Every April brings dread for many self-supporting students like myself. It has nothing to do with spring cleaning or even looking for a summer job. All this is caused by answering “no” to one question on the Free Application For Student Aid (FAFSA) form: “Were you born on or before January 1 1986?” According to the government office that created the FAFSA form, there are only about eight different life events that could make you an adult. Most people would agree that the events they picked out would make a person an “adult.” Events such as having a child, being married or an honorable discharge from the military. However, if you did not have the chance to experience any of those life events, then they say you are just a child.
Because NEIU is a unique school, we have a lot of students from unique circumstances. Many of our students move out on their own long before the age of 24. Just as many don’t complete their bachelor’s degree before they move out from their parent’s care. For some of those students, getting financial aid can make the difference between going to school the next year or taking a semester off to make money for tuition.
One thing FAFSA does not take into consideration is special circumstances. Yes, they let people apply (i.e. fight) for their independent status. But then you have to have something along the lines of a police report against your parents. This is ridiculous to ask of some students. Some had to move out of their parents house because they were disowned, or were abused but never came to the police. Others have had to move out just because their parents couldn’t afford to support them. Is it fair to deny these students financial aid, when they are working minimum wage and going to school full time?
There are students who have gone as far as getting letters from youth housing organizations, stating that they were receiving no parental support. But they were denied because a letter by a government-approved organization was apparently not enough. At least a couple of those students were lucky enough to make it all the way through the process to gain independent status. But they said that it took them hours of work each week to obtain this status.
Students who were disowned or who have cut off contact with their parents have it even worse. Since there is no document showing proof of this situation, the Financial Aid office won’t even let them contest their status. Showing things such as utility bills and a signed lease still doesn’t “prove” that the person is independent.
To us, April brings a month of fighting. Fighting with Registration, the Financial Aid department, school administration and even our parents. It causes us to juggle our schedules so that we can wait in long lines for a chance to ask what else we need to bring in order to justify our independence or financial status. It also means asking parents for their taxes, searching for outside lenders and budgeting money in case the paperwork gets misplaced (and most likely it will get misplaced).
Despite all of these difficulties, there is hope. For the 2009-2010 FAFSA application, one of the questions asked if the student had proof from a social service organization stating that they had moved out from their parents’ care before the age of eighteen. While this won’t affect those who are older than eighteen, like myself, it will help new students trying to make something of themselves despite their conditions.