How to Apply
Dependent or Independent? (09-10)
The federal government has established criteria for classifying financial aid recipients as dependent or independent.
If you are dependent (not self-supporting according to federal criteria), your parents' assets and income as well as your own are considered when determining your financial need. If you are independent, your need is evaluated solely on your own and your spouse’s income and assets.
If you check “YES” to any item in “Step Three” on the 2009-10 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) you are considered “independent” for financial aid purposes:
- born before January 1, 1984;
- legally married at the time the student signs the application;
- at the beginning of 2009-10, will be working on a master's or doctorate program;
- is currently serving on active duty in the U.S. Armed Forces for purposes other than training;
- is a veteran of the U.S. Armed Forces (Army, Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps, or Coast Guard);
- has children for whom the student provides more than 50% support from the student between July 1, 2009 and June 30, 2010;
- has legal dependents other than a spouse or children who receive more than half their support from the student, now and through June 30, 2010;
- at any time since the age of 13, both parents deceased, was in foster care or a dependent or ward of the court;
- is, or were, an emancipated minor as determined by a court in the student's state of legal residence at the time of the determination;
- is, or were, in legal guardianship as determined by a court in the stuedent's state of legal residence at the time of the determination;
- did the student's high school or school district homeless liaison determine that the student was an unaccompanied youth who was homeless;
- was at any time after July 1, 2008 an unaccompanied youth who was homeless, as determined by the director of an emergency shelter or transitional housing program funded by the U.S. Dept. of Housing & Urban Development; or
- was at any time after July 1, 2008 an unaccompanied youth who was homeless, self-supporting, and at risk of being homeless, as determined by the director of a runaway or homeless youth basic center or transitional living program
If you cannot answer “YES” to any item, you are considered dependent on your parent(s) and must include parental financial information on your financial forms. If you think you have extenuating circumstances that would exempt you from including parental information, contact a financial aid adviser at SFA.