<p>Oh yea, have fun with that. Are you a counselor? I’m best friends with my counselor now because I’m only in her office every other day haha, even her secretary knows me by name and she knows NO other students’ names in the school. That’s saying something. It’s definitely going to be a long haul, but it will be worth it. Take kelsmom’s advice - GET THE DOCUMENTATION. That’s the biggest piece to the puzzle. Man, I wish I knew then what I know now. Thanks for the luck, I’m sure I’ll be needing it for the rest of the year!</p>
<p>No, I’m not a counselor. I do volunteer mentoring through the counseling office. I am hopeful this student will be able to gather the necessary documents. Like in your case, I’m sure, there is a crazy, sad story of long duration behind all this. But this student has some really dedicated people (teachers, guidance office staff, etc.) in her corner, so I’m hopeful.</p>
<p>I am so inspired by the resilience of kids like you and her. Amazing young people.</p>
<p>^^Second that as well. Some of these students amaze me. (my own kids are amazing of course but have not had to battle through this sort of stuff).</p>
<p>Wow!!!</p>
<p>I was just wondering earlier today what had happened to kerrissak and whether she’d get her independent status. </p>
<p>thank goodness! </p>
<p>and thank you kelsmom for advising her!!!</p>
<p>without the help of adults like you guys, we would be really bad off, so don’t forget to pat yourselves on the back.</p>
<p>sorry i didn’t update everyone right away - glad kelsmom did because i’ve been keeping up with her only because we PM and it reminds me to respond. so caught up doing everything and more, and thank you for the concern! will definitely keep updating now that this thread has been revived!</p>
<p>^^^^</p>
<p>Please keep us updated as your acceptances come in. Have you gotten any acceptances yet or will they be coming next month?</p>
<p>i definitely will! nothing yet, unfortunately, it’s all coming next month. my boyfriend just received his acceptance to vtech last night and he heard back from morehouse as an accepted student also - so lucky! all within a week. i feel so left out! no word for ANY school for me for another 3 weeks. how nerve-racking!</p>
<p>Fingers crossed!</p>
<p>accepted to university of south florida (last option, but still!) and drum roll…</p>
<p>PURDUE!</p>
<p>those are the only up to date ones, denied from washU but not too sad since that would have just been a plus. everything is going smoothly and the rest is a waiting process :)</p>
<p>Congrats on PURDUE!!!</p>
<p>When will you get your FA package from them? Do they usually send soon after acceptances are sent? </p>
<p>(You are considered to be an independent, right???)</p>
<p>What other schools are you waiting to hear from?</p>
<p>thanks! i think it’s when they send the official letter out, i got the decision via email.</p>
<p>i haven’t attempted independency with them, i don’t know why i didn’t but i sent out all the documentation yesterday because i made extra copies of the originals i initially sent out to other schools just in case 
good idea on my part, and i sent one to fsu too.</p>
<p>i’m waiting on fsu (17th), unc (20th), uMich, boston u, boston c, and i’m missing one…i cannot think about which one! it’ll come to me :)</p>
<p>*nevermind, that’s all of them!</p>
<p>Another thought occurred to me as I had followed along with this thread, how important it is for kids not to be afraid to approach adults when these situations are happening. Not only will adults be in a position to help at the time, it will create that all important “paper trail” that may be necessary for documentation further down the line.</p>
<p>I mention this because there are often postings by seniors lamenting how they have put up with so much, sometimes including abuse or neglect, but did not want to tell anyone and so now are having difficulty meeting the stated criteria for independence or over rides. There are also posting from concerned HS students whose friends are in untenable situations who want to support their friends, but don’t want to “tattle” or are afraid of approaching adults such as school counselors, Social Services or others in a position to help now and provide the documentation needed come senior year.</p>
<p>“Independent waivers are pretty rare and require extreme circumstances. The way to get an override is to just talk to the financial aid officers at your school. They are the only ones that can grant an override.”</p>
<p>Correct, only college FA officers can grant the waiver; about 2% of undergrads get them, but usually some form of “abuse” is required, such as physical, mental, abandonment, incarceration of both parents, etc.</p>
