College Problems (US)

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EndlessSacrifice
EndlessSacrifice Posts: 325
in Chit-Chat
I'm having a bit of a dilemma. I need to fill out my FAFSA form in order to receive financial aid for college. I've already skipped a whole semester because my parents refuse to fill out their part of my application. I'm eighteen years old, but in order to fill everything out yourself, you have to be twenty-three or twenty-four. I can't remember which. Therefore, I cannot claim myself as independent. My father never gets his taxes done, and he has an under-the-table job. He is afraid that he will get into legal trouble if he fills out the form with false information. My mom won't put that she's single because that would be false information also. I want to go to school, and I don't know what to do. Where do I go from here? Thanks in advance.

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  • HeavyLiftGirl
    HeavyLiftGirl Posts: 1,267 Member
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    Go for the Pell Grant. Ask the school about it tomorrow morning. It's great.
  • EndlessSacrifice
    EndlessSacrifice Posts: 325
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    Go for the Pell Grant. Ask the school about it tomorrow morning. It's great.

    I just googled it. You need to complete your FAFSA in order to get that as well.
  • missprincessgina
    missprincessgina Posts: 446 Member
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    Sorry to hear about your situation. Have you talked to an admissions counselor or personnel at the school you're interested in? You can't be the only person in this situation. I know a lot of kids at my school who are 18 and who have claimed themselves as "independent." Another suggestion is to start at a community college and then transfer those credits to a 4 year university.
  • d1angel
    d1angel Posts: 7
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    As you are under 24 and not married, you're in quandary. You *could* claim no income for your father (since he doesn't file a tax return). However, they are REQUIRED to either fill the thing out or pay for your education. Your only other options would be to become a ward of the court, get married, or prove that your parents are abusive and/or that it's impossible to get the information.

    Your dad really needs to file his taxes or he WILL get into trouble.....
  • EndlessSacrifice
    EndlessSacrifice Posts: 325
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    As you are under 24 and not married, you're in quandary. You *could* claim no income for your father (since he doesn't file a tax return). However, they are REQUIRED to either fill the thing out or pay for your education. Your only other options would be to become a ward of the court, get married, or prove that your parents are abusive and/or that it's impossible to get the information.

    Your dad really needs to file his taxes or he WILL get into trouble.....

    That's what I'm thinking. I really don't want to have to take my own parents to court. I don't have the heart to do that, but I need to go to school. My boyfriend and I want to get married eventually, but not now. We're too young. We want to wait until we have our own house, are done with school, etc.
  • magj0y
    magj0y Posts: 1,911 Member
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    He will eventually get into trouble..

    def. talk to your counselor, maybe there are routes around it?
  • d1angel
    d1angel Posts: 7
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    Sounds like you're a very wise young lady. It is probably best to sit your parents down and explain that you will have to take them to court if they don't fill this out (to become a ward of the court) and that it would be better for your dad to come clean and file his taxes. Seriously - he's only making things much worse on himself.
  • lulu9663
    lulu9663 Posts: 57 Member
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    My cousin had a problem that was somewhat similar. My uncle was in prison, so no income. Her stepmom didn't want to fill out the FAFSA because she didn't want the gov't to find her. And her mom was on welfare, but she also refused to fill it out. So she went to the financial aid advisor at the college. The advisor told her that she was allowed to file for "abandoned" status, or something like that. She was required to get three statements from people not related to her, that showed that her parents cannot and will not provide any support to her in any way. And also that she hadn't been supported by them for some period of time. She was able to do the FAFSA based on her income alone, and Pell grants covered nearly all of her tuition. It's not ideal, but it may be worth looking in to if you're willing to do the legwork. Barring that, have you considered the military? It's not for everyone, but the GI Bill is pretty awesome, I'm using it right now. If that's not your thing, that's okay. Good luck!
  • EndlessSacrifice
    EndlessSacrifice Posts: 325
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    My cousin had a problem that was somewhat similar. My uncle was in prison, so no income. Her stepmom didn't want to fill out the FAFSA because she didn't want the gov't to find her. And her mom was on welfare, but she also refused to fill it out. So she went to the financial aid advisor at the college. The advisor told her that she was allowed to file for "abandoned" status, or something like that. She was required to get three statements from people not related to her, that showed that her parents cannot and will not provide any support to her in any way. And also that she hadn't been supported by them for some period of time. She was able to do the FAFSA based on her income alone, and Pell grants covered nearly all of her tuition. It's not ideal, but it may be worth looking in to if you're willing to do the legwork. Barring that, have you considered the military? It's not for everyone, but the GI Bill is pretty awesome, I'm using it right now. If that's not your thing, that's okay. Good luck!

    Thanks so much for the advice. I'm going to speak with a counselor at the college I'm interested in going to and take it from there.
  • Justkeepswimmin
    Justkeepswimmin Posts: 777 Member
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    I had a friend in college that had the same problem...she did 2 years at community college and worked a LOT, took out some loans and got through. I didn't know about the 'become' a ward of the court thing after you're 18. I DO know it is hard to get independent status from the time I spent enrolling people at an online university. You have to prove you've not received support from them, and subsequently if you haven't...how you've been supporting yourself.

    However, there's one statement above I don't understand..there's no law that requires parents to pay for their kids college (UNLESS it is part of some divorce agreement)

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