possibly weird financial situation

<p>Ok so my brother and I are the dependents in our household. I am going to Rochester and I get a lot of financial aid because my dad is unemployed. Here is what my aid looks like:</p>

<p>International Baccalaureate Scholarship--------------------$5,000.00<br>
Rochester National Grant----------------------------------$15,250.00<br>
Federal Academic Competitiveness Grant-------------------$375.00<br>
Federal Supplemental Opportunity Grant--------------------$500.00<br>
Federal Pell Grant-----------------------------------------$800.00<br>
Federal Work Study Eligibility-------------------------------$625.00<br>
Federal Direct Unsubsidized Loan---------------------------$1,000.00<br>
Federal Direct Subsidized Loan-----------------------------$1,750.00 </p>

<p>Subtotal--------------------------------------------------$25,300.00</p>

<p>this is for a semester and its a pretty good aid plan. I still might have to take a couple thousand dollar outside loan because of all the misc. costs. my brother is going to college in 2 years. my parents might move to india and that's where my question comes in. considering that a majority of my aid (and probably my brother's will) depends on my parents income, what happens when they move? I know i will have to mark myself as independent but would I still get loans? i am assuming i would get much less and would be screwed halfway through my education. basically how would my brother and I be effected when my parents move back to india permanently?</p>

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<p>Why would you have to mark yourself as independent? If you are a U.S. Citizen, you would still complete the FAFSA and you would still list your parents income and assets (translated into US dollars)…doesn’t really matter where they live.</p>

<p>ohh are you sure about that? my friend’s mom told me that if they moved to india and became citizens of that country again I would have to count myself as independent since my parents are not citizens anymore, even if I am.</p>

<p>Thumper is correct. You will still be a dependent. Where your parent’s live and what citizenship they have is not relevant.</p>

<p>Their residency shouldn’t affect you, but it could become an issue if your brother chooses an instate public because, in most states, dependent students derive residency from their parents.</p>

<p>It may also be that you maintain the residency you had when you began university- so you could be a resident of the state now and not asked to prove it again after they moved, but each state is different</p>

<p>Isn’t Rochester a private U? (hope so for that price a semester!) So State residency should not be an issue for the OP. But definitely something the brother would need to be aware of.</p>

<p>yes my brother will most likely go to a state public university. in order to get him money should I mark myself as a guardian? i know that there are special circumstances where peoples under 24 can be a guardian and i don’t want my brother to have loans if possible. if I do become independent to become a guardian to my brother, would that lower my loans?</p>

<p>You can’t “become independent” for FA purposes. You have to meet one of the criteria to be independent (be 24, married, a veteran, have a dependent you provide 50% support for etc - note the 50% support, even if you were your brothers guardian you would have to prove you are providing 50% of his financial support for you to be considered independent for FA).</p>

<p>And you can’t “mark yourself as a guardian”. To be your brother’s guardian would require a legal court process.</p>