Dependency Status and Override
The financial information reported on the FAFSA will be used to determine need for financial aid, the type of need-based student aid, and if eligible, the amount of financial aid a student will receive. Students will need to determine whose information to report on the FAFSA - theirs alone, if they are an independent student; theirs and their spouse’s, if an independent and married student; or theirs and their parents’, if a dependent student.
The answers to dependency questions on the FAFSA determine whether students are considered dependent or independent.
Dependent students must report their parents’ income and assets on the FAFSA as well as their own. Parents of dependent students are expected to contribute toward the cost of their college education. Federal student aid programs are based on the concept that a dependent student’s parents have the primary responsibility for paying for their child’s education.
If you are an undergraduate student and the Department of Education has determined you to be considered independent for any reason other than your age, The Catholic University of America will select your aid application for dependency and federal verification. Your aid application will not be processed until you provide third-party documentation to substantiate your “yes” response to any FAFSA dependency question.