Am I an Independent or Dependent Student?
When you submit the FAFSA, your answers to multiple questions on the application will determine your dependency status which in turn determines whose information you must report on your FAFSA.
And this may affect the amount of financial aid for which you’re eligible. In most cases, an independent student will qualify for more financial aid than a dependent student.
If you’re a dependent student, you will report your parents’ financial information, income and assets, along with your own. 1 A parent must also sign the FAFSA. If you’re an independent student, you’ll provide your own information and your spouse’s as well, if you’re married.
Most single mothers are automatically considered independent students because they have legal dependents other than a spouse, which often lead to higher eligibility for need-based aid. 2
How do I know if I am an independent or dependent student?
If you answer “no” to all the questions below, 3 you are considered a dependent student. If you answer “yes” to any of them, you are considered an independent student and information about your parents is NOT required on the FAFSA.
| QUESTIONS | Dependent | Independent |
|---|---|---|
| Were you born before January 1, 2003? | ||
| Are you married? | ||
Do you have children who receive more than half of their support from you? | ||
Do you have dependents (other than a spouse or children) who live with you and receive more than half of their support from you? | ||
| Are you on active duty in the U.S. Armed Forces for purposes other than training? | ||
| Are you a veteran of the U.S. Armed Forces? | ||
Since the age of 13, were you an orphan, in foster care, or a ward of the court? | ||
| Are you an emancipated minor as determined by a court? | ||
| Are you in a legal guardianship as determined by a court? | ||
Are you an unaccompanied youth who is homeless or at risk of homelessness? |
If you’re a dependent student, use the Who’s My FAFSA Parent? wizard tool to find out which parent(s) must be listed as contributors on your FAFSA application.
Tips for Filing as an Independent Student
If you do qualify as an independent student, follow these tips:
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Be sure to include yourself when you complete the section that asks for the number of people in your household, as error in household size can yield a higher SAI than a family should have, which will result in lower aid eligibility.
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Filing as an independent student doesn’t always mean that you can leave the parent section of the FAFSA blank. For example, graduate health profession students may be required to provide parental data even if they are independent.
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When filing as an independent, your school may verify your dependency status. So have your documentation ready to avoid delays.
Can I change my FAFSA from dependent to independent?
Changing your dependency status is not easy, but there is a process in place for those with legitimate need based on their circumstances.
If you have a special circumstance that you feel warrants a change in your dependency status, you may request for a status change through the financial aid administrator at your school.
You start by filing a Dependency Review Form explaining your situation but the final decision rests with the financial aid administrator at your school.
Footnotes
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If your parents are separated or divorced, use the information of the parent whom you lived with the most during the past 12 months or failing that, the parent who provided you with the most support. ↩
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As an independent student, FAFSA will consider the student’s personal income and assets only, not her parents’, which often results in a lower Student Aid Index (SAI) and higher eligibility for aid. ↩
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StudentAid.gov , Dependency Status. ↩