<p>I’m a high school junior, 4.5 GPA/4.0 unweighted, 35 ACT, lots of APs and ECs, and an all-state violinist. Under normal circumstances, I could have gone to some of my top choice schools with little to no merit aid. However, my parents have made it clear that when I turn 18 in September, I will be kicked out of the house because I am queer/lesbian and they think that this is morally wrong. I will have enough money to stay in a cheap apartment, but I will need to transfer from my elite prep school to the local public school, as I cannot afford the tuition and the prep school is Catholic, so they won’t grant me a scholarship for something that goes against the church’s beliefs. How will this effect my college application process (will I be less likely to be admitted)? And, more specifically, will I be able to get need-based and/or merit aid that is not based on my parent’s income, as they are not paying for college?</p>
<p>You will have to focus on colleges that give merit aid. Need based aid will be determined by your parents’ income and assets, regardless of their refusal to pay. You can imagine how many parents would refuse to pay if they thought their student would get need based aid as a result.</p>
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<p>Okay, someone else is going to need to jump in here who’s more familiar with state dependency laws, but if this student has not yet completed high school, shouldn’t there be services available to her if her parents abandon her? Locostacos, you should absolutely talk to your school guidance counselor about this ASAP, and see if s/he can help you figure out what services might be available to you.</p>
<p>As for your Catholic school not wanting to help you because of your sexual orientation . . . well, that’s possible, but they should be a heck of a lot more concerned about the fact that your parents are abandoning you. So, I wouldn’t give up on the school. It might be willing to offer more help than you expect.</p>
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<p>'rentof2 - This is not a mere “refusal to pay.” These are parents who are throwing their high school student out of the house and leaving her homeless. Not quite the same thing. And, if the situation is well documented, the student could possibly qualify for a dependency override, which would make parental income irrelevant.</p>
<p>Locostacos - You’ll need unbiased adults (school counselor, county social worker, etc.) who can attest to the fact of your homelessness. Start reaching out for help NOW.</p>
<p>If your parents relent, and allow you to stay home until you graduate high school, but refuse to pay for college, then merit-based aid will be the way to go. With your good GPA and test scores, plus everything else you’ve done, you should not have a problem getting significant merit aid.</p>
<p>And, more specifically, will I be able to get need-based and/or merit aid that is not based on my parent’s income, as they are not paying for college?</p>
<p>You’re going to have to find schools that will give you huge merit scholarships because it’s doubtful that your parents will fill out FAFSA. I wouldn’t bother with schools that require FAFSA for merit consideration.</p>
<p>How did you do on the PSAT? Be sure to contact NMCorp and let them know where you’ll be attending high school.</p>
<p>You should contact your Catholic school. You’re being disowned. The reason is irrelevant. The Church does not support the idea of disowning relatives over sexual orientation. However, it is doubtful that they would cover your entire tuition unless they had a donor to do so.</p>
<p>Dodgersmom, I believe the threshold of “rule change” is age 18. After that, you are no longer a minor.</p>
<p>Loco…</p>
<p>Did your parents just find out about your orientation? If so, then their reaction may be temporary. Soon, they’ll likely realize that you’re still the beloved child that you’ve always been. They may (naively) think that this threat will make you “choose” another orientation.</p>
<p>I would offer you this. Don’t argue with them. Be the nice, good student daughter you’ve always been. I doubt that after a summer of them seeing that you’re “still you,” they will still want to disown you. They may just be in shock.</p>
<p>You may have to be the “bigger person” during this time. They may bait you to justify their actions. After all, if you continue good behavior it would be pretty hard to show you the door next fall.</p>
<p>The high schools I know, Catholic and otherwise, are not likely to come up with them money REGARDLESS of the reason for your break with your parents. A family death, a family tragedy, maybe, but when a kid gets booted out of the family, unless there is some criminal or deep catastrophic element to the situation, they will not get involved. Believe it or not, kids get boot out of the house, leave for alleged abuse all of the time, and most of the time, the situation gets reconciled. I personally know of about of a dozen such cases just in the past couple of years or so.</p>
