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The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is a form that must be filed each year to determine eligibility for financial aid for prospective and current college students.

You can complete the FAFSA at .

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If you are a dependent student, you will report your and your parents鈥� information on the FAFSA.

• Your answers to questions on the FAFSA determine whether you are considered a dependent or independent student.
• Not living with your parents or not being claimed by them on tax forms does not make you an independent student for purposes of applying for federal student aid.
• If you answer no to all of the dependency questions on the FAFSA, then for federal student aid purposes, you鈥檙e considered to be a dependent student and you must provide information about your parents on the FAFSA.

You still must answer the questions about your parents if you鈥檙e considered a dependent student.

If you have no contact with your parents and don鈥檛 know where they live, or you鈥檝e left home due to an abusive situation, you may be eligible for a dependency override. See more details about dependency override>>

You cannot be considered independent of your parents just because they refuse to help you with this process.聽聽If you do not provide information on the FAFSA, the application will be considered 鈥渞ejected鈥�, and you are not eligible for any need-based financial aid.聽聽In special situations you may be eligible for unsubsidized loans; you should contact the financial aid office for additional information.

An adoptive parent is treated just like a biological parent.聽聽For reporting income and assets, a stepparent is considered a parent if married to a biological or adoptive parent.聽聽However, a stepparent who did not adopt the student cannot be the sole parent.聽聽If the other parent dies, the student would then use the other remaining biological parent, not the stepparent.聽聽If no biological parent remains, the student should answer yes to being an orphan and is independent.聽聽Foster parents or legal guardians are not treated as parents for financial aid purposes.

The following people are not your parents unless they have adopted you: grandparents, foster parents, legal guardians, older brothers or sisters, and aunts or uncles.聽聽You should聽not聽list their information in the parent section of the FAFSA.聽聽If you live with someone beyond your parent and you cannot answer yes to one of the dependency questions, generally you would need to provide your biological parent鈥檚 information.

Parents' Marital Status:	Provide Information for:
Never Married	The parent that provided you with more financial support during the last 12 months. If both parents provided equal amounts of financial support or if they don't support you financially, provide information for the parent with the greater income and assets.
Unmarried and both parents living together	Even if they are not currently married to each other, if both of your biological/adoptive parents reside together you must provide both parents鈥� information on the FAFSA.
Married*	Both of your parents
Remarried (after being widowed or divorced)	Parent and Stepparent
Divorced or Separated	The parent that provided you with more financial support during the last 12 months. If both parents provided equal amounts of financial support or if they don't support you financially, provide information for the parent with the greater income and assets.
Widowed	Your surviving parent

*Consistent with the Supreme Court decision holding Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) unconstitutional, same-sex couples must report their marital status as married if they were legally married in a聽state or other jurisdiction that permits same-sex marriage, without regard to where the couple resides.聽

If parents become separated or divorced after the FAFSA was filed, the family may request a review of their special circumstances by completing a Special Condition Form, which is a way of reporting a drastic change in the family鈥檚 situation causing a major reduction in income.

If the student is planning to get married, careful consideration should be given in deciding whether to file the financial aid application before or after the wedding date.聽 A student cannot put a future date on the application because they plan to be married by that date.聽 It is strongly recommended for a student to make an appointment with a financial aid counselor to discuss their marriage plans and the effect on student aid in detail.

Admitted graduate or professional program students are considered independent students and will report their own information (and that of their spouse, if married).