Students can apply for financial aid for the following semesters/academic year.
2011-12 Academic Year
This includes Fall 2011, Winter 2012 and Spring/Summer 2012 semesters. Students must complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) for the 2011-12 award year. Step by step instructions are available for students and should be reviewed before completing the FAFSA.
When a student applies for financial aid, the answers to certain questions on the FAFSA determine the student’s dependency status. A dependent student must submit parent information, while an independent student is processed based solely on his or her own information.
The reason for the classification by dependency status is based on the federal, state and institutional philosophy that the student and/or his/her family have the primary responsibility to pay for education beyond high school. If the student is unmarried and under age 24, his or her parents are responsible for assisting with college expenses, even if the student does not live with them. Parent’s income information is required in these circumstances.
Financial aid funds supplement, not replace, what the parents and/or student is expected to pay for college expenses.
For the 2011-12 application year, the student is considered independent and does not provide parent’s information on the FAFSA if any one of the following is true:
• Born before January 1, 1988
• Married
• Veteran of the U.S. Armed Forces
• Serving on active duty in the U.S. Armed Forces for purposes other than training
• Has legal dependents other than a spouse and supports the dependents 50% or more. The dependents cannot be supported by someone other than the student.
• Both parents are deceased, the student was in foster care at the age of 13 or older, or the student was a dependent or ward of the court through the age of 18
• The student is an emancipated minor as determined by a court in Michigan
• The student is under legal guardianship through the age of 18 as determined by a court in Michigan
• The student was determined by a high school or school district homeless liaison to be an unaccompanied youth who was homeless on or after July 1, 2010,
• The student was determined by a director of an emergency shelter or transitional housing program funded by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to be an unaccompanied youth who was homeless on or after July 1, 2010
• The student was determined by a director of a runaway or homeless youth basic center or transitional living program as an unaccompanied youth who was homeless or was self-supporting and at risk of being homeless on or after July 1, 2010
If the student cannot answer “yes” to any one of the above circumstances, the student is dependent and must provide parental information on the FAFSA. If the student claims to be independent based on one of the above circumstances, he/she will be required to submit documentation of the circumstance before the student's file can be processed.
The student will receive a communication from the Financial Aid Office regarding the status of his/her application request.