<p>At age 18, you are an adult, and there is no reason why your parents have to support you. So, yes, there can be an issue there. If you are indeed kicked out of the house, and have get no more support, you can go to a homeless shelter and you can then be considered independent of your parents in terms of college government financial aid. If you can get through the paperwork with a counselor, minister, social worker, you might be able to skip the actual checking into a homeless shelter if it is deemed that this is a true risk. But actually checking in, is more the sure thing.</p>
<p>That means that your FEDERAL aid will be based on your own income and assets. The max in entitlements in that area comes to $9500 in Stafford student loans freshman year and up to $5600 in PELL grants… Anything else is up to the individual colleges and they can vary on what they want to give you even without this situation. Be aware that the vast majority of schools do NOT meet full need. And those schools that do, determine the need themselves, and you will have to see how they look at the situation. You would have to apply, and make your case, wait it out to the end of the year and see if they will decide to even accept you, and then how they will classify you need, and what they will give you. </p>
<p>Your most immediate problem is not going to be college. You are going to have to make plans as to where you are going to live and how. It might be wise to hold off on college for a while. College is not the be all to end all in life, and if you have more pressing concerns, which it seems to me that you do, it may not be the best option or even an option for you.</p>
<p>If you have the time to go through all of the required tests, getting out the required paperwork and getting your counselor to help you get fee waivers, and YMMV on every step of this in terms of waivers, go on a head and apply to a bunch of schools. Like any student, you will need safeties, and they will likely be your local state options, like community college. It is possible to make it work, if you make it clear that you are not commuting from your parents home, and so the Cost of Attendance the school attributes to your situation comes up to the max federal loan and PELL amounts. With a part time job, if you have a place to live, it is doable, and I know kids who have managed that way.</p>
<p>If you are looking for a school to take you on as a full ride…well, look at the threads we have for the full scholarships. Look for schools that have big merit money as well as the ones that guarantee to meet need. Be aware that your academic stats are going to figure heavily as schools do tend to give more to the kids with the highest test scores and grades. There are plenty of poor students out there, and the colleges could give a hang–it’s only the ones with the academic profiles that will boost the school’s that they are willing to pay for. It is going to be a tough go to get a school to give you a full ride. Not that many full rides to give out. Though the full need met schools are a possibility, getting accepted to any of them and then having them agree to classify you as independent (they do not have to go by FAFSA criteria for their own money) is a long shot. But if you have the goods (high test scores and grades), give it a go.</p>
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It’s not at all uncommon for parents to kick their kids out for their sexual orientation. Though it’s an absolutely shameful response to simply realizing your child likes the same gender rather than a different one, the OP would not be the only person kicked out of the house for something that stupid.</p>
<p>OP, I was on the verge of being kicked out of the house (for much more sane reasons than what your parents might kick you out for) junior year. If you’re out of the house because your parents consider your beliefs an abomination there’s little chance they’ll file the FAFSA or do anything to help you out. Your options are to get emaciated minor status which would allow for independent filing (but may be hard to obtain if you can’t prove you have a steady, well paying job), join the military, go to community college, or get a big merit scholarship. </p>
<p>With your stats, I wouldn’t recommend the community college route. If you’re willing to go down the prestige ladder there will be colleges that will offer you a free ride. If your parents are serious about kicking you out, you should investigate the emaciated minor status, and if possible, take a technical class at a community college that might help you land an above minimum wage job. That might broaden the list of colleges you can apply to but it will make your senior year incredibly difficult. There’s a good chance you’ll have to switch high schools, move to one of the worst areas of your city, and try to secure transportation to and from your hopefully higher than minimum wage job. You will also probably go hungry quite a few times as you may only be able to afford pasta, veggies, and beans.</p>
