Student Financial Services
Am I Dependent or Independent?
Federal financial aid applicants are classified either Dependent or Independent for purposes of qualifying for federal assistance. This classification has little to do with any 'dictionary' definitions of these terms. Nor does it matter whether a student 'believes' (s)he is independent or that a parent desires his/her student to be independent. Instead, the determination is based on a fundamental principle of the federal aid programs, and that is...a student's parents have the primary responsibility to pay for their child's post secondary education, to the extent they can. Therefore, parental income and asset information must be entered on the FAFSA for most applicants. Why? To calculate the amount of money a student's parent(s) are expected to contribute toward his/her educational and living costs. Federal assistance is then offered by the University of Central Missouri to supplement the family's financial 'contribution'.
Under certain conditions, however, parents are not expected to provide financial support to the student. For the 2012-2013 award year, as an example, an applicant who can accurately answer yes to at least one of the questions in Section 2 of the FAFSA does not need to include any parental information. Following are some of these questions for 2012-2013:
- Were you born before January 1, 1989?
- Are you pursuing a Masters or Education Specialist degree program?
- Are you legally married on the day you complete your FAFSA? If you're single, divorced, widowed, or unmarried living with a partner, you must answer no. If you're separated (but not divorced), you should answer yes.
- Do you have a child (or another dependent person) who lives with you and receives more than half of his/her financial support from you? If your parent actually supports your child, you must answer no.
- Are both your 'biological' parents dead (and no adoptive parent is still living)?
- Are you currently serving on active duty in the U.S. Armed Forces for purposes other than training?
- Are you a veteran of the U.S. Armed Forces? This means having engaged in active duty (other than basic training) in the U.S. Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, or Coast Guard. Or...will you be a veteran by June 30, 2013? If you're an ROTC student, in the National Guard or a Reserves enlistee (but have never been activated for duty), you must answer no to this question .
An answer of no to all the questions in Section 2 means you'll be classified a Dependent federal aid applicant. Parental income and asset information must be entered on your 2011/2012 FAFSA.
On the other hand...special or unusual family, personal, or economic circumstances sometimes exist that justify the reclassification of an otherwise Dependent financial aid applicant to the status of Independent. In such an instance, a student may request consideration for a Dependency Override by submitting documentation to the UCM Office of Student Financial Services. It's best to submit such an appeal before your FAFSA is filed, however, a Dependency Override request can also be submitted if you've already submitted your FAFSA.
2012-2013 Dependency Override Appeal
2011-2012 Dependency Override Appeal
Definition of a Parent
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FAFSA Code: 002454
