How does my dependency status affect financial aid?
Your dependency status affects what information you must provide on the FAFSA and for MIT financial aid. If you’re a dependent student (which is the category that the majority of MIT undergraduates fall under), you need to report parent information, including income and assets. If you’re an independent student, you don’t need to report parent information.
There may be situations where you are considered independent for federal aid but not for MIT financial aid. This means you may not have to submit parent information on the FAFSA but will still need to provide parent information on the CSS Profile. These situations may include, but are not limited to: age or marital status, emancipation status, status as a parent, and/or status as unaccompanied or self-supporting.
What is a dependency override?
Unusual circumstances refers to conditions that may allow for an adjustment to your dependency status based on a unique situation, e.g., human trafficking, refugee or asylee status, parent abandonment, or incarceration. This is commonly known as a dependency override. Students can initiate a dependency overrides for review on the basis of persistent, ongoing, and irreconcilable family dysfunction such as abuse or parental abandonment.
Conditions that do not qualify for a dependency override include, but are not limited to: a parent’s refusal to contribute financially, parental unwillingness to complete required forms, not claiming a student as a dependent on parent tax returns, student emancipation as an adult, reluctance to request income/asset information from parents or reluctance to communicate with parents, or a student’s total financial or personal self-sufficiency.
How do I initiate a dependency override?
To begin the dependency override process, you first need to contact your financial aid counselor. They will reach out to you directly to follow up about your situation. When you speak with them, they will walk you through next steps. The documentation required is outlined below.
- Dependency Override Appeal Form: This is a formal request to be considered independent from your parent(s) or guardian(s) due to unusual and extraordinary circumstances. Your financial aid counselor will share this form with you.
- Third-party support certification: You will need to have this filled out by a professional who can attest to your current situation, such as a teacher, school counselor, health care professional, social worker, lawyer, clergy member, or government agency. If you have questions about who might be an appropriate person to fill out this document, you should discuss this with your financial aid counselor. A letter of support and an explanation of their knowledge of your situation should accompany the form. This documentation will be shared with your financial aid counselor.
- Third-party documentation: You may also be asked to include any other third-party documentation about your situation, such as a police or Child Protective Services report, letter from a health care professional who has a long-term relationship with you, court documents, or a restraining order.
What is the dependency override review process?
Once all required materials have been submitted, dependency override requests are reviewed by a Dependency Override Committee of MIT professionals that includes SFS, Wellbeing & Support, and Student Mental Health & Counseling.
It may take up to one month from the time you submit all dependency override materials until a decision is made. We will notify you once your decision is available. If you have questions during the process, please reach out to your financial aid counselor. Decisions made by the Dependency Override Committee cannot be appealed.
My FAFSA reflects that I have provisional independent status, what does that mean?
If you indicate that you have an unusual circumstance when you fill out your FAFSA, but do not have all the required documentation, you will be granted provisional independent status. You will be able to complete the FAFSA as an independent student and will receive an estimated Student Aid Index and Federal Pell Grant. However, this does not guarantee that you will be granted independent status. Your financial aid counselor will reach out to you directly to make sure you complete the required documentation.
There are situations where a student may qualify as independent for federal student aid, but not for MIT financial aid. To request an adjustment to your dependency status with MIT, you need to contact your financial aid counselor and see if a dependency override is appropriate for your situation.