<p>So the discussion title speaks for itself. I'm a 20 year old sophomore trying to keep up with my college tuition. I'm a full time student at Kean University and I pay roughly 8-9k in tuition and books per semester. I filled out myself as independent in my tax form and so did my parents. I work 30 hours a week and I live on my own.</p>
<p>My financial aid representative told me today that I would have to be 24 in order to qualify as independent status. My parents are business owners and they requested an extension from the IRS so they aren't able to file their taxes currently. And even if they do, I do not receive any pell grant except a $5500 loan per academic year. Is there anyway to override my current dependent status or receive government assistance/cash benefits to help me get through college? I currently live in NJ and my income is roughly 20-22k annually. </p>
<p>Short answer…you are not independent for financial aid purposes. Your parents will need to complete the FAFSA in order for you to qualify.</p>
<p>Your tax filing status doesn’t matter one bit. Your business owner parents have until October 1 to file their taxes with the extension, right? </p>
<p>Until your parents complete their taxes, and you file your FAFSA with their information, you will not be getting aid. You do not satisfy the requirements for being independent for financial aid purposes.</p>
<p>You mention government assistance/cash benefits. Not sure if this translates over in other states, but in my home state, daytime students are not eligible for cash-aid - let alone with an income of 20-22K. </p>
<p>Essentially, no. Read the requirement. You have to be age 24, or married or have dependents, or be a veteran,or be in a shelter or in danger of being homeless. </p>
<p>Even if you were independent, with an income at your level your EFC is not going to be such that you get much PELL, if anything at all. I believe the max EFC for PELL is about $5157 this year. The way EFC for independent students is calculated is a formula of about 1/2 AGI over $9730. That puts your right on the line for PELL. And I’m not counting any assets you might have that are assessed at 20% towards your EFC. </p>
<p>My suggestion to you is to get on the school payment plan and pay as you go, and as soon as your parents’ file their taxes, wihich are due next month, I believe, all of you fill out the FAFSA to get the $6500 in Direct Loans which is the amount a sophomore in college is permitted to borrow.</p>
<p>What did you do last year to pay your expenses? Did you fill out a FAFSA and get the allowable $5500 in Direct Loans? What was your familiy EFC?</p>
<p>If you get married, any income and assets your spouse has goes into the equation as well. You can look up all of this yourself and get an idea of what your EFC would be under various scenarios. </p>
<p>Since you earn about $21k, if you were independent, there would be an assumption that most of that money should go towards COA, so your EFC would still be beyond the Pell numbers.</p>
<p>Maybe you should ask your parents if you could live at home and commute to college. That would cut your costs a lot.</p>
<p>You would need to be a veteran, or be married, or be a parent to be younger than 24 and independent for financial aid purposes, or both parents deceased.</p>