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Old 12-02-2008, 12:38 PM   #4
swimcatsmom
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Apr 2006
Posts: 5,660
FAFSA does not accept Grandparent information unless the Grandparent has adopted you. Where parents are divorced you usually put the parent you live with the most. If you live with neither more than the other you put the parent who financially supports you most. It sounds like you will have to put your father's information. Do not try and 'hide him' as this is fraud and could lead to large legal penalties (fines and/or imprisonment). It may be possible for you to ask the school for a dependency override, which would mean you would be considered independent for FAFSA. They are quite hard to come by but it is worth asking. But you have to file FAFSA first then talk to the school. Only they can do the override.

One thing to be cautious of - for many States your residency for in-state tuition usually depends on your parent's State of residence. For instance, recently a poster to CC discovered that he was not considered in-state for Florida because his parents were not Florida residents. He had lived with his sibling and gone to high school there so thought he would be in-state for tuition. You may want to check the rules for NY.

Many private schools require CSS/profile in addition to FAFSA. They will require your father's financial information (and spouse if there is one) and your mothers financial information (and spouse if there is one). Her being in Ukraine does not mean she does not count for CSS/profile. Again you can ask about an override for the requirement for parent information.

A parent's unwillingness to pay is not regarded as sufficient reason for an override. Your other family circumstances may or may not be considered sufficient. You will not know until you ask.
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