Looking for federal student financial aid information for FAFSA on the web? Let us guide you through the college financial aid application process. One very important question is are you a dependent or independent student for college financial aid purposes? This is not the same as being a dependent for income tax purposes, so it gets confusing.
Many incoming college students wonder if they could claim they are an independent student, which would make them eligible for more student financial aid. Most students going into college are dependent students if they are under age 24, and at least one parent will need to provide parental financial information on the FAFSA.
Even if you are 23 years old and your parents do not provide you any financial support, you may still be considered a dependent student for college financial aid purposes!
Here's a synopsis from the FAFSA government website:
"For financial aid purposes, a student is considered "dependent" if he or she is under 24, unmarried, and has no legal dependents at the time the Free Application for Federal Student Aid is submitted. (Exceptions are made for veterans, wards of court, and other special circumstances.) If a student is considered dependent, then the income and the assets of the parent have to be reported on the FAFSA."
To verify if you are independent or dependent student, the FAFSA federal student loan application has some questions used to determine if you are an independent or dependent student. If you can truthfully answer yes to any of these questions, then you are considered an independent student for college financial aid purposes. If the answer to all of these questions are no, then you will most likely need to provide parental financial information on your FAFSA on the web application to qualify for federal student financial aid, as well as other types of college financial aid.
Resource: https://www.college-financial-aid-advice.com/federal-student-financial-aid.html