If my parents won't help me apply for FAFSA what are my options?

I am 20 years old. My mother and father do not wish to share their tax return information for FAFSA. I am sure this is a requirement to receive aid so are there any alternative options? Someone said it's possible to become emancipated after you turn 18 for situations like this. Does anyone know where I might find information on doing that for the state of Texas?

In general, I think your options are limited to getting married, having a baby, joining the military, or turning 24. I know there have to be exceptions for people who's parents are dead, but I've never heard of an exception for student's who simply don't have a relationship with their parents. I was in this boat myself and wasn't able to get any aid until I got married (I was almost 22 when I got married).

Call FAFSA they will answer all your questions better than anybody on here...

Good Luck

Make an appt. with the Financial Aide Advisor at the school you want to attend.
The purpose of the FAFSA is to determine what your familiy's "EFC" (estimated Financial Contribution) should be. Once that has been determined you will be told what Federal monies your eligible to receive. The FAFSA also determines if you qualify for either Subsidized or and unsubsidized loan. Which means that either you or the government will pay the interest on your loan while you are attending.

In the end Stafford Loans are the responsibility of the recipient and not the parents. Maybe if you explain that upon receiving one you will begin to pay them 6 months after graduation.

If they still refuse to give them to you then contact the financial aide counselor at the school you want to attend. Make an appt. to go personally if possible and get direction with regard to this. You can also contact FAFSA directly. It may be possible that your parents are legally obligated to present the taxes as long as you are their dependent.
Good Luck to you.

The problem most likely isn't the FAFSA, it's probably that they don't want to give the tax information to YOU. After 17 years of talking to parents about this subject, I know that what they fear is their tax return ending up in the bottom of their child's backpack, then lost somewhere on campus or in a dorm room, and then they are setting themselves up for identity theft.

Good news, because the FAFSA can be filed online, you, and your parents separately, can each fill out your share by getting your own pin numbers. www.pin.ed.gov

Each of you can go online to fafsa.ed.gov and log in individually. That way, the information can be calculated by the feds and give you the all important EFC (estimated family contribution) that all schools need to determine a student's "need".

Then, if the school need to do verification, where they have to check the numbers on the tax return, your parents can send their tax information directly to the financial aid office at the school.


Online filing and dealing directly with the FAO at the school allow you, the student, to get out of being the middleman.

You can fill it out as an independent student. You're old enough. If you're over 18 you can apply for yourself. If you have worked, they will ask you for YOUR tax info.
Good Luck !