in order to be considered independent for fafsa, you need to be able to say one of the following are true for this year: you were born before 1/1/1984, are married, have a dependent child, are a ward of the state, or are enlisted in the military. THE FACT THAT YOU FILE YOUR TAXES SEPARATE FROM YOUR PARENTS HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH FINANCIAL AID DEPENDENCE!! if you cannot say any of those statements are true, you are considered dependent and have to use your parents’ tax information. if you have extenuating circumstances you can appeal your dependency status with your school. talk with your financial aid office to see if you could qualify. you need to have good reason in order to change your status and it doesnt get approved very often. if your parents have bad credit, have them apply for a parent plus loan. when they are denied, you would be eligible for loans usually only available to independent students.

yes. in the fafsa application they ask you a whole bunch of questions about whether you have parents who support you, how they earn etc. So just answer those questions appropriately to prove that you are independent.

yes, I found interesting information about your answer, college loans, scholarships, college grants & partime works here. http://all-student-loan-consolidation.blogspot.com/2007/07/college-loan-consolidation.html Good luck!

Go to fafsa.ed.gov