<p>I STAND CORRECTED. However, I did run across the below for those hearty souls who are the exception to the rule. </p>
<p>Changing Your Status (FROM FAST WEB/FINANCIAL AID)</p>
<p>Dependent students may change their status, but it’s not easy. You start by filing a Dependency Review Form; request one from your school. You also must provide documentation explaining your situation. Your case is then reviewed by a committee or financial aid office at your college.</p>
<p>Keep in mind that most students will not qualify for a change in status. Circumstances tend to be extreme (such as abandonment or physical abuse) to warrant the change. Simply residing in your own apartment or house is not adequate justification.</p>
<p>If you think you have unusual circumstances that would qualify you as an independent, speak with a financial aid administrator at your school.</p>
<p>Soso, what you are describing is a request for a dependency override. As notes (and it’s the same for emancipation prior to age 18), there has to be cause for this to be reviewed. It is completely up to EACH school to make the determination for this. In most cases, this is for FAFSA purposes only. </p>
<p>The onus of proof is on the student. The situation would have to be things like documented abuse, incarcerated parent(s), or similar very significant issues. </p>
<p>A parent’s refusal to pay for college is NOT a reason that would justify a dependency override. Choosing a college the family cannot afford is NOT a reason for a dependency override. Insufficient financial aid is not a reason for a dependency override.</p>
<p>Yes, dependency overrides are possible in extreme situations. I have granted them to students who are able to document the circumstances. But the regulations are quite blunt about who cannot get a dependency override (from the FSA Handbook):<br>
However, none of the conditions listed below, singly or in combination, qualify as unusual circumstances meriting a dependency override:
- Parents refuse to contribute to the students education.
- Parents are unwilling to provide information on the FAFSA or for
verification.
- Parents do not claim the student as a dependent for income tax purposes.
- Student demonstrates total self-sufficiency.</p>
<p>As a Nebraska resident and graduate from a NE high school, OP would be eligible for the Regent’s scholarship at UNL (or UNO or UNK). It would cover tuition.</p>
<p>Does he just have to apply to the school to qualify with his stats? If so, then maybe with a student loan, small contribution from family, and some summer income savings then he might be able to cover room, board and books.</p>
<p>I heard that the number of scholoarship are going down due to budget cuts though. My sister didn’t receive a full-ride but got partial grants</p>
<p>A friend of mine’s S has this. I do believe the regent’s scholarship is awarded automatically by ACT score (no separate app) to graduates of Nebraska high schools, although there may be deadlines.</p>
<p>There is a rather high GPA requirement for renewal. I think it’s 3.5. It is also not a full ride, but full tuition. Student still has fees, books, room and board to pay.</p>
<p>The OP had UN on his safety list so should have applied.</p>
<p>^^^</p>
<p>Right, but was their a deadline to apply for scholarship consideration? If so, then did he meet that date? </p>
<p>I feel bad for this student because he seemed to be poorly advised as to where he should apply or maybe misled by how much his family would pay. Or, maybe he just ignored the facts. Maybe he’s expected that he’s going to go OOS and away from the school that many of his classmates will be attending. Likely, he’s been chatting up the big name schools around the lunch tables at school. His morale may take a big hit if his only affordable choice is his state school…which at this point sounds like the case.</p>
<p>OK…How does the OP know he/she has been accepted to Duke with finaid already unless this is an early decision admission? Duke’s RD decisions have not yet been sent out. If the student was accepted ED, he/she has already had to let the school know that he/she is accepting the offer…or not.</p>
<p>That’s what I was saying, Thumper. I think he is running the NPCs and using those numbers. He probably doesn’t know what his choices are going to be at this point. </p>
<p>If so, it’s good that he is looking at this now, so that he can start talking to his parents. Dukes’ calculator is pretty danged accurate.<br>
But at least he’s gone from being qualified for about half the cost according to the NPC from thinking he was not going to get any money from any school as his original post says. </p>
<p>When you truly KNOW that your parents are not going to pay for your college, or that they will pay only so much, and you also KNOW that their expected contributions based on their financial situations is going to be much more than they will pay, you should expect that the final decisions on a school are going to be based on the sticker price. The schools are not going to give more financial aid than the formulas dictate. You have to have merit money and/or less expensive alternatives.</p>
<p>I remember many times, kids here who do get into very expensive private universities, and have, say a step parent situation , where the high earning step has stipulated, sometimes in writing and contract that s/he is not going to pay a dime towards the step kids upkeep , education, anything beyond what is there as normal living costs at home and what s/he feels like giving. Doesn’t matter to the colleges. Steps are still on the hook, and the colleges are not going to ante up the additonal money that s/he won’t pay. Won’t pay and can’t pay are two totally separate things. A school will pay when it’s a “Can’t” situation by the school’s definition and if this is a full need met school, but the “won’t” is not something any school will touch .</p>
<p>If OP got into honors at UNL, he will also receive $500/yr book scholarship. It’s not a lot of money, but every bit helps.</p>
<p>When you truly KNOW that your parents are not going to pay for your college, or that they will pay only so much, and you also KNOW that their expected contributions based on their financial situations is going to be much more than they will pay, you should expect that the final decisions on a school are going to be based on the sticker price.</p>
<p>In prior posts, the OP indicated that he didnt’ think he’d qualify for any aid, so he should have made his app list based on what his parents would pay and/or the merit he could receive at various schools. It seems that he was banking on getting large amounts of extra money from these top schools because of his ACT score. That was naive because his ACT score is rather average for the top schools. So, even if those schools gave merit, he wouldn’t have been the recipient of much/any money. </p>
<p>If he’s fine with the idea of going to UN as his only affordable choice, then great. If he’s determined to go OOS, then he needs to identify some schools that will still give him large merit.</p>
<p>UNL, or more simply “Nebraska,” inspires an intense loyalty that I haven’t seen anywhere except possibly Notre Dame. Several years ago, there was a mini-series on TV called “Tommy Lee Goes to College.” Tommy Lee, the Motely Crue drummer went to UNL. As he said in an article, the Nebraskans “even paint their children red.” While OP himself (herself?) may feel that the school is a letdown, there’d be almost no one who would question an in-state student’s choice of UNL as their top school. </p>
<p>OP, should you head to Lincoln, I don’t think anyone would look and you and think your choice was a disappointment or that you could have done better. Sure, a fair number of other students from your high school may be in attendence, but with over 19,000 underclassmen, you can easily break away from any definition of yourself that you felt had been forced on you by your high school. </p>
<p>You got into Duke. There’s proof of your academic success in high school. Now, make decisions based on what’s best for your future. Big debt is definitely NOT in your best interest.</p>
<p>OP, should you head to Lincoln, I don’t think anyone would look and you and think your choice was a disappointment or that you could have done better</p>
<p>Oh, I agree. </p>
<p>Sometimes the problem is with the student. If he has spent senior year saying that he’s going to go to Duke or some other top school, it can be hard to then announce that he’s going to the same school everyone else is going to.</p>
<p>I saw this at my kids’ high school. One girl felt so bad that she couldn’t afford any of the top schools that she had been talking about all year that she didn’t tell anyone where she was going to college until long after graduation.</p>
<p>The list of potential schools was from April 2012. The OP seems to have disappeared. Perhaps there were some modifications made to his/her college applications when the applications were sent out this fall.</p>