New party ('Matthew Schultz') has joined the session:
Welcome to FAFSA on the Web Customer Service Live Help!
Matthew Schultz: My birthday falls 12 days after the "independent student" deadline (Jan. 1, 1988). Neither me nor my parents want to provide their (my parents) information on my FAFSA, nor do they want to contribute to my college expenses, I am making plans to move away from this area anyway and haven't lived with them in ages (however they were never abusive), nor do they claim me on their income taxes... Is there any way I could be considered an independent student?
New party ('Brian Jones') has joined the session:
Thank you for contacting the Federal Student Aid Information Center. I’m Brian Jones, your online Customer Service Representative. Give me a minute to review your question, and I’ll do my best to assist you.
Brian Jones: Usually a dependent student must provide parental information, however there are some rare exceptions:
-Your parents are incarcerated;
-You have left home due to an abusive family environment; or
- You do not know where your parents are and are unable to contact them (and you have not been adopted).
But not all situations are considered a special circumstance. The following are situations that would not be considered a special circumstance:
-Your parents do not want to provide their information on your FAFSA;
-Your parents refuse to contribute to your college expenses;
-Your parents do not claim you as a dependent on their income taxes; or
-You do not live with your parents.
Students that do not have a special circumstance and are unable to provide parental information normally do not qualify for federal student aid. However, in situations where your parent refuses to provide their information on the FAFSA and refuses to provide you with any financial support, there is an exception that allows a student to submit the FAFSA without parental information and receive an Unsubsidized Stafford Loan only.
You will need to contact the financial aid administrator at your college about receiving only the Unsubsidized Stafford loans.
Matthew Schultz: I've read the documentation, yes, and I understand it, my question is if there's any leniency at all about that date... I mean it's so close to my birthday..
Brian Jones: No unfortunately not you can speak with your school and see if they would make an exception.
Brian Jones: Is there anything else I can help you with?
Brian Jones: Hello, are you there?
Matthew Schultz: With the exception of the fact the FAFSA site is not compatible with newer versions of the browsers that it used to support and what those of us who keep our computers up to date are supposed to do, I don't think so.
Brian Jones: You are welcome. Thank you for contacting the Federal Student Aid Information Center. If you have further questions please contact us again Monday-Friday 8:00am until 12:00 midnight and Saturday from 9:00am until 6:00pm Eastern time. You can contact us via live chat or over the phone at 1-800-433-3243.
Party ('Brian Jones') has left the session.
Party ('Matthew Schultz') has left the session.
Live Help was finished