Who is Considered an Independent Student? What if you are not yet 24 years old?

Who is Considered an Independent Student? What if you are not yet 24 years old?

I’m having problems with my financial aid. I’m a single mother of

one. My daughter is almost three years old and will be attending

daycare this semester. I’ve been going to college for two years and

will receive my associates degree soon with a cumulative GPA of 3.7. I

will continue my education at another college this fall, and again I’m

having problems with financial aid. I received a Pell Grant only one

semester, but they took it away from me because they said I was still

considered an dependent until I’m 24 years of age. I do not live with

my parents and they do not provide me any support. I’ve taken out

student loans ever since they denied me the Pell Grant. The loans are

hardly enough money to get by, I have had to work two jobs and I

usually take more than 12 hours a semester. Since my daughter is

attending daycare this will be an added expense, on top of my moving

to an apartment in a different city. I’m very depressed about this

situation and I cannot stop crying because I just don’t know what to

do. It seems no matter how hard I try to find help I just cannot get

any. Please help me.

— Casey F.

Congratulations on your academic performance! You should be very proud

of your accomplishments. Students who are single parents and who work

full-time often find it much more difficult to graduate than dependent

students who have the emotional and financial support of their

parents. You are going to be a great role model for your

daughter. Keep up the good work!

Reaching age 24 is not the only method of achieving independent

student status. Section 480(d) of the Higher Education Act of 1965

specifies eight criteria for independent student status, any one of

which is sufficient:

1. A student who will be age 24 or older as of December 31 of the

award year.

2. A student who is an orphan, in foster care or a ward of the court

(not ward of the state) at any time after reaching age 13.

3. A student who is an emancipated minor (prior to reaching the age of

majority) or in a legal guardianship as determined by a court of

competent jurisdiction in the student’s state of legal residence.

4. A student who is a veteran of the Armed Forces of the United States

or currently serving on active duty for other than training

purposes.

5. A student who is a graduate or professional student.

6. A student who is married.

7. A student who has legal dependents other than a spouse.

8. A student who is an unaccompanied youth who is homeless or who is

an unaccompanied youth who is at risk of homelessness and

self-supporting.

In addition, college financial aid administrators have the discretion

to perform a dependency override when justified by unusual

circumstances.

Since you have a three-year-old daughter, you are independent under

the seventh reason listed above. Your daughter is considered a legal

dependent because your parents are not providing more than half her

support. When a student lives with her parents, usually the parents

are providing more than half support, since support includes non-cash

assistance such as lodging. But you said that you are not living with

your parents and are not receiving any support from them.

Even if you are not providing your daughter’s support from your own

income, any money you receive for your daughter from a source other

than your parents counts as part of your support to the child, per the

discussion on the bottom of page AVG-27 of the 2010-11 Application and

Verification Guide. This includes child support from your boyfriend,

government assistance programs such as TANF and SNAP (food stamps) and

federal student financial aid.

If you satisfy these requirements, you are considered independent

according to the statutory definition, and the college financial aid

administrator does not have the authority to treat you as a dependent

student. The financial aid administrator’s authority to perform a

dependency override is one way, from dependent to independent, not in

the other direction, as noted on page AVG-30 of the 2010-11

Application and Verification Guide.

You should also ask the college’s financial aid administrator to

increase your cost of attendance to include the childcare costs. The

definition of cost of attendance at section 472(8) of the Higher

Education Act of 1965 includes an allowance based on estimated actual

expenses for dependent care. The allowance is limited to the

reasonable cost of this dependent care where you live. It includes but

is not restricted to the time you are in class, studying or

commuting.

Source: Fastweb

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