<p>[FinAid</a> | Professional Judgment | Dependency Overrides](<a href=“http://www.finaid.org/educators/pj/dependencyoverrides.phtml]FinAid”>http://www.finaid.org/educators/pj/dependencyoverrides.phtml)</p>
<p>This is very true for what the last people said. Addressing the circumstances, just a brief rundown because I’ve gotten a few PMs about what I had to do.</p>
<p>Before discovering this website and talking to any FinAid reps, I did my own googling to find some information out. This helped me sort of figure out what general direction to go in, but I wish I had asked more questions and made more phone calls early on. Even now, I’m still learning because today I met with a YMCA rep who said he would help me get government aid, but I had already done all of the things he wanted to help me with (proactivity!), but getting someone’s help could have saved me a lot of stress, money, and time. Don’t be afraid to ask questions - as he said, no request is too stupid. Any help that you can recieve as a student with special circumstances can mean the difference between winning and losing. That goes along with what the person who spoke about telling an adult said - not only is it for your benefit to speak up about any abusive situation you’re in, regardless of if it’s for college or not, but it will definitely help you more than anything else to have at LEAST one documented incident. Let me remind the people going for independence that it’s not something that you can make a really good speech about, and then get it based on how persuasive you are. You need the evidence - being a runaway because you hate your parents is not a valid reason by any means at all. Like kelsmom said, and this tremendously helped me because my letters would have obviously have been a lot more vague than the ones I ended up sending after her counsel, put everything out on the table. Anything that can support your claim MUST be sent. If it even comes down to a neighbor that heard screams one day. Do what you have to do to be successful and don’t let your situation define your dreams. They only define how you’re going to overcome the obstacles that your parents or guardians have put forth. Any other sources could be family, counselor, anything that shows you support yourself (W2s, rent stubs, utility bills, cell bills, food bills). Nothing is too miniscule to help you. Another thing is, you should definitely work on getting in contact with an advisor for the school first hand. I usually asked for the financial aid person for each school, and blatantly asked them what they needed and required for me to be reviewed wholely. That’s the first step you should take because that’s going to point you in the right direction when you know exactly what you’re working for. I also made a folder for everything that I got, and made extra copies for people’s letters that they signed so that if need be, I could send out more (extra colleges, one set of info didn’t arrive, etc.) Trust me, it even helped me yesterday when I had to send off two more sets to two more colleges - I was glad I had it. I also gave a set to my counselor so that she could handle some from her office as well, in case anything happened to mine. Think ahead, and if anyone has any other questions, feel free to ask away. All I know is that this site and this information really put me on the right track.</p>
<p>GUYS!!! LOOK AT THIS!!!</p>
<p>"Hey Kerissa,</p>
<pre><code> We were able to waive custodial requirement this morning. Management has informed me that more information may be requested about your current living situation (regarding to finances) should you be admitted at the end of the month. You will receive a letter from financial aid at that time should more info be requested. I wish you the best of luck in all your future endeavors.
</code></pre>
<p>Sincerely,</p>
<p>John Gorham"</p>
<p>This is from BOSTON COLLEGE - though this has no bearing on my acceptance (which, obviously I’m worried about and crossing my fingers), this DOES mean that my independent status has been granted for the HARDEST school as far as granted requests are concerned. This basically paves the way for all other schools because they are easier to gain it for than BC. I am SO happy.</p>
<p>Good news!!! Keep us updated on all your news! :)</p>
<p>This is great news. I’m so happy for you, and so impressed with how you’ve sought the help and gotten it all put together.</p>
<p>Such wonderful news!! :)</p>
<p>unc @ chapel hill waitlisted me…but i’m going to write them a letter. hopefully a compelling one.</p>