<p>I was told by the Department of Federal Education that a unmarried student is considered a dependent of their parents until the age of 24. That being the case, the student is required to have the FASFA form filled out by a parent each year. Can anyone tell me why it is not a law that the parents are required to fill out the FASFA form? By filling out the form it in no way obligates them to pay for the students education. It simply is so the government can determine how much money will be given to the student for the current school year. my granddaughter could not even get an appointment with her financial adviser until the FASFA form was filled out. Unfortunately, neither one of her parents would fill it out. She grew up in a very dysfunctional family and her parents are now divorced, but have the same goal in mind and that is to see my granddaughter fail. She is a "A" student, works two jobs and is taking 15 hours of classes this semester. After, much "begging" her mother finally sent in the FASFA form last June. Out daughter is very irrational and has now called the school asking to revoke her information. I was told bythe Departemtn of Education that this is illigal, but the school is considering returning her information. I do not understand our educational system and feel that laws need to be changed not only for our granddaughter, but for all of those students who struggle every step of the way to get their education. She does not even have the option to take out student loans because her mother committed identity theft and used our granddaughter's name and SS# on bills and then did not pay them, so her credit is so bad that she can not even get a student loan. Does she have any options She no longer lives with her mother because of abuse by her mother's boyfriend. Her father has remarried and does not want anything to do with her. She truely struggles every step of the way.</p>
<p>Geesh!!! I have NO information for you, I’m sorry. SURELY there is an answer and I hope you get one from others on this forum. Just wanted to say how great it is that you’re trying to be a guiding light for this girl, AND that she knows where she has to look for that guidance. BEST of luck to you/her.</p>
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<p>True, while a family (unless by court order) is not legally obligated to pay for their child’s education is is more a moral and a social obligation. While it is not fair, everyone is held to the stand standard. If students received FA just because they had dysfunctional families who refused to fill out forms or pay for college, the number of 'dysfunctional families ’ would grow exponentially and some familys use use this as a mechanism to game the system.</p>
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<p>No, it merely determines a student’s eligiblity for federal aid (Pell, SEOG, ACG, Smart grants, Stafford and Perkins loans).</p>
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<p>Has your granddaughter reported the fraud to the agencies and cooperated with them by filing affidavits of fraudulent activity? She may have to end up having charges filed against her mom in order to clear her name and her credit.</p>
<p>If she knows her situation is not going to change, she may have to take a different route to getting her education, which can be had if it is her desire to obtain one.</p>
<p>She may have to work full time and go to the local CC part time.</p>
<p>If she can get a job for a major corporation, some companies give tuition remission. </p>
<p>Some jobs if she is part of the union, some unions provide free tuition.</p>
<p>If she can get a job at the local college or university, she may be able to get tuition remission.</p>
<p>I would not suggest her taking on big debt to go full time.</p>
<p>In this situation I would recommend that the student go to community college and work full time to pay their way. There is no way that she is going to get the rules waived for her. She needs to accept that she will have to pay her own way, and go to a school that she can afford to pay for herself. I would not recommend that she take on large amounts of loans in order to get her education.</p>
<p>^^^</p>
<p>Great suggestions…
There are some other routes, too. If you granddaughter can get a job at an aerospace/defense contractor, they will typically pay for her college costs while she works for them part-time. </p>
<p>I think I read somewhere that even the Home Depot offers some kind of tuition assistance to its employees. </p>
<p>Debt is not a good idea. The monthly repayments would be an anchor around her neck between the ages of 23-33. </p>
<p>If necessary, she’ll have to work part-time as a waitress where she can earn enough to pay for a community college until she can transfer to a 4 year college.</p>
<p>Your granddaughter is lucky to have you. :)</p>
<p>BTW…there are things she can do to correct her credit since she was the victim of identity theft.</p>
