Mail: Financial Aid Office
Eastern Wyoming College
3200 West C Street
Torrington, WY 82240
2014-2015
Request for
Independent Status
(dependency override)
Section 480(d) of the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended (HEA), defines an independent student as someone who fits
into one of the following categories. Under these categories a student is independent if he or she:
• Was born before January 1, 1991;
• Is an orphan, in foster care or is a ward of the court at any time since age 13;
• Is an emancipated minor as determined by a court in his/her state of legal residence;
• Is in legal guardianship as determined by a court in his/her state of legal residence;
• Is an unaccompanied youth who is homeless or at risk of being homeless as determined on or after July 1, 2013, by a
school district homeless liaison or the director of an emergency shelter or transitional housing program;
• Is a graduate or professional student;
• Is married;
• Has legal dependents other than a spouse for whom he/she provides more than half their financial support; or
• Is a student for whom a financial aid administrator makes a documented determination of independence by reason of
other
unusual circumstances.
Examples of unusual circumstances include:
family abuse or neglect,
parental abandonment, or
other situations where contact between you and your parents is non-existent.
According to guidance from the U.S. Department of Education, the following circumstances do not qualify as unusual
circumstances and do not merit a dependency override:
Parents refuse to contribute to the student’s education;
Parents are unwilling to provide information on the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) or to complete
the verification process;
Parents do not claim the student as a dependent for income tax purposes;
Student demonstrates total self-sufficiency;
Incarceration or confinement.
Definitions:
Ward of the Court – Page AVG-23 of the 2013-2014 Federal Student Aid Handbook: “A student is a ward of the court if the
court has assumed legal custody of him/her. In some states the court may impose its authority over a juvenile who remains in the
legal custody of his/her parents; such a student is not a ward of the court. Also, incarceration of a student does not qualify
him/her as a ward of the court.” Having a legal guardian does not automatically make a student a ward of the court but will
make the student independent on a separate FAFSA question. A legal guardian must have been appointed by the court. In most
cases, the parent’s rights will also have been terminated for the child to have a guardian and/or be a ward of the court.
Homeless – At any time on or after July 1, 2013, lacking fixed, regular and adequate housing, which includes living in shelters,
motels or cars, or temporarily living with other people because you had nowhere else to go.
Unaccompanied - At any time on or after July 1, 2013, not living in the physical custody of a parent or guardian.
Youth - Twenty-one years of age or younger or still enrolled in high school as of FAFSA application date.
Please Note
You will be notified in writing of the appeal committee’s decision. This process may take up to 30 days.
If your appeal is incomplete or submitted without the necessary documentation, processing of your appeal will be
delayed until the additional information is obtained. Appeals must be submitted by mid-term of the semester for
which you are requesting aid.
Submission of an appeal does not guarantee your request will be approved.
If approved, the dependency override is valid for only one academic year. Approval in one year does not guarantee
approval in following years. Your status must be reassessed each academic year.
An approval by the EWC Financial Aid Appeal Committee is relevant only to your application at EWC. Each institution
to which you apply must make its own determination of your dependency status. No school is obligated to accept a
decision made by another school.