Hi,
I am 18 and apply for college this year. The main problem is Fafsa because i dont live with my parents anymore and they are not gonna file Fafsa for me. So i am confused to what to do next because Fafsa is very important for college. Can you tell me what to do ?
Note: i am applying for spring semester not fall because of some reasons.
Thank u
If you don’t live with your parents:
are you homeless (couch surfing, staying at other people’s, in a shelter…)
have you been emancipated
did you get married?
If any of these questions is answered with a “yes” your parents don’t fill out FAFSA for you.
I wouldn’t apply for Spring: there’s very little financial aid for Spring admits and since your parents won’t be paying for college, you’ll need all the financial aid you can get. If you can’t enter Fal 2016, plan to start Fall2017 to maximize those opportunities. Don’t forget to prepare for the SAT/ACT and to take the test until your score reaches a high enough threshold.
If you are an independent student, you file FAFSA without your parents. If you are a dependent student, you need your parents to file FAFSA to get any need-based financial aid. Use the following to determine whether you are dependent or independent for FAFSA purposes: https://studentaid.ed.gov/sa/fafsa/filling-out/dependency
Note: some colleges may consider you dependent for their financial aid purposes even if you are independent for FAFSA purposes.
If you are a dependent student, then you may have to defer college until you become an independent student. Or, if your high school GPA and test scores are high, look for a full ride merit scholarship that does not depend on financial need. See the following for lists of big scholarships (look for full ride, not just full tuition):
http://automaticfulltuition.yolasite.com/
http://competitivefulltuition.yolasite.com/
Also if you have to do a gap year, plan on working as much as possible. Investigate companies that offer tuition assistance to employees. UPS, Starbucks, Walmart.
@kelsmom, if a student is dependent for FAFSA and cannot obtain parent financial information, can they still get non need based aid, i.e. unsubsidized direct loan?
Are you a US citizen?
???
What are your parents SAYING? Are they saying WHY they won’t file FAFSA? Will they let you do it for them?
Is the problem that they never filed their taxes last year? If so, then that would be a big problem.
When does Spring Semester start??? Soon, right? You may have to wait till fall.
According to OP’s other thread, it’s spring 2017.
I think we need more answers.
Also…this student needs to be aware that Spring admits get worse aid…usually no work-study, and other aids like Perkins loans and SEOG grants are all gone.
@infoseeker14 Are your parents low income? Are they immigrants? Are they here legally?
Why won’t your parents file the FAFSA?
You can’t take out federal loans if they don’t file FAFSA.
Students can file without parent info if the parents refuse to provide their info & sign the FAFSA. BUT … the only thing the student can get is an unsubsidized loan at the dependent maximum for year in school … AND the parent must sign a statement indicating that they will provide absolutely no assistance to the student, including providing health or auto insurance. It’s not easy to get the proper documentation, and typically a parent who will not file the FAFSA is even less willing to provide a signed statement saying they won’t provide anything at all for the kid.
The question of why they won’t file is definitely one that OP should provide, if you feel comfortable. We can give better advice if we understand the situation.
And since the parent would be providing $0 in support…the parent would NOT be able to declare the student as a dependent on taxes either, right? That could be the rub for some!!
I don’t know that part of the equation, but that would be my guess.