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Most students entering a postsecondary school straight from high school are considered financially dependent on their parents. This means their parents must provide information on the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). In unusual circumstances, a student who would normally be considered dependent can be considered independent.
The Financial Aid Administrator (FAA) at a school can perform a dependency override on a case-by-case basis for a student with a special circumstance who does not otherwise meet the criteria for an independent student. Students who believe that they have compelling and unique reasons to be considered independent should contact the financial aid office at the school they are planning to attend.
The school is not required to perform dependency overrides, and if the FAA determines that an override is not appropriate, the decision cannot be appealed to the U.S. Department of Education.
A school may award Title IV aid using a Student Aid Report (SAR)/Institutional Student Information Record (ISIR) transaction with a dependency override determination made by a previous school within the same award year without gathering supporting documentation. A dependency override cannot be carried over from one year to the next. Therefore the FAA must reaffirm that the override is still justified based upon the documentation provided for that current award year. In prior years, dependency overrides could not be transferred to another school.
Although a school is allowed to use another school’s determination to override the dependency status, but a school is not required to use that determination.
Refer to the 2010-11 Summary of Changes for the Application Processing System Guide for Dependency Override comment codes, flags and messages used by the CPS. Additional information about making corrections to a SAR/ISIR can be found in the Corrections, Updates and Adjustments chapter of the Application and Verification Guide in the FSA Handbook.
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