How old can you be to be indepent in college.?

Question

Do you have to court to be remove by dependent

Answer 1

once you reach the age of majority you are independent.  until then not even a court can change your status.

Answer 2

jeremy is correct, KK is soooo wrong; has not idea what she is talking about and then has the audacity to start insulting those who actually do

do yourself a favor and check out the FAFSA website and you will get a clear cut definition of what exactly dependant and independent mean in terms of FA and it has nothing to do with who claims you on your tax return

KK- you are rude and obnoxious and should learn some manners as well as the facts

Answer 3

Once you are 18 you are technically an independent. I'm 19 and my parents still take care of most of my finances including schooling so on their taxes they still claim me and I claim 0. Once you are 18 you can claim yourself though!

Answer 4

Just for the record, if KK and or the many friends she states were in this situation, filed a dependancy appeal and an FAO used professional judgement and granted independant status, then they very well could have been independant, under the age of 24.  One thing to note, this does not mean it was legal.  There have been cases where FAOs in an office made "Special cases" and approved things they should not, it was called FRAUD and people were sent to jail and denied future aid.  

Not knowing all fo the circumstances with KK and her friends, it really is impossible to say what her status was.  One thing is for sure though, to legally receive Federal Financial Aid as an Independent student, you have to be 24 during the award year or have a child, or be enlisted/veteran of armed forces, or deceased parents or ward of the court.  FAOs have professional judgement where they can award independant status based on an appeal.  Simply moving out or not having your parents claim you on their tax return will NOT make a student independant for the FAFSA.  

If you can answer Yes to any of the following questions, you are considered an independent student on the FAFSA:

Were you born before January 1, 1985?

At the beginning of the 2008-2009 school year, will you be working on a master's or doctorate program (such as an MA, MBA, MD, JD, PhD, EdD, or graduate certificate, etc.)?

As of today, are you married?

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

Do you have dependents (other than your children or spouse) who live with you and who receive more than half of their support from you, now and through June 30, 2009?

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

Are you currently serving on active duty in the U.S. Armed Forces for purposes other than training?

Are you a veteran of the U.S. Armed Forces?

If you are considered an independent student, your parent’s information is not required on the FAFSA.

Note: Health profession students may be required to provide parental information regardless of their dependency status.

KK, if you would like to supply some specifics, such as what school, what school year, we can request the DOE to do an investigation and find out if indeed something illegal happened.

Answer 5

KK, sorry dear, but you are the one who is full of c**p. Jeremy is dead on in his explanation regarding the term "dependent" as it applies to Financial Aid, which is what the question is about. I too worked in Financial Aid for a number of years and was about to post the identical answer but Jeremy beat me too it. You don't understand the finer points of Financial Aid, KK, and your anecdotal examples don't help anyone.

Answer 6

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Answer 7

18, on your own, and not supported by parents.  If they're paying for your college, then you're not independent.

No, you don't have to go to court to be removed.  But it's important that your parents don't claim you as an dependent on their taxes anymore.

Answer 8

Ok, in all of the answers given, no one knows what they are talking about.  You MUST follow at least one of the criteria to be independent in college (In terms of FA)

24 years old

married

have children who receive at least half their support from you

have dependents who receive half support from you

Veteran of US Armed Forces or currently on Active Duty

Ward of the court, or both parents deceased

Obtaining a Masters or PhD.

If you do not meet at least one of those requirements you are dependent.  The only way to override dependency is a Professional Judgment, and less than 1% are approved.  

Your taxes, how you file, or whether or not your parents claim you means NOTHING as far as determining dependency based of DoE standards.  Doesn't matter where you live, job, income, NOTHING other than the criteria above.