Special Family Circumstance

• If you lived with one parent more over the last twelve months report their info on the FAFSA

  • If they re-married also report your step-parents info

• If you lived with both parents equally and are divorced or separated, report the info of the parent who financially supported you more over the past year (again if they’re remarried report your step-parents info)

Unfortunately, there are not many places to express this situation on the FAFSA or the CSS profile. One section that you should try your best to utilize is the explanation and special circumstances section on the CSS profile, where you have 2000 characters to describe the circumstance your family is in. We would encourage you to describe who your family is supporting and how much of their income is going into that support.

Information on both FAFSA and CSS:

• Students who are emancipated, fostered, or wards of the state are not required to put down any information about their biological parents, foster parents, or guardians when filling out the FAFSA or the CSS because they are considered independent.

• Under the FAFSA and CSS Profile, there will be a box you should check if you are emancipated.

• You only have to fill out the student section - your income, assets, and tax return if applicable.

• You are considered dependent if none of the following are true:

  • You will be 24 by January 1st, 2023

  • You are married but not divorced

  • You are applying for a master's or doctorate degree

  • You have children or other dependents who receive more than half of their support from you

  • You are currently serving on active duty in the U.S. armed forces

  • You are a veteran of the U.S. armed forces

  • At any time since you were 13, both parents were deceased, you were in foster care, or you were a ward or dependent of the court

  • You are an emancipated minor or in a legal guardianship determined by a court

  • You are an unaccompanied youth who is homeless or self supporting and at risk of being homeless

• FAFSA and CSS require parent financial information from anyone considered a dependent.

  • If you submit these forms without parent information, you cannot receive federal aid other than an unsubsidized Direct Loan, but Brown and other colleges can still decide to offer you institutional aid.

  • You also will not receive an EFC, which some schools use to determine eligibility for aid. Please encourage your parents to provide their information if possible because they will not be required to support you, but you may have a higher chance of receiving aid if you have an EFC for schools to look at.

• If you are a dependent but your parents do not support you, refuse to provide their information, or you are not in contact with them, take the following steps:

  • Select the "I am unable to provide information about my parent(s)" option on the FAFSA

  • Select which special circumstance applies to you

  • Submit the form without parent information

  • Immediately contact each school's financial aid office to discuss getting an unsubsidized Direct Loan

    • The financial aid office may request a written statement from your parents that they do not support you and refuse to provide their information.

  • The financial aid office will then decide whether you can receive an unsubsidized Direct Loan or what aid you may receive.

• Your parents' citizenship status does not affect your eligibility for aid. Here are tips on how to fill out the FAFSA in this situation:

• If your parent(s) do not have SSNs,

  • Enter all zeros when asked for their SSN on the FAFSA.

  • They will not be able to electronically sign the FAFSA without an SSN-- instead, print the signature page after finishing the form, have your parent sign it, and mail it in.

• If your parent(s) do not live in the US, select "Foreign Country" when asked for their legal state of residence.

• If your parents file taxes in a foreign country only,

  • Indicate that they have filed their taxes

  • Select "Yes" to indicate they filed taxes in Puerto Rico or a foreign country

  • Convert the amounts on their tax return to US Dollars

  • If your parents live in a Freely Associated State, enter their wages earned from their tax form in the adjusted gross income field.

• If your parent doesn't file taxes at all, select "Not going to file" and fill in the requested information about their earnings.