<p>So I was looking at this (pdf):
<a href="http://studentaid.ed.gov/sites/default/files/fafsa-dependency.pdf%5B/url%5D">http://studentaid.ed.gov/sites/default/files/fafsa-dependency.pdf</a></p>
<p>Specifically, there's a possibility I meet the criterion of </p>
<p>
[quote]
At any time since you turned age 13, were both your parents deceased, were you in foster care, or were you a dependent or ward of the court?
[/quote]
</p>
<p>This surprised me because most articles about this seem to imply that you're not independent unless you were a ward of the court when you turned 18. Does it mean exactly what it says or is there fine print?</p>
<p>My situation was kind of convoluted, so I'm not sure if I was technically a ward of the court at any time after age 13. My parents have a bunch of paperwork from it, so they're going to take it to a lawyer and find out what I was. </p>
<p>So...if it turns out I do get independent status on the FAFSA, what does that mean in terms of financial aid? I'm assuming most colleges will want my parents' information anyway? (I'm applying to several schools with guaranteed merit aid, so I'll be okay either way, but I was just wondering.)</p>
<p>You have to have absolutely been a ward of the court after age 13. I would think there would NOT be much question about this.</p>
<p>If you have independent status, it is possible you would qualify for the maximum Pell grant. Your parents’ financial info would NOT be used by the FAFSA.</p>
<p>This status is for the FAFSA only. If any of your colleges require the Profile or a school form, they will likely still want the financial information from both parents.</p>
<p>An FYI, since it sounds like you currently live with both of your parents, it is VERY likely that you will be selected for verification. Make sure you are able to firmly document if indeed you were a ward of the court.</p>
<p>I know I either was or I wasn’t, and obviously I know where I lived all the time.
I stopped living in a foster home when I was 12 and started living with a relative. But there are a bunch of court documents from dates after I turned 13, and for a while the relative got visits from caseworkers and the same kind of financial reimbursements my foster parent got (or so it seemed to me when I was little…I’m not sure if it was the exact same thing). These visits/money stopped abruptly when I was thirteen and a half, around the time of the last court document I found, so I wonder if that means I was a ward of the court until then.</p>
<p>If you are considered independent for FAFSA purposes, your parents’ information will NOT be needed for the form. Your income and assets only will be used. If you have little or no income, it is highly likely that you will be questioned as to how you are living, and it may vary from school to school how they will impute your parental support towards your living expenses as income to you.</p>
<p>If you can get a zero EFC, you will be eligible for up to $5600 in PELL grants and up to $3500 of subsidized loans. In addition, you can take out an additonal $6K in loans on an unsubsidized basis. All of this if the official Cost of Attendance supports those numbers–you can’t “make” money on these awards. </p>
<p>Those are guaranteed amounts from the federal government. What a school gives you is a whole other story, as most schools do not meet full need. They just gap. And no school I know of gives everyone full need based on FAFSA. When it comes to the more generous schools that use their own money for need, many of them want more info, and it highly unlikely they will consider you independent. But it;s possible. Many of such schools want a PROFILE filled out or other info and that’s what they use when givien their own money. </p>
<p>It’s worth while in that you can get about $15K from the goverment, though most of it is loans, with independent status.</p>