Student Dependency Status

A student's dependency status determines whose information must be reported on the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) .

• If the student is considered a dependent student, they are required to report both their and their parents’ information.
• If the student is considered a independent student, they are only required to report their own information (and their spouse’s, if married).

The federal student aid programs are based on the concept that it is primarily you and your family’s responsibility to pay for your education. As a dependent student is assumed to have the support of parents, the parents’ information has to be assessed along with the student’s, in order to get a full picture of the family’s financial strength. If you’re a dependent student, it doesn’t mean your parents are required to pay anything toward your education; this is just a way of looking at everyone in a consistent manner.

Your answers to questions on the FAFSA determine whether you are considered a dependent or independent student. The questions change a little from one year’s FAFSA to the next year’s; for instance, the 2016–17 FAFSA asks whether you were born before Jan. 1, 1993, while the 2015–16 FAFSA asks whether you were born before Jan. 1, 1992. Visit Federal Student Aid on dependency  to view the questions and seek out other information related to dependency status.