<p>Hi, for some odd reason I've been classified as an independent student of my parents from FAFSA. I'm not 24 or older and I've made little to no money, but they said I'm independent. I'm certainly not going to argue, because we're a middle-class family, so aid would be hard to come by.</p>
<p>My quick q: does the school have to honor what FAFSA determines, or can the school still classify me as a dependent if they desire? My EFC is 0, so I should expect good financial aid.</p>
<p>In case it matters, the two schools I'm deciding between are UVA and UW-Madison.</p>
<p>Thanks.</p>
<p>There is a series of seven questions you answer to determine if you are an independent student or not. You should check your FAFSA to see if you answered these correctly. If they are incorrect, of course, they need to be corrected. The questions are:</p>
<p>Were you born before January 1, 1983? Yes No </p>
<p>Will you be working on a degree beyond a bachelor's degree, such as a master's or doctorate, in school year 2006-2007? Yes No </p>
<p>As of the date you will be submitting the FAFSA, are you married?
(Answer yes if you are separated, but not divorced.) Yes No </p>
<p>Do you have children who receive more than half of their support from you, or do you have dependents (other than your children or spouse) who live with you and receive more than half of their support from you, now and through June 30, 2007? Yes No </p>
<p>Are you an orphan or ward of the court or were you a ward of the court until age 18? Yes No </p>
<p>Are you a veteran of the U.S. Armed Forces? Yes No</p>
<p>If you answered all of these questions "No", you are considered an dependent student. One error I often see made is that students say yes to the second one about working on a degree <em>beyond</em> a bachelor's. But you could check them all and see what you find.</p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>I answered "yes" to one of them - I was born at the end of 1982. So will my schools have to classify me as independent because I had one "yes"?</p>
<p>That is my understanding! You might wish to clarify by calling the financial aid offices at the schools you are looking at, just to be sure!</p>
<p>It only takes "yes" to one of the questions to be classified as an independent. It is unlikely that the schools will argue with that determination, unless you are working on a med degree or in some cases law.</p>
<p>You must carefully read the FA policies at each school as some schools will consider you a dependent despite what the FAFSA categories you as (they will state this in their policy).</p>
<p>according to the college board:</p>
<p>uva states that they meet 100% of your demonstrated need with 62% grants/scholarships and 38% loans/workstudy</p>
<p>they use:</p>
<p>FAFSA
Institution's own financial aid form </p>
<p>from UVA:</p>
<p>Self-supporting Independent Undergraduate Students
The federal financial aid program defines some applicants as self-supporting independent students. Students are considered independent for federal aid purposes when they meet one or more of the following definitions: they are 24 years of age or older<br>
they are graduate or professional students
they are veterans of the U.S. Armed Forces
they are orphans or wards of the court
they are legally married<br>
they have legal dependents other than a spouse for whom they provide more than half the support
they have a child for whom they provide more than half the support </p>
<p>Undergraduate students cannot declare themselves independent of their parents due to family disagreement, living arrangements, or parents' unwillingness to contribute to the costs of their education. </p>
<p>**In most cases, independent students for whom the costs of attending the University are high are offered additional federal loan awards. **</p>
<p><a href="http://www.virginia.edu/financialaid/determine.php#Self%5B/url%5D">http://www.virginia.edu/financialaid/determine.php#Self</a></p>
<p>uw-madison does not state the percent of need it meets. </p>
<p>Average percent of need met: Not reported
Average financial aid package: $10,069
Average need-based loan: $3,775
Average need-based scholarship or grant award: $5,919
Average non-need based aid: $2,716
Average indebtedness at graduation: Not reported</p>
<p>they use</p>
<p>FAFSA
Institution's own financial aid form</p>