FAFSA Form & Financial Aid Form Blog

Before we delve into that answer you should first know that twenty-four is an important number for you to take note of, and not just because of government agent Jack Bauer. Twenty-four is the age when you officially move from a dependent to independent student in the school’s eyes, unless you have a child of your own, are married, or are emancipated.

If you are twenty-four or meet one of the aforementioned criteria above than this legal guardian question is a moot point for you as you do not need to list parental information on your FAFSA. For all others the answer is no. A legal guardian, foster parent, grandparent, or other relative is not treated as a parent for purposes of filing a FAFSA, unless that person has legally adopted you. Adopted parents are viewed the same as biological parents for FAFSA purposes.

So what happens if you are under the age of 24 and submit your FAFSA with no parental information? It will get rejected because, as we just mentioned, a legal guardian, foster parent, grandparent, or other relative is not treated as a parent for FAFSA purposes. The school’s FAO will then need to do a professional override, which would change your status from dependent to independent, which would allow you to access more federal aid.

The FAFSA blog is sponsored in part by:

Five most recent FAFSA form help blog posts:

Subscribe to RSS headline updates from:

People often think about scholarships, perhaps even talk about them, but the majority of people don’t extend the effort needed in order to obtain a scholarship. Not everyone is smart enough to receive merit scholarships…but those are not the only ones out there. It is also pretty easy to win scholarships…if you know where to look for them.

Scholarshippoints.com is a website that gives away scholarships to members of the site who perform fun, simple activities. Joining is free and fast, and the more “points” you earn, the more entries you get for each scholarship giveway.

StudentScholarshipSearch.com is a site where you can search for all different kinds of scholarships that you think might pertain to you for FREE.

These are just 2 examples of easy ways to win and find scholarships. It definitely pays to take initiative with funding your education…sitting back and waiting for things to come, results in a huge amount of debt that you will most likely regret in the not so distant future.

The FAFSA blog is sponsored in part by:

Five most recent FAFSA form help blog posts:

Subscribe to RSS headline updates from:

To qualify for federal student aid, you must have completed high school or an equivalent educational course (like a GED).

The FAFSA blog is sponsored in part by:

Five most recent FAFSA form help blog posts:

Subscribe to RSS headline updates from:

It’s New Year’s Day today, and indeed, the 2009-2010 FAFSA is now available for filing at www.FAFSA.ed.gov. Be sure to read our free eBook first before you file!

The FAFSA blog is sponsored in part by:

Five most recent FAFSA form help blog posts:

Subscribe to RSS headline updates from: