To teachers, counselors: abused students CAN get exemptions from FAFSA requirements

for college aid.

This post is for teachers, counselors, and students in high schools and community colleges.

As you know, students who want financial aid have to fill out Federal FAFSA forms, and these forms require information from students' parents -- in almost all cases. However, exceptions are made in rare and serious circumstances, with some students under 24 being given an "independent" status through something called a "dependency override."

Getting a "dependency override" from FAFSA forms is difficult but not impossible for abused young people. I'm just a friend, not a teacher or counselor, but I've helped a student get dependency overrides from three different schools.

Every college will consider a dependency override for students who have fled an abusive home, even if it doesn't say so on their website, and even if they won't tell you on the phone.

They don't want to be flooded with requests from non-abused students whose parents simply refuse to give their financial information or to help pay for college. But this means the schools often discourage other students -- those who most need help to escape from their circumstances.

A student doesn't have to be living in a homeless shelter to be considered homeless, or "at risk" of being homeless. A young person who has left an abusive situation and ended up living with a friend or a relative can qualify for being "at risk."

What a student in dire circumstances needs is DOCUMENTATION. Court documents, if possible, but other documents help as well. If an abused student under 18 confides in you, of course you have an obligation to report that to the police. Over the age of 18, keep records of what you may learn, even if the student doesn't want to press charges against his parents. Later, if the student wants to go to college (or to transfer from community college to a university) and applies for a "dependency override" for his FAFSA forms, he or she will need confirming documentation, and your letter may be what makes the difference.

As I said, some colleges will make all this clear on their websites, and some will not. One of the colleges our young friend applied to listed all of the exemptions on their website (for young people in homeless shelters, for members of the military, for married students, etc.) except the one for abused students. When she called the financial aid office, the person on the phone wanted her to tell him how she had been abused. That was too much for her. (She's been in therapy for two years and still has trouble talking about it.) I called him back to point out that the students who most needed the "dependency override" due to abuse in the home would be the least likely to be able to explain the situation to a stranger on the phone -- but that she could write about it. All she needed was the address of where to send the information. He said of course she could write about it, and all she needed to do was ask. But how would a typical college student even know to ask that? Especially one who had been abused?

School has begun and some of you may have students you would like to help. I learned a lot through this process and I'd be happy to share it with anyone who knows a student like this. You can ask me now or PM me later. I'll try to help.