FAFSA dependent verification nightmare - teen with no parent contact

I went through this exact process with my younger sister last year. You need to document the parental abandonment situation. Collect any evidence you have: court records, letters from school counselors/social workers who know the situation, police reports if there were any, etc. You'll need to explain the circumstances in a detailed letter. Different schools handle this differently, but we had to submit: - Her personal statement explaining the situation - My statement as her guardian - Letter from her therapist documenting the family situation - Letter from her high school counselor - Court documents showing I had temporary guardianship It wasn't actually as impossible as they made it sound. Just be thorough and keep following up.

omg this system is so messed up!!! my cousin had almost the same situation and the school DENIED his override. said he didnt have enough "proof" of abandonment. like what do they want??? a signed letter from the deadbeat parents saying "yes we abandoned our kid"??? so frustrating!!!! 😡

I work in financial aid at a community college, and dependency overrides are definitely challenging but not impossible. Key points to understand: 1. You need to document complete abandonment or danger to the student - not just parents refusing to pay or provide info 2. Each school can set their own specific requirements for what constitutes sufficient documentation 3. The Department of Education allows professional judgment in these cases 4. If approved, the override is only valid for one year and one school - you'll need to reapply each year For documentation, aim for third-party verification from professionals (teachers, counselors, clergy, social workers) who can attest to the parental situation. Personal statements are important but not sufficient alone. The more official the documentation, the better your chances. Also, make sure your nephew completes the FAFSA anyway, even without parent info. He'll get rejected for aid initially, but this starts the override process at many schools.

Sorry you're dealing with this - the FAFSA system really isn't designed for real-world family situations. One thing nobody mentioned is that if you can't get the dependency override, you could still qualify for unsubsidized federal loans without parent information. The maximum is $5,500 for freshmen, $6,500 for sophomores, and $7,500 for juniors and seniors. Not ideal since it doesn't include grants or subsidized loans, but it's something when all else fails.

uhh have you tried just calling FSA directly and explaining the situation? Sometimes they can help with specific situations like this or give you exact instructions on what to do.

Another approach worth considering is seeing if your nephew qualifies under the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act. If he's considered homeless or self-supporting and at risk of homelessness under their definition, the school's McKinney-Vento liaison can provide documentation that would support independent status on the FAFSA. This is often easier than a dependency override.

idk if this helps but my friend's sister did a dependency override and she said getting letters from MULTIPLE professional people was key. like not just one counselor but also teachers + doctor + coach + anyone professional who knew about the situation. the more the better!!!

what about just waiting till hes 24?? thats what my brother did cuz it was so hard to deal with all this garbage

I faced a similar issue with my own FAFSA after my parents kicked me out. One thing that really helped was having my high school principal write a detailed letter explaining that my parents had not financially supported me for over a year. I also included utility bills showing I was covering my own living expenses (with help from my aunt). The financial aid counselor told me that having OFFICIAL letterhead on all the documentation made a big difference. My dependency override was approved after initially being rejected because I resubmitted everything on official letterhead.

my niece had almost the same situation!!!! the thing that worked for her was getting the guidance counselor AND principal to sign statements. she also got a letter from our church pastor! they approved her override and she got a full Pell Grant!