FAQ, Understanding Awards and helpful links

Myth: You don't have to report parents' income if you don't live with them.

Fact: Not so. If you're under 24 years of age, you must report parents' income and obtain their signature on the FAFSA whether or not you live with them, unless you meet certain other criteria. (Read on)

Myth: You can decide to be independent.

Fact: Actually, to be independent for financial aid, you must meet (and be able to document) at least one of the following circumstances:

• You're 24 or older.
• You're married.
• You were an orphan or ward of the court until age 18.
• You're a veteran.
• You have children who receive more than half of their support from you, or you have dependents (other than children or spouse) who live with you and receive more than half of their support from you.
• You've had a serious falling out with your parents. (In this case, you must file a "dependency override" appeal with the Financial Aid Office, preferably before mailing your FAFSA.)

Myth: You're always better off filing the FAFSA as an independent student.

Fact: Sometimes having more family members to report is to your advantage in federal need analysis.

Stepparents

Myth: You don't have to include your stepparent's income and assets on the FAFSA.

Fact: Wrong. Your stepparent's income and assets must be factored into your need analysis to differentiate your family from one that is headed up by a single parent.

Assets

Myth: Skip the asset sections; they'll only hurt your chances of getting aid anyway.

Fact: If you skip a section of the FAFSA, it'll cost you time to get it fixed. As for assets, they account for only a small percentage of the need formula; your expected contribution is based on your total family circumstances.

We Can Help!

If you need help filling out your FAFSA, stop by the Financial Aid Office in Field-122, or call us at 499-4660, ext. 1644. If you've already filed your FAFSA, we can help by making corrections for you electronically. Just submit your verification worksheet along with copies of the requested tax information to the Financial Aid Office. We'll notify you of your status after corrections are recalculated by the Federal Processor, usually within 3-4 days.

Updated: 11/30/06, /std