<p>Have her talk to the school about the possibility of a dependency override. When there is abuse in the family it is possible to have a dependency override whereby the student can be considered independent. This would require some sort of supporting evidence from people who know the family (school counselors, Doctor, church minister etc). Some more information may be found here:</p>
<p>[FinAid</a> | Professional Judgment | Dependency Overrides](<a href=“http://www.finaid.org/educators/pj/dependencyoverrides.phtml]FinAid”>http://www.finaid.org/educators/pj/dependencyoverrides.phtml)</p>
<p>good suggestion!!!</p>
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<p>Could you tell us what aerospace/defense contractors will pay tuition for a part-time employee, even one who does not have an undergraduate degree yet? Is it some sort of special program? This sounds like a really great deal if it’s true. We have a couple of major defense contractors in our state and I know some students who might be interested.</p>
<p>Boeing and Northrop Grumman. Hughes Aircraft paid for 2 of my brothers Bachelors degrees and later their masters. General Dynamics paid for my neighbor’s bachelors degree. Boeing paid for my friend’s bachelor’s degree in Business Admin. Boeing paid for my cousin’s accounting degree…</p>
<p>so many companies have merged, so I’m not sure what the latest names are. </p>
<p>The degrees have to have something to do with the company…so business, accounting, engineering, comp sci, etc.</p>
<p>In some cases, the students started as part-time employees. In some cases, the students started as full-time in the summer, and then continued part-time during the school year. </p>
<p>Ask people that you know who work for various defense contractors in your area about their education programs.</p>
<p>A lot of companies, not just defense contractors, have what mom2college was describing, typically implemented as a tuition reimbursement program. They will vary - some offer for part-time, others for full-time employees only, and most have some obligation to the company to be met after the final tuition check has been paid (commonly a year of service past the last check/degree completion, some have different requirements or a portion of the money has to be paid back). </p>
<p>Unfortunately, a lot of the companies that offer this benefit have had to reduce or eliminate it with the economy. All of my employers in the last 10 years have offered it in some form or fashion, and it has been great. Some schools also allow a student to defer payment of courses until the end of the semester if a student is utilizing an employer’s tuition program). If a dependency override turns out not to be an option, finding a job with similar tuition benefits could be her ticket until she’s able to establish independent status.</p>
<p>It’s not a law because</p>
<p>1) not every high school graduate attends college
2) honestly, how would they even enforce that law?</p>
<p>Your parent doesn’t have to fill out the FAFSA; it’s just that their information needs to be on it. I filled out the FAFSA myself every year after working my butt off to get the information from my parents (they keep bad records and file their taxes late every year - my dad usually files right before the deadline and my mom usually files whenever she feels like it, generally September or October, which is legal as long as you don’t owe.)</p>
<p>If your granddaughter was the victim of identity theft, no matter WHO did it, you need to begin to investigate and file some claims with the credit agencies and these creditors. It is illegal for parents to use their children’s social security numbers to get lines of credit, and you can slowly begin to clear her credit by telling of the fraud. Of course, this will get her mother into some deep trouble, but if she’s terrible enough that she put her daughter in debt before she even got started perhaps she deserves it.</p>
<p>As for the information, is it possible that you could request your granddaughter’s parents’ information after they file their taxes? As I said, they don’t have to fill out the form - their information just has to be on it. Do you think that you could file to be your granddaughter’s legal guardian? Alternatively, perhaps she should go through the motions of legal emancipation, on the grounds that her mother’s boyfriend is abusive and her father is neglectful.</p>
<p>It’s also not true that there’s no way that the ‘rules’ will be waived for her - it depends on the school. Some schools make exceptions in certain circumstances.</p>
<p>There is also one very large employer that provides a lot of educational benefits - the military :)</p>
<p>I agree that she should request a dependency override. The school already has received a taste of mom’s odd side. </p>
<p>It sounds like your granddaughter doesn’t live with her parents. Does she live with you? Do you have - or did you have prior to your granddaughter reaching the age of 18 - legal custody? If so, she is independent automatically. </p>
