FAFSA Questions (Independent/Dependent) Forum

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zhyunjc

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FAFSA Questions (Independent/Dependent)

Post by zhyunjc » Sat Dec 30, 2017 10:50 pm

Hi all,

I did see a similar thread, but didn't want to invade and take attention away from the original poster; feel free to close/merge this thread if I should have done so regardless.
I had a question concerning need-based financial aid/FAFSA. I am recently out of college (December 2016), and was still a dependent on my parents throughout my college years/2016. I entered the work force, working full-time, in April 2017, until December 2017, at which point I switched to part-time. Despite reducing my work hours, I'm no longer financially dependent on my parents (i.e. I think I would be filing as an independent, for 2017 tax purposes?). I have heard though, that when applying for FAFSA (for the 2018-2019 school year) it is the 2016 tax returns that they look at.
My parents' income in years past precluded me from receiving any financial aid throughout my undergraduate years, but they were generous enough to help me pay for college. I will however be paying for law school myself, and was a little concerned about what FAFSA's viewing the 2016 tax return rather than 2017 might imply for me (I have limited savings at the moment, having worked full-time for a little less than 9 months). Is it plausible that I might receive financial aid regardless?

Thanks for reading!

Nebby

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Re: FAFSA Questions (Independent/Dependent)

Post by Nebby » Sun Dec 31, 2017 12:49 am

Most schools don't give need-based aid and those they do will consider parents income.

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zhyunjc

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Re: FAFSA Questions (Independent/Dependent)

Post by zhyunjc » Sun Dec 31, 2017 1:22 am

Nebby wrote:Most schools don't give need-based aid and those they do will consider parents income.
There are a few schools to which I've applied that exclusively offer need-based financial aid so, sadly, it would still be helpful for me to be better informed. I appreciate your answer/insight! :)

cheeseras

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Re: FAFSA Questions (Independent/Dependent)

Post by cheeseras » Wed Jan 24, 2018 2:30 pm

I spent an hour yesterday reading about HLS's approach, and think I've got a pretty good handle on it. My understanding is that YS are similar.

The good news is that independent vs. dependent doesn't seem to be an important distinction, so it shouldn't matter too much what return they choose to consider. The bad news is that, as applied to your circumstances, parental financials would likely be taken into account. Tax filing status doesn't matter to Harvard--the only thing that matters is age, and reductions don't start until 26 (and since you graduated in Dec. 2016 I'm guessing you're younger than that).

For how the age reductions work, see here: http://hls.harvard.edu/dept/sfs/basics- ... resources/

For calculating parent resources and how they'd impact grant eligibility prior to any age-based reductions, see here: http://hls.harvard.edu/dept/sfs/financi ... resources/

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