<p>Im actually writing this to find out for a friend, she will be graduating high school this may and wants to attend college. Unfortuanity shes not on the greatest terms with her parents so they wont give her there tax information. Is there any way that she can fill out her fafsa some other way or by pass the parents tax information? </p>
<p>Thanks</p>
<p>Not until she is twenty-four AND is self-supporting.</p>
<p>Actually she does not have to be self supporting. Just aged 24 (or married, have a dependent of her own, be a veteran, have been a ward of the court before age 18 etc etc).</p>
<p>But the answer is really no. FAFSA requires the parent information. There are exceptions - but 'not being on the greatest terms' probably would not meet the criteria.</p>
<p>well she actually doesnt live with them anymore theyve basically disowned her, she is pretty much self suppoerting. </p>
<p>swimacastmom said she can get a ward of the court what is that?</p>
<p>isn't it a little late for fafsa for this year ?</p>
<p>Can she make things right with her parents ?
I hate to hear these complicated problems between parents and their kids.</p>
<p>I didn't say she can 'get a ward of the court' - in the FAFSA rules if she had been declared a ward of the court before age 18 she is considered independent. Usually a child that has no parents so the court takes them under their protection.</p>
<p>Here are the rules for being independent for FAFSA purposes
Completing</a> the FAFSA 08-09/The Application Questions(48-55)</p>
<p>Unless she can say yes to one of those she is a dependent.</p>
<p>"swimacastmom said she can get a ward of the court what is that?"</p>
<p>Google "ward of the court".</p>
<p>damn fafsa is such a useless resource for those of us stuck in the middle</p>
<p>I think the rules have changed and evolved over the years because of people's attempts to 'game' the system. For instance a friend was told by someone to put a trailer on their land and have their daughter move into it so she would be independent. It would not work for FAFSA of course. Might have done in the past - I don't know.</p>
<p>still for those considered "middle class" like my self, my parents make too much to qualify for fafsa money but they dont have $15k a year to be able to send me to college. alot of times fafsa give money to some of the dumbest people like my friend he dropped out of college and spent the extra money on a plasma tv, fafsa needs some kind of screening system ro something new</p>
<p>duder...even IF you qualify for the maximum amount of federal aid (which is what the FAFSA formula is used for), you would not have enough money to cover full tuition, room, board, fees and books at a residential college. You might have enough to cover the costs of a community college for the year....while commuting from home.</p>
<p>And for the record...FAFSA does NOT give money. It is a financial aid application document that collects income and asset information that is used to award federal money by the colleges.</p>
<p>if federal aid doenst pay anything how is it that my friend got tuition, room and board, meal ticket, and an extra $2000 to norther arizona university. when my mom went to college she got everything paid for and an extra $1000I dont know where your going to college but here in the southwest Federal aid money goes a long way</p>
<p>Your friend didn't get it from FAFSA. FAFSA determines your eligibility for some federal grants and for federal loans. The most federal aid one could be eligible for is about $4000 Pell grant (for very low income people), some small amount of Perkins loan (I don't remember the amout) and about $3500 Stafford Loan. The school distributes that money. </p>
<p>Your friend got the aid from the school itself, and much was above an beyond Federal eligibility. Some of it may have been merit aid.</p>
<p>^that wasn't all (or even mostly) federal aid money. It was a combination of, at the most, federal aid (Pell grant, Stafford loan, workstudy), state grants, and institutional grants, plus other loans or workstudy. FAFSA simply is an informational tool to help the school decide how much to grant of each kind of aid. the only federal grant is Pell, which has a maximum of a little over 4000.</p>
<p>(cross posted with Chedva.)</p>
<p>Federal aid did NOT pay for the full cost of attendance at Northern Arizona University. Swimcats has the total amount that federal aid will pay. It's NOT the full cost of attendance. Perhaps your friend also got a merit scholarship to Northern Arizona State. </p>
<p>When your mom went to college, college costs were a LOT less than they are now (regardless of how old your mom is). College costs have increased substantially, but the federal aid that goes with them has not increased by the same percentage.</p>
<p>yes, but fafsa does not provide your money for college.It transmits the info to the colleges to determine what you qualify for, in terms of aid.
Aid comes in different forms...federal loans, grants, work study ..merit aid is awarded thru the colleges and scholarships. not necessarily connected to fafsa's formula</p>
<p>ya thats all fine and dandy, except for the fact that todays high school counslers are doing nothing but telling high school kids that they have to fill it out to get money from "FAFSA".
But stil being stuck in the "middle class" you barely qualify for any kind of financial assitance whether it be federal aid or schoalarship, people say go fill out scholarships on website like fastweb.com, but site like those have become morelike entering a contest to win a million dollars, the chances are slim to none, but if any of you have any great idea on where to find money for school please send them my way.</p>
<p>Thumper is saying that the money is not awarded by FAFSA and she is correct. FAFSA is a form that uses your numbers in a formula and produces a number called the EFC (Estimated Family Contribution) which the schools use to calculate your 'need' by deducting the EFC fron their COA (Cost Of Attendance). It is the school that makes the financial aid award including any federal aid..</p>
<p>Thumper is correct that federal aid is unlikely to provide a full ride unless there is merit money involved. Northern Arizona's cost of attendance for instate students is @ $17,000</p>
<p>with a zero EFC (very low income - probably less than $20,000) the maximum federal grants are
Pell $4731
SEOG $500-1500 at this school
ACG $750</p>
<p>So the maximum federal grant money would be $6981 (and SEOG is hard to get and ACG is also based on academic requirements). Any other aid must be in the form of loans or institutional aid.</p>
<p>Also federal aid does not allow a student to get extra aid over the cost of attendance.</p>
<p>edit: crossposted with a zillion people</p>
<br>
<blockquote> <p>todays high school counslers are doing nothing but telling high school kids that they have to fill it out to get money from "FAFSA">></p> </blockquote>
<br>
<p>Where I live, the high school counselors are responsible for helping the students with college selections...not with financial aid. The high school guidance folks are not financial aid experts, and the cannot possibly know about the financial aid possibilities at all the thousands of schools across the country.</p>
<p>The best thing you can do to figure out the finances is start researching schools when you are a junior. Look for schools that award merit aid to students with GPA/SAT or ACT scores in the range you have. Apply to schools where YOUR stats are at the tippy top of acceptances. Apply to schools that meet higher percentages of need. </p>
<p>If all else fails, have a plan B. Attend a less expensive option for two years (like a community college) and transfer to a four year school to finish your degree. Or work part time and go to school part time. Save money by living at home. Apply to smaller instate universities in YOUR state. Apply for local scholarships. Get a summer job, and save.</p>
<p>I agree that fastweb is like a lottery system, except that it takes a minute and a dollar to buy a lottery ticket. It takes a great deal more time to apply for an average scholarship listed on fastweb, or other similar sites...unless you are either a freak of nature genius, or minority ( no flames please ) I think it is a waste of time.
I think you will have better luck applying to local scholarships where the application pools is smaller.</p>