AJ Posted June 25, 2015 Report Share Posted June 25, 2015 When the FAFSA is filled out for a student, who is 21, the parents/step parents are considered responsible to pay for education. Can a student be granted a a federal loan, not a private loan, regardless of parent's income? What I am asking is....can the student get some type of federal loan without a parents signature on the loan? We do not want a Parent Plus loan. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clydesmom Posted June 25, 2015 Report Share Posted June 25, 2015 When the FAFSA is filled out for a student, who is 21, the parents/step parents are considered responsible to pay for education. Can a student be granted a a federal loan, not a private loan, regardless of parent's income? What I am asking is....can the student get some type of federal loan without a parents signature on the loan? We do not want a Parent Plus loan. Thanks. Whether the student qualifies for any federally subsidized loans depends entirely on the FAFSA. So if the student is applying as a dependent and the parental income does not qualify based on that the answer would be no, they cannot get a federally backed loan. In order to get one without the parents signature or income the student would have to file the FAFSA as an independent adult and meet that criteria. I believe a 21 year old would have to show that they are living away from home at least a year and supporting themselves as well as no longer being declared as a dependent on the parents income tax to file the FAFSA as an individual not as a dependent. You asked this question before in your first thread: http://www.creditinfocenter.com/community/topic/326028-parent-plus-loan/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJ Posted June 25, 2015 Author Report Share Posted June 25, 2015 Whether the student qualifies for any federally subsidized loans depends entirely on the FAFSA. So if the student is applying as a dependent and the parental income does not qualify based on that the answer would be no, they cannot get a federally backed loan. In order to get one without the parents signature or income the student would have to file the FAFSA as an independent adult and meet that criteria. I believe a 21 year old would have to show that they are living away from home at least a year and supporting themselves as well as no longer being declared as a dependent on the parents income tax to file the FAFSA as an individual not as a dependent. You asked this question before in your first thread: http://www.creditinfocenter.com/community/topic/326028-parent-plus-loan/ Yes, I kinda asked the same question, before.. I am still confused. Thanks for your information. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clydesmom Posted June 25, 2015 Report Share Posted June 25, 2015 Yes, I kinda asked the same question, before.. I am still confused. Thanks for your information. Due to the high number of defaults on loans the government basically began putting the onus on parents to contribute to college educations to try and mitigate their losses. If the child is claimed on your taxes as a dependent then in order to get any financial aid the parents must fill out the FAFSA. If their income is too high then federally backed aid is not available and the only options are ParentPlus or private student loans. If the child is no longer claimed on the parents tax returns, lives independently for a year or more, and supports themselves including their own taxes then they can file as an adult on their own without parental income on the FAFSA. My guess is that between the 2 parents the income is too high for federal aid and therefore ParentPlus or private loans are the only other options. If the child does not meet the FAFSA criteria as an independent adult they won't get federal aid. I attended college as an adult in my 40s and they still scrutinized why my parents weren't filling out the FAFSA!! Never mind that I was over 40 and hadn't lived at home in decades or that my parents were deceased. They still were very thorough in ensuring I qualified for aid. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WhoCares1000 Posted June 25, 2015 Report Share Posted June 25, 2015 Believe it or not, it is not until the age of 24 when FAFSA considers a student to be independent. I know that because I started college late and hit that limit and my financial aid awards changed when my mother's income was not included (father was unfindable and then deceased). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clydesmom Posted June 25, 2015 Report Share Posted June 25, 2015 Believe it or not, it is not until the age of 24 when FAFSA considers a student to be independent. I know that because I started college late and hit that limit and my financial aid awards changed when my mother's income was not included (father was unfindable and then deceased). Typically yes but there are ways a student can demonstrate to the FEDS that they are on their own and there is no parental support. While it is rare those cases do exist. The student just has to jump through a whole lot more hoops to convince the government that there is no possibility for parental support for college. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WhoCares1000 Posted June 26, 2015 Report Share Posted June 26, 2015 I guess no one told me what those hoops were because I never got that deal. Hell, I still remember the county government telling me I should be able to support a family of 5 from a part time job while I was still in high school. If that is not proof of independence with no parental support, I don't know what it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clydesmom Posted June 26, 2015 Report Share Posted June 26, 2015 I guess no one told me what those hoops were because I never got that deal. Hell, I still remember the county government telling me I should be able to support a family of 5 from a part time job while I was still in high school. If that is not proof of independence with no parental support, I don't know what it. The FAFSA questionaire has changed and it is about 200 questions long now. Even in my 40s every year it asked me if I wanted to include parental income! Unless a student knows to look for the hoops and to do the leg work it doesn't happen unfortunately. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJ Posted August 12, 2015 Author Report Share Posted August 12, 2015 Thanks for all the information. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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