FAFSA Form

If you're a dependent student, you will need to report both your information and your parent's information.

If you're an independent student, you will only need to report your own information (and your spouse's information, if you're married).

More information on dependency status can be found here.

A parent means your legal (biological or adoptive) parent or a person that the state has determined to be your legal parent. A stepparent is considered a parent if they have adopted you. Stepparents who have not adopted you will be identified as a parent spouse.

Use this parent wizard to determine the parent to report on your FAFSA.

Unusual circumstances refer to situations that may prevent a dependent student from obtaining parent information on their FAFSA form because they either cannot contact their parent or contacting the parent poses a risk to the student. In situations such as the ones below, you (the student) may be able to submit your FAFSA form without parent information despite being considered a dependent student:

• You or your parent are incarcerated.
• You have left home due to an abusive or threatening environment.
• You have been abandoned by or estranged from your parents and have not been adopted.
• You were granted refugee or asylee status and are separated from your parents, or your parents are displaced in a foreign country.
• You are a victim of human trafficking.
• You are otherwise unable to contact or locate your parents and have not been adopted.

More information can be found here. If these situations do not apply, your parent information is required on your FAFSA form. 

This question asks if you are a student whose parents are unwilling to provide their information but don’t have an unusual circumstance (such as those listed above). Most dependent students answer “No” to the Direct Unsubsidized Loan question so that their parents can provide information on their form, and they (the student) can be considered for all types of federal student aid, including Federal Pell Grants.

You should know that if you answer “Yes” to this question, your eligibility for federal student aid won’t be calculated, and you may not be eligible for most types of federal student aid (including Direct Subsidized Loans, federal grants, and federal work-study).

After submitting your FAFSA form, you will need to submit an attestation and statement from your parent(s) confirming this information to our office.

If this is not the case, you will need to update your FAFSA with your parents information.