<p>I’d recommend going with the full ride merit scholarships as they’ll provide housing, food, and an education for four years. If you haven’t, you need to find a job NOW! Preferably three during the summer so when your 18th birthday comes, if your parents are serious about kicking you out, you’ll be able to pay rent for a few months (you will probably have at least two roommates btw). When do you turn 18?</p>
<p>I turn 18 in September, so there really isn’t much time. Thank you for all the suggestions!</p>
<p>It’s not at all uncommon for parents to kick their kids out for their sexual orientation. Though it’s an absolutely shameful response to simply realizing your child likes the same gender rather than a different one, the OP would not be the only person kicked out of the house for something that stupid.</p>
<p>I realize that, but look at this strategy-wise. The student is NOT being kicked out right now. The student will be in the home for about 3 more months. That may be time enough to square things with the parents. If this student is her typical nice, polite, helpful self, then only a total lunatic wouldn’t soften and realize that the threat is too much. The worst thing the student could do is argue with her parents. Just let them see that she’s still their awesome child.</p>
<p>In the meantime, find schools that will give you free rides for your stats.</p>
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Just tell them you’re straight now. You can be gay after college.</p>
<p>Heck, you can be gay AT college, online, and with your friends – just don’t bring it home. Of course it isn’t a good situation, but people have been doing it for generations… you sure won’t be the first person to keep a lid on their sexuality to keep a job/keep a roof over their head/get tuition paid. You will be more like the millionth.</p>
<p>I’m curious to know how can you get a 4.5 GPA on a 4.0 GPA scale?</p>
<p>I’m sorry that you have to deal with this. It’s unfortunate. However, you need to be smart about things. </p>
<p>Apply extremely early to the University of Pittsburgh. They have an honors college and give out a fair number of full-ride merit scholarships. Write the optional essay. Also apply to the University of Alabama, though I don’t know how gay-friendly you’ll find the deep south. </p>
<p>If you can get a full-ride to Pittsburgh, you have successfully become financially independent. I highly recommend that option to you. </p>
<p>There are also pending challenges to the constitutionality of the Defense of Marriage Act. If and when the challenges are successful, then you can move to a friendlier state, get married and be considered independent for Federal Financial Aid purposes. Until that law is overturned, that won’t really be a realistic option. </p>
<p>Good luck.</p>
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4.5 weighted GPA/4.0 unweighted</p>
<p>Well, to answer your question you have to be over the age of twenty-four to get federal aid independently from your parents. You have to include who ever the person you have lived with for at least a year to get such aid. It has to be their permanent residence. If this is your first time, they will have oversight based upon your parent’s income on their tax return.</p>
<p>"you should investigate the emaciated minor status, " </p>
<p>It’ EMANCIPATED, not emaciated - that means wasting away, beyond skinny</p>
<p>I dunno, a school might be more willing to give aid to an emaciated minor than to an emancipated one. </p>
<p>Joking aside, being an emancipated does not work for financial aid. A dependency override is possible in some extreme circumstances involving things such as documented abuse. usually a lot of supporting evidence is required before a school will consider an override.</p>
<p>Sorry, typo on my part. I never seriously investigated that option since I planned on getting my GED and joining the military had I gotten kicked out. </p>
<p>You should prepare for the worst case scenario while doing what other parents suggested and trying as hard as you can to convince your parents you’ve realized the errors of your ways. If you can’t convince your parents that you’re now straight, which I think they want to believe given that they didn’t kick you out immediately, you might be eligible for one of the special circumstances in FAFSA filing reserved for homeless youth.
<a href=“https://fafsa.ed.gov/fotw1314/help/fahelp29a.htm[/url]”>https://fafsa.ed.gov/fotw1314/help/fahelp29a.htm</a></p>
<p>Unfortunately this requires an earlier documentation date than when you will be kicked out of the house. Since you go to a private prep school, I’m not sure how much experience your guidance counselors will have with potentially homeless students. If the public schools are still in session, I recommend you email one of the guidance counselors or go see them directly (schedule an appointment first) as they almost certainly have extensive experience with students who are at risk of being kicked out, at risk of being homeless, or already are homeless. At least, that was my experience even at my fairly good suburban high school.</p>
<p>You can’t become an emancipated MINOR after your 18th birthday…because you will no longer BE a minor.</p>