FAFSA application - independent student??

Help with FAFSA!    

I've googled this every way I can and can't find a clear statement of how to handle this...

My kid is a junior this year, and is turning 24 in December. Makes relatively little $$ working summers, vacations, etc and 2 days a week.

Now that he will be 24, he qualifies as an independent student it appears.  Putting in my and his mothers financial information appears to optional now (vs last year it wasn't).

Should we skip putting in parent information? Just do his? What increases his odds of getting most scholarships, grants, etc?

Thank you!


If you don't have to enter your financial information, then don't.  But if he's "independent" he should probably be filling out the FAFSA (maybe with your assistance).


He's considered independent THIS academic year if he's turning 24 before December 31.  His 2019-2020 FAFSA asked if he was born before January 1, 1996. If he answered yes, then he should have been treated as an independent.

https://studentaid.ed.gov/sa/fafsa/filling-out/dependency

By the way, it doesn't matter if you declare him as a dependent on your tax return.  He's still independent for FAFSA purposes.

As for increased grants and scholarships, it depends on the school.  FAFSA is for federal financial aid.  The maximum federal Pell grant is about $6,000. Does his school give institutional aid?  Does it require the CSS Profile? 


I think the key here is that FAFSA will consider him independent, so the loans that they are gatekeeper for may be larger and may not require you to co-sign.  His college financial aid office may or may not consider him fully independent for the purposes of grant aid.  (Haven’t lived this yet, but thinking ahead for if my 20 year old goes back to college after working for a few years).


susan1014 said:

I think the key here is that FAFSA will consider him independent, so the loans that they are gatekeeper for may be larger and may not require you to co-sign.  His college financial aid office may or may not consider him fully independent for the purposes of grant aid.  (Haven’t lived this yet, but thinking ahead for if my 20 year old goes back to college after working for a few years).

Federal loans never require parents to co-sign, even if student is dependent.  However, you are correct that the loan limits are higher for independent students.  See here: https://studentaid.ed.gov/sa/types/loans/subsidized-unsubsidized#how-much

As for the original question about whether YOUR financial info is needed (just realized I didn't answer that) -- ask his college. Call the financial aid office.  It can differ from college to college.  Your info will not matter for FEDERAL aid, but it may be considered for his eligibility for INSTITUTIONAL aid. 



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