Complicated guardianship for financial aid?

thumper1
Tue, 24 May 2011 16:52:57 +0000

I believe if you are in a legal guardianship you are independent for financial aid purposes. You would put ONLY your own income/assets on the FAFSA form. HOWEVER, having said that…there have been reports on this forum of some schools (I believe Bates was one) that ask for information from the guardians. No one really reported back to say what the schools DID with this information but a couple of students posted that it was requested.

For FAFSA purposes, you use only your information. If you really aren’t sure about a specific school, you could call that school and inquire whether they EVER ask for the financial information from guardians (for independent students). I would do this on the phone.

Your family contribution will be based on your information. For schools that meet full need, this would mean you would likely receive substantial aid (unless you have signficant income and assets in your own name). For schools that do NOT meet full need, you would likely be eligible for the Pell grant (about $5200), and Stafford loan ($5500) and SEOG if your school offers it, and possibly work study. Also you might be eligible for any state grants for low income students in your state. Some schools that don’t meet full need MIGHT also give you some school based grant aid.