What if my parents do not want to submit their information for the FAFSA?

It's understandable that parents might feel uncomfortable about submitting financial information to the Department of Education or making their children aware of the family's financial standing. That said, the Department of Education requires parental information to assess the financial health of the family overall.

If you are a student, let your parents know that the information is being used by the Department of Education only for calculating how much financial aid you are eligible for. Filing a FAFSA does NOT automatically apply you or your parent(s) for student loans or other financial obligations. You may or may not be eligible for federal financial aid, but if you don't file a FAFSA, you definitely won't receive any.

If you are a parent, in addition to federal aid, many schools, state financial aid offices, and even some scholarships and grants require a FAFSA on file, so withholding information required on the FAFSA could be costing both you and your child much more money than you may think.

Finally, if you as a student are unable to obtain assistance from your parent(s), we always recommend scheduling an appointment with your school's financial aid office to speak with a financial aid counselor about your specific situation.

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More FAFSA Questions and Answers:

• What are the FAFSA deadlines?
• Who is a dependent student?
• What's my FAFSA status?
• What if my parents do not want to submit their information for the FAFSA?
• I filled out my FAFSA but was not eligible, what do I do now?
• What is the purpose of a FAFSA Renewal form?
• What if I have a non-traditional family situation?
• What's my FAFSA PIN?
• Do I have to fill out the FAFSA every school year?
• How do you go about filling out the FAFSA if I am divorced and remarried? Does my ex fill one out as well? Do we list our current spouses?
• In order to get a Stafford loan or a Parent Plus loan, do I need to fill out a FAFSA?
• Can you mail me a FAFSA?
• Can you mail me a renewal FAFSA?
• How long is the FAFSA process?
• What are the final steps of the FAFSA?
• How long does it take for my school to receive the FAFSA?
• What's the difference between a FAFSA and a renewal FAFSA?
• What's the difference between a paper FAFSA and a FAFSA on the Web?
• Where should I mail my completed FAFSA paper application?
• What's the difference between a FAFSA application and a FASFA application?