<p>This question is in regards to another question I asked earlier. My parents cannot afford college for me. I have to basically pay for it all on my own. I was wondering if I can attach myself to my grandparents (their income) and have the schools see that they cannot pay for school in any way shape or form and be offered more money from the schools? I would be in the lowest economic bracket.</p>
<p>No, your grandparents aren’t your parents and you can’t say that they are. Well, you can say whatever you want, but unless the school sees a court order removing you from your parents’ custody and placing you with your grandparents, it won’t fly.</p>
<p>The same is true for pretending to live somewhere you don’t. Don’t they have schools in New Jersey?</p>
<p>Ni, you absolutely can not do that. Financial aid applications, including FAFSA which is a federal form that you don’t want to lie on, as for your parents’ income and assets.</p>
<p>They do. I am applying to some here as well. The thing is if I apply to the school with a different “address” couldn’t I get in state tuition rates? And the thing with the legality of custody, it was just a question. I thought that it could get me more financial help from the schools.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>As long as you are a dependent student (and you are a dependent student unless you meet one of FAFSA’s conditions for becoming independent), you are a resident where your parents live.</p>
<p>Applying with a different address will not get you residency in another state.</p>
<p>Your residency is based on your parents’ address. </p>
<p>Also, since you are attending high school in X state, how are you going to claim that you’ve been living in Y state?</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Okay, the thing is that in-state rates are for people who actually live in the state. So, first, chances are (as others have said), using your grandparents’ address probably wouldn’t work. But let’s say it does work and you get charged in-state rates. That’s a discount you weren’t entitled to. And you got it by committing fraud. Criminal fraud. Really, that’s not a good thing.</p>
<p>If you really want to go to school in the city, then you have to (1) move there, get a job, and wait until you establish residency, or (2) get a job, save your pennies, and wait until you can afford the out-of-state tuition.</p>
<p>I know that’s not the answer you wanted to hear . . . but it’s so much better than trying to get your degree while you’re in jail!</p>
<p>The very MOST important thing on your financial aid applications is to be HONEST. I think you know that you need to use your parents’ information…income/assets/address. Gaining financial aid by putting dishonest information is considered FRAUD. You can be asked to pay back the aid you received, receive a fine, and lose your admitted student status to your college(s).</p>
<p>And YES…in this day and age it is very easy for colleges to figure out where dishonest information has been placed.</p>
<p>Be honest.</p>
<p>Think about what you’re asking. Nobody wants to pay more than they have to for college, so if what you are suggesting was possible, everyone would do it. If you want to move in with your grandparents, and have your parents release custody to them, and attend HS in their community, you could become a resident of that state. But they will not become your parents - the only way to get your parents off you FAFSA is for you to become an independent student - by becoming a foster child or a ward of the state - before you turn 18. There are both benefits and costs associated with having parents. Enjoy the benefits while you can.</p>
<p>And now for the hard cold truth about financial aid: most colleges and universities do not meet need. Even if you went through all of the steps necessary to transfer custody to your grandparents, and to move to NYS, there is every chance that you still wouldn’t get enough aid to pay for college there.</p>
<p>Talk with your parents. Find out what (if anything) they are ready, willing, and able to pay each year. When you have that number, come back here with it, your GPA, your exam scores, and your major, and maybe someone can help you find an affordable place to study.</p>
<p>I’m wondering what makes you think the college won’t notice your HS is in NJ and not NY.</p>
<p>First if all, I want it all on the table that, yes, you can cheat, lie, commit fraud, steal, and benefit yourself that way. People do that,and they do get away with it sometimes. They also get caught sometimes. If the fact that it is WRONG to do what you are proposing, on top of being ILLEGAL, is not enough to deter you, keep in mind, that the consequences of getting caught can be very serious. You are not just committing fraud, but federal fraud. Horrible start to your adulthood.</p>
<p>You don’t know the system well enough, the ins and outs, the checks and balances to even conteplate being a successful criminal in this area either. The fact of the matter is that even if your grandparents were your legal guardians for years before this, your parents would still have to go on the FAFSA, not them. Those who are in the situation you seem to want to be in, are not better off for that, please realize. Only those who were court removed from parents’ custody, can be independent in the scenario you propose… And those circumstances are usually terrible ones for them to be in such a position. </p>
<p>The other thing you need to understand is that for all but possibly way less than 1% of students, being in the lowest economic bracket is no nirvana in terms of financial aid. Very, very few schools guarantee to meet full need anyways, and those have the lowest acceptance rates. It’s not as though a veritable windfall is waitiing for you if you have a zero EFC. </p>
<p>Just by living at home with your parents providing you 3 squares and a cot, you are getting about $10K a year in those benefits. Find a local state school to which you can commute. aFind a part time job. That’s how most people do it. Or look for some school that will give you merit money. Take a look at Momfromtexas 's old archived thread and start looking for little known schools that just might give you a full ride. Take a look at the Maritime colleges. Most people do not have parents who can pay for 4 years of sleep away college. It’s the rare few that do who are getting the publicity and making it look like that’s how it’s done. It isn’t. More kids your age probably get cars bought for them than college. Cars are cheap comparatively.</p>
<p>I don’t know about NY laws, but we live in Kentucky, close to Indiana. Even if our family moved to Indiana while the DD was in her senior year of high school, she would not receive in-state tuition for Indiana unless we could prove that our move was for a reason other than reduced tuition (job transfer, family obligations, etc.).</p>
<p>States are definitely cracking down on residency requirements and have greatly stepped up audits to prevent fraud.</p>
<p>If op were applying to CUNY or SUNY, they will ask if you have attended a high school in NYC/NYS for 2 or more years. This is automatically going to raise a red flag and question your residency</p>
<p>OP, I looked it up. This is from the form you would have to fill out: </p>
<p>“Note: The residency of dependent students (under age 24) reflects that of
his/her custodial parent(s) regardless of how long the student has resided in
New York State. To provide proof of independence, students must submit
their most recent Federal, NYS taxes and W-2’s and their parents Federal
tax returns.” </p>
<p>I want to explain what the situation is in case you hear of people doing this. First, several decades ago, it was much easier to establish your own residency. Colleges have cracked down on it. There are, however, public colleges (usually not the most prestigious ones) that will sometimes allow <strong>self-supporting</strong> adults under the age of 24yo to establish their own residency for tuition purposes but not for financial aid purposes. Not all do but those students go through the Registrar and have to provide all sorts of proof that they don’t get money from their parents and that they legally have lived in that state for some time – like taxes (from you and possibly your parents), a lease, etc. I even know of someone who had to show copies of his and his parent’s bank account statements to prove the parent wasn’t sending him money. Even in those cases, the student cannot file as independent for financial aid purposes so they often have to pay it out-of-pocket. </p>
<p>So if your parents really can’t pay for you to go to college and you don’t qualify for much financial aid. your best bet is to live at home and commute to a local college.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>If this is the case - cannot afford (vs. won’t pay) - why are you so concerned about coming up with a false story? If your parents are low income and cannot afford to pay, you’ll get some aid (not full scholarship although that’s not unheard of but some aid) from private schools that award need-based financial aid. </p>
<p>So go ahead and complete the forms, without lying, and make your applications both instate and out. In the spring you can review your offers and see what works.</p>
<p>*hey guys, i was hoping someone could help me with this issue i’m having.
here is my current situation. I graduated my high school in 2011. I went to college for a year and was kicked out. I didn’t attend any school this fall due to many issues. I am now reapplying to different schools and i have a dilemma/issue.
can i apply to different schools as a freshman and not as a transfer student?
I want a fresh start and i was hoping i could do this.
Any thoughts/suggestions?</p>
<p>p.s. i apologize for my spelling, my computer isn’t working properly*</p>
<p>Well, you have another problem. You won’t be an incoming freshman, and you flunked out of college recently, so that all will affect aid prospects.</p>
<p>If your family isn’t low income, but not just not able/willing to pay, then your options will be limited anyway. Since you’ve already flunked out, your family may not be willing to help you even if they have the money.</p>
<p>You need to start over at a local CC, get good grades and then transfer to a local public univ.</p>
<p>The transition from childhood to adulthood can be shocking. As a kid, you screw up, and you usually get another chance. Even criminal acts get sealed in a juvenile record never to be seen again. Then, from one day to the next, you turn 18, and your actions start to have ramifications. Serious, permanent ramifications.</p>
<p>I can understand why, for a lot of kids, they don’t immediately grasp the fact that you don’t just get a chance at a “do over” when you screw up as an adult. Once you’ve been fired from a job, been kicked out of school, or loused up your credit, you don’t get to say, “Oops, I’m really sorry about that . . . If I take out the garbage for a month, or pay you back $5 a week out of my allowance, can we just forget it ever happened?”</p>
<p>So, is it surprising that some kids still hold out hope for an easy fix, some way to take a shortcut around the obstacles in front of them, so that they can still get where they want without too much difficulty?</p>
<p>I’m going to have to start reminding myself to butt out when my teenager does something stupid. The kid has to learn the consequences of bad decisions . . . while there’s still time.</p>