How do I apply for fafsa if I dont live with my parents?

Question

So my pops is dead, and I haven't seen my mom in like 4 years (I have no contact with her) My aunt has raised me since I was 7 years old. But when I try to apply for fafsa, it says I need one of my parents tax information? What am I supposed to do? I've tried emailing the fafsa people, but they dont reply...

Answer 1

You CANNOT use your aunt's information.  FAFSA does not recognize legal guardians unless they have legally adopted you.  

You need to contact the school you are planning to attend and ask them if you can do an independent appeal.  Some schools will allow this in extreme circumstances.  You will have to provide a lots of documents that can prove your father is deceased and that you have no contact with your mom.

Answer 2

Did your aunt adopt you?  If not you can not use her information.  Instead talk to the schools you are applying for and see if they can help you with a dependency override.  I can not promise anything as they are the hardest overrides to get in financial aid but I have seen one approved for a student in a similar situation.

Answer 3

Okay - there's a bit of bad news about your circumstances.

The US Department of Education, the agency that coordinates and scores your FAFSA form, does NOT recognize the status of "emancipated" minor.

An emancipated minor refers to a student who is under 18, but is fully responsible for his/her own financial well-being, and receives no support from a parent or guardian.

Again, remember, I said that the Department of Education DOES NOT recognize that status for FAFSA purposes.

The Department does recognize the status of an INDEPENDENT STUDENT, but you must be able to answer YES to one or more of the following questions:

Were you born before January 1, 1985?

At the beginning of the 2008-09 school year, will you be working on a master's or a doctorate program (such as an MA, MS, MBA, MD, JD, PhD, EdD, etc)?

As of today, are you married? (Answer yes if you are separated, but not divorced)

Do you have children who receive more than half of their support from you?

Do you have dependents, other than children, who live with you, and who receive more than half of their support from you?

Are both of your parents deceased, or, are you (or were you until age 18) a ward or dependent of the court?

Are you a veteran of the Armed Forces?

If you can not answer YES to one of those questions (these are taken directly from the FAFSA application), you can not claim independent status, and you must provide financial information from your mother as part of the application.

It may not be "fair", but the Department of Education presumes that your mother has a financial obligation to provide for you until you become an "adult". The fact that she has not provided for you until now does not let her "off the hook" in the eyes of the government.

As some of the other respondents have suggested, the best place to turn is the financial aid department of the schools that you have been accepted to. You can make a hardship appeal to your school - which would be a letter fully describing your financial situation. It may be helpful to have your aunt make an appeal to the school as well, also by letter. However, for FAFSA purposes, your mother MUST fill in her section of the application as the responsible adult.

I hope that helped - good luck to you!

Answer 4

If your aunt legally adopted you, then you would put your aunts.  If she is just a legal guardian, you would still need your mothers info.  Call her and ask her for her tax info and explain what it is for.  She is under no obligation to pay for your school as a result of giving you this info.... on the contrary.  It will allow you to pay on your own without her help.

Answer 5

I believe if you are under 24 and dont have dependants...You have to put a parent/guardian information on there... So can you use your aunts info????  Or the best thing you can do is go to your local high school or community college and see if they still have the paper applicatiions and mail a little letter explaining your saituation with the paper App.

Answer 6

if your aunt is your legal guardian then that means her information.