FAFSA Guide

No, your parents’ citizenship of immigration status does not affect your eligibility for Federal student aid.   If your parents do not have Social Security numbers, enter 000-00-0000 when asked. The FAFSA form does not ask about your parents’ immigration status, only yours. 

If your parents are separated, unmarried and not living together, or divorced, the FAFSA is completed with the custodial parent. The custodial parent is the parent you reside with the most.

If you do not meet the criteria to be considered independent from your parents for the FAFSA form, you must be 24 years old as of December 31 of the award year for the FAFSA completed.

If you are considered a dependent student by the FAFSA guidelines, you must include both yours and your parent(s).

Yes, when you complete the FASFA form, you will be asked if you are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless and “unaccompanied” meaning you are not with your parents. Answer the question with “Yes,” and continue the application.

Students who experience changes to their financial situation that is not reflected on the tax information used to complete the application can reach out to their college’s financial aid office for guidance. There may be options available to you if you are experiencing unique and new hardships.

If your greencard has expired, it doesn’t necessarily mean that your status as legal permanent resident has expired. You may just need to renew your card. Do so as early as possible. If your permanent residence status has expired, then are you are no longer eligible for federal student aid.  If your documentation shows that you are a Cuban-Haitian Entrant, you are still an eligible noncitizen even if the expiration date has passed.

For most federal student loans, a credit check or a co-signer are not required.  Students must be enrolled at least ½ time, at a minimum of 6 college credits. Direct PLUS loans are the exception.

New York State has a number of financial aid programs for students such as the NYS TAP (Tuition Assistance Program) Grant and the NYS Excelsior Scholarship.  Students are encouraged to apply at www.hesc.ny.gov. Students who do not qualify to submit the standard TAP application should complete the Senator Jose Peralta New York State DREAM Act application.

Students can answer ‘Yes’ to the question on the FAFSA that asks if they want to be considered for work-study. When the financial aid offer does not have Federal Work-Study, the student can contact their financial aid office for consideration.

Financial aid can include the Federal Pell and other grants that don’t need to be paid back, work-study funds where you work part-time to earn a paycheck to assist with college costs, or low-interest loans that you borrow and repay when you graduate or if you enroll less than 6 credits before graduating.

Yes, if eligible, use the IRS DRT (Data Retrieval Tool). Students who complete the FAFSA using this method are least likely to be selected for Federal Verification, because the information is already confirmed to be most accurate.

Yes, there are federal aid programs available to students in graduate school. While Federal Grants are not available for graduate students, some graduate programs may require the FAFSA if offering need-based institutional scholarships or grants.