TAP need parents information?

[sybbie719]

Because true independence for TAP does not happen until you are 35.
When are you starting school?

Do your parents make over 80K? if no you may still be eligible for TAP even if you use your parents income.
Did you apply for an excelsior scholarship? if yes and you are eligible, the scholarship will cover the balance of your tuition after PELL.

@HESC

What are the basic conditions an applicant must meet to be considered independent?
The basic conditions are:
has not resided and will not reside with parents for more than six weeks; and
has not and will not receive financial assistance or support valued in excess of $750 from parents; and
has not and will not be claimed as a dependent by either parent for purposes of either federal or state income tax.

What are the special conditions to qualify as an independent student, and what proof do I need to send?
Condition: You are a ward of the court (not including status as an inmate).
Documentation: Copy of a court order making you a ward of the court or appointing a guardian other than your parents.

Condition: You are receiving public assistance under your own budget and not as a dependent of your parents.
Documentation: Budget statement or other documentation from a social service official showing receipt of public assistance other than food stamps or unemployment insurance. NOTE: Housing Assistance/Budget Letter must be in student’s name.

Condition:** There has been an involuntary dissolution of your family resulting in relinquishment of your parents’ responsibility and control.**
Documentation: A sworn and signed statement from a person other than yourself or your parents (such as a member of the clergy, a social worker, a legal aid representative, or an official at the facility or institution which has accepted responsibility for your control or care) relating to your family circumstances. The statement must include the specific reasons for relinquishment of parental responsibility and control (such as abandonment by the parents, mental and/or physical abuse by the parents, or parents being neither citizens nor residents of the United States), your relationship to the person making the statement, and how that person has direct knowledge of your family circumstances.

Condition: Both parents are deceased.
Documentation: Copies of death certificates for both parents.

Condition: Both parents have been certified as having a total and permanent disability, or have been declared incompetent by judicial action.
Documentation: Medical certification and court orders. Documentation for both parents is required.

NYS Higher Education Services Corporation - TAP FAQs