<p>How would colleges know if you're actually living off-campus or with a parent. For instance, lets say someone wanted to get more financial aid so on the FAFSA they listed themselves as living off-campus when they're really living with their parents. Would this work?</p>
<p>All you have to do is say your living off campus. I think you have to mark it on the application. So if you live off campus, you can live in an apartment or with your parents. They don’t care.</p>
<p>They do care at many schools. The COA for many schools is much lower for living off campus with a parent than for living off campus not with a parent. Lower COA = less financial aid.</p>
<p>If you lie on FAFSA and are found out it can lead to loss of aid, repayment of aid already disbursed and hefty fines.</p>
<p>I didn’t know that it worked that way. I’ll be living on campus anyway, so it won’t matter for me.</p>
<p>They may ask for a copy of your lease with your name of it. This can also be helpful in getting additional money to help cover off campus expenses.</p>