Your status as a dependent student is determined by specific criteria and can be changed by a Financial Aid Administrator (FAA) only in unusual circumstances.

A student cannot be determined to be independent just because:

• Your parents do not want to provide information on the FAFSA due to privacy concerns;
• Your parents will not help you pay for college;
• Your parents no longer claim you as a dependent on their taxes; or
• You no longer live at home.

Contact the FAA to discuss your dependency status if:

• You have had no contact with your parents and do not know where they are (and you have not been adopted by someone else); or
• You have left home because of an abusive situation.