<p>MWFN, interesting circumstances. Thanks.</p>
<p>melivia – as MWFN’s link illustrates, in order to be considered independent of your parents for financial aid purposes, you would need to be declared legally emancipated by the courts. Smith may re-evaluate if you can prove you were legally emancipated, but I doubt that you would be able to complete the process of emancipation before you need to give Smith your deposit to hold your place for next year. </p>
<p>If you were to get legally emancipated, when you submit your paperwork next year, it should show that you qualify for a lot of need-based aid. Probably a Pell Grant from the federal government as well as other aid. </p>
<p>If you’re trying to get legally emancipated it’s going to be hard to get loans to cover your educational expenses from private lenders (in general, it’s going to be hard without your parents to help you), so the best thing would probably be to take the year off and work and then re-apply to Smith when/if you are emancipated. </p>
<p>Keep in mind that emancipation is a very serious step, not to be taken lightly.</p>
<p>Thank you. I will take all of your input into consideration :]</p>