<p>If your granddaughter applies for a dependency override, she will need to DETAIL everything that has happened that has led to the breakdown with her family - including details she may not wish to share. This info will be kept confidential, but it is necessary to make a determination (too many kids “don’t get along” with their parents, and that isn’t enough to warrant a dependency override - sounds like your granddaughter has more going on than that). You will need to write your own letter detailing circumstances. If possible, a letter from a professional (counselor, psychologist, social worker, clergyperson, doctor, etc) on letterhead would be really, really good to include.</p>
<p>We know that some parents don’t deserve the label … that is what dependency overrides are for. Again, you must help the aid officer understand what is truly going on. Professional judgment is an art, not a science, so helping the aid officer see the real situation will allow him/her to decide if a dependency override is warranted & give him/her the necessary documentation to hold up in the event of an audit.</p>
<p>emancipate yourself</p>
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<p>The above poster makes this sound like it’s ever so easy to do. It is NOT easy to become an emancipated minor.</p>
<p>I never said it was easy, but this poster sounds to have plenty of proof that they could do this and why would they not given their situation? </p>
<p>I dated a boy once in high school. His parents made very good money. They refused to pay one cent for college and he did not know this until his senior year. They told him he could go into the military. He just could not see himself doing that. His dream was to better himself by attending a good college. He went through the proper legal channels to see to it that it was not connected to his parents(emancipated). He was then able to get financial aid and take out loans. He went on to a four year college and then got his masters. He is now a wonderful teacher and coach and is one of the most beloved teachers at the high school where he teaches.</p>
<p>I am only bringing this up as something to consider. It pains me when parents are selfish and greedy and won’t help their children one iota for college. Of course they legally don’t have to, but there is a moral and social understanding. I understand we need rules regarding financial aid or there would be those that would take advantage of the system perhaps, but emancipation is one way to help someone who truly needs help.</p>
<p>I don’t know when your friend became an emancipated minor, but the being able to do so had become MUCH more difficult. In the case of a student’s parents NOT being willing to pay for college…well…that would NOT help now. To become emancipated in the true sense, one has to demonstrate that they have NO (NOT ONE BIT) of contact with their parents…no birthday cards, no visits, nada…nothing. AND there has to be evidence that this emancipation is for a good reason…and it’s not just finances for college.</p>
<p>I think this student has a better shot at a dependency override request. Schools have the discretion to do this…but again…the reasons have to be substantial…and “my parents won’t pay for my college bills” isn’t included in the list. </p>
<p>As Kelsmom pointed out, if this student has been living with the grandparents as his legal guardian, this process would be even easier.</p>
<p>That will not work. Being an emancipated minor *was *actually added this year to the list of questions on FAFSA that qualifies a student to be independent. (For the past few years it was not allowed as a reason for being considered independent -it may have been previously but a lot of rules regarding independency have become much stricter in the last few years). But the court order that makes the student an emancipated minor must be in effect at the time the student becomes an adult. If this student is already in college then she is probably already 18 so is no longer a minor. If she is not a minor then she can’t become an emancipated minor. This would have to have occurred before she turned 18.</p>
<p>The best route is to ask the school for a dependency override. Kelsmom is a financial aid officer in real life so the advice in post #12 is the best advice to follow.</p>
<p>I hope the OP comes back and lets us know how it works out. That helps us pass information on to the next poster with similar problems.</p>
<p>I agree that dependency override would be the best if you can. I was only pointing out what someone did back in the 80’s and it worked very well. It saddens me to think if he had not done that what his life may have become(or not). </p>
<p>FYI he did cut ties with his family as they were selfish and greedy parents who truly did not give a darn about his future. He felt they did not care about him in a meaningful way and hence basically flew the coop for good.</p>
<p>These are very difficult scenarios and my son currently knows a girl whose parents don’t want to pay much at all for college and she may be in the same situation. So sad that some parents don’t fell a stronger moral obligation to help pay.</p>