FAFSA Dependency Status 1 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which of the following automatically qualifies a student as INDEPENDENT on the FAFSA?
- Living off campus
- Being 24 years of age or older (Correct answer)
- Having a job
- Paying own tuition
Correct answer: Being 24 years of age or older
Students who are 24 or older as of January 1 of the award year are automatically classified as independent.
Question 2: A dependent student must report whose financial information on the FAFSA?
- Their own only
- Their parents' information (Correct answer)
- Their employer's information
- Their school's information
Correct answer: Their parents' information
Dependent students must report both their own and their parents' financial and demographic information on the FAFSA.
Question 3: Which of the following students is considered INDEPENDENT on the FAFSA?
- A 20-year-old living with parents
- A married 19-year-old (Correct answer)
- A full-time student under 24
- A student working part-time
Correct answer: A married 19-year-old
Married students are considered independent on the FAFSA regardless of age.
Question 4: A student who is a veteran of the U.S. Armed Forces is classified as which type of student?
- Dependent
- Independent (Correct answer)
- Conditional
- Special Status
Correct answer: Independent
Veterans of the U.S. Armed Forces are automatically classified as independent students on the FAFSA.
Question 5: If a dependent student's parents are divorced, whose information is reported on the FAFSA?
- Both parents' information equally
- The parent the student lived with most in the past 12 months (Correct answer)
- The parent with higher income
- The parent who claims the student as a tax dependent
Correct answer: The parent the student lived with most in the past 12 months
For divorced parents, the FAFSA requires information from the parent with whom the student lived most during the past 12 months.
Question 6: An emancipated minor is classified as which type of student on the FAFSA?
- Dependent
- Independent (Correct answer)
- Conditional dependent
- Requires special review
Correct answer: Independent
Emancipated minors are classified as independent students on the FAFSA regardless of age.
FAFSA Dependency Status 1
Which of the following automatically qualifies a student as INDEPENDENT on the FAFSA?