his first year of college (aid of ~37k and sister paid ~5k). They both thought it was ok. His father returned home and he filed his FAFSA using his father’s income. Now he was denied any aid from the school because of conflicting financial information. His sister needs to explain why she used her income instead of his natural parents. She is concerned that she may need to pay that money back or who knows…even worse.</p>

<p>After hearing all of this, I feel like my best bet is going to my local community college. I just feel hopeless :-(</p>

[thumper1]

<p>If going to a community college will help you with your college costs…that is NOT hopeless…it is hopeFUL. Go for it.</p>

[swimcatsmom]

<p>Using the sister’s income would not be the correct thing to do for FAfSA. I don’t know why anyone would think it is. FAFSA is pretty clear that only a parent (including adoptive or step) can be used for parent info. From
[Completing</a> the FAFSA 08-09/The Application Questions(46-47)](<a href=“http://studentaid.ed.gov/students/publications/completing_fafsa/2009_2010/ques3-5.html]Completing”>http://studentaid.ed.gov/students/publications/completing_fafsa/2009_2010/ques3-5.html)</p>

<p>

Who is considered a parent?</p>

<p>The term “parent” is not restricted to biological parents. There are instances (such as when a grandparent legally adopts the applicant) in which a person other than a biological parent is treated as a parent, and in these instances, the parental questions on the application must be answered, since they apply to such an individual (or individuals).</p>

<p>If your parents are both living and married to each other, answer the questions about both of them.</p>

<p>If your parents are living together and have not been formally married but meet the criteria in their state for a common-law marriage, they should report their status as married on the application. If the state does not consider their situation to be a common-law marriage, then you should follow the rules for divorced parents. Check with the appropriate state agency concerning the definition of a common-law marriage.</p>

<p>A foster parent, legal guardian or a grandparent or other relative is not treated as a parent for purposes of filing a FAFSA unless that person has legally adopted the applicant. An adoptive parent is treated in the same manner as a biological parent on the FAFSA.</p>

<p>If one, but not both, of your parents has died, you should answer the parental questions about the surviving parent. Do not report any financial information for the deceased parent on the FAFSA. If the surviving parent dies after the FAFSA has been filed, you must submit a correction to Question 55, thus updating your dependency status to independent, and correct all other information as appropriate (e.g., you will no longer fill out Questions 61-95). If the surviving parent is remarried as of the date you complete the FAFSA, answer the questions about both that parent and the person he or she married (your stepparent).</p>

<p>If your parents are divorced (or separated-see below for more information), answer the questions about the parent you lived with more during the 12 months preceding the date you complete the FAFSA. If you did not live with one parent more than the other, give answers about the parent who provided more financial support during the 12 months preceding the date you complete the FAFSA, or during the most recent year that you actually received support from a parent. If this parent has remarried as of the date you fill out the FAFSA, answer the questions on the remaining sections of the FAFSA about that parent and the person he or she married (your stepparent).</p>

<p>If your parents are legally separated, the same rules that apply for a divorced couple are used to determine which parent’s information must be reported. A couple doesn’t have to be legally separated in order to be considered separated for purposes of the FAFSA. The couple may consider themselves informally separated when one of the partners has permanently left the household. If the partners live together, they can’t be considered informally separated.</p>

<p>A stepparent is treated in the same manner as a biological parent if the stepparent is married, as of the date of application, to the biological parent whose information will be reported on the FAFSA, or if the stepparent has legally adopted you. There are no exceptions. Prenuptial agreements do not exempt the stepparent from providing required data on the FAFSA. Note that the stepparent’s income information for the entire year prior to application, 2008, must be reported even if your parent and stepparent were not married until after the start of 2008, but were married prior to the date the FAFSA was completed.

</p>

<p>If your parents are separated and you live with your Mom you should file FAFSA using your Mom’s information. I don’t understand why you are trying to use your sisters information.</p>

[BigSister2007]

<p>My parents have not legally separated yet. My mother does not work as she is a stay at home mom and my sister supports us. I will try to turn this into a positive as this was totally unexpected in regards to my parents. I was going to use my sister’s information because I was declared as a dependent when she filed her taxes.</p>

[swimcatsmom]

<p>For FAFSA it does not matter who claims you on their taxes. My kids are not claimed on our taxes but they are still our dependents for FAFSA purposes. </p>

<p>Have you ever filed FAFSA?? If you have not filed FAFSA you can still do so using your mothers information. Your parents do not have to be legally separated as long as they are in fact separated.</p>

<p>

If your parents are legally separated, the same rules that apply for a divorced couple are used to determine which parent’s information must be reported. A couple doesn’t have to be legally separated in order to be considered separated for purposes of the FAFSA. The couple** may consider themselves informally separated when one of the partners has permanently left the household.** If the partners live together, they can’t be considered informally separated.

</p>

[BigSister2007]

<p>Thanks for your help. I will see what I could do.</p>