A dependency override occurs when a financial aid administrator exercises professional judgement and overrides the Department of Education’s criteria for determining a student’s dependency status. An override may only be granted on a case-by-case basis for students with unusual & exceptional circumstances. These circumstances must show compelling reason for a student to be considered independent rather than dependent.
Some conditions that could warrant a dependency override include, but are not limited to:
- Documented abandonment
- Parental drug abuse
- Legal refugee or asylum status
- Parental incarceration
Some conditions that could NOT warrant a dependency override include, but are not limited to:
- Parents/contributors refusing to provide information for the FAFSA or for verification
- Parents/contributors do not claim student as a dependent for tax purposes
- Student demonstrates self-sufficiency (e.g., living on your own or paying your own bills)
- Student does not wish to communicate with parents/contributors
In order to obtain a dependency override, there are a few steps that must be followed.
- When a student who is otherwise required to fill out as a dependent does NOT provide their parents/contributors information on their FAFSA, or if that student chooses an answer to other questions on the FAFSA which indicate they may need a dependency override, they will be categorized as “Provisionally Independent” and their FAFSA will be submitted without their parent/contributors information. Their FAFSA will be put into Reject status until they have completed a dependency override. The student will be told they need to contact their school’s Financial Aid Office to obtain a dependency override and move their FAFSA out of reject.
- The student then needs to fill out the Dependency Status Change Request, available on the Solano Financial Aid website under “How to Apply → Forms.” They will need to include typed statements describing the student’s situation and the student’s relationship with their parents/contributors from both the student themself as well as a professional who knows the student’s situation. Within a few weeks, a Financial Aid Officer will make a determination whether to approve the override request. It may take longer if the our office reaches out to the student for clarification. All decisions on dependency overrides are final.
- The student will be able to check the status of their dependency override by logging into FalconNest. When the Dependency Override is processed, it will be added to the student's Student Requirements as either approved (green) or incomplete/denied (red). If a dependency override is incomplete, you must contact our office to see what clarifications, corrections, or additional documentation may be necessary. If a dependency override is denied, the student must submit a correction to their FAFSA as a dependent, including all required information from their parents/contributors, to be considered for financial aid again.
- It is not required to submit a new dependency override for each aid year as long as there are no changes to the student’s situation. For the second aid year and beyond, the Financial Aid Office will
automatically change the student’s status from “Provisionally Independent” to independent. The student’s FAFSA will still be placed in reject, but it will be taken out of reject shortly after without the student having to submit a new dependency override. If the beginning of the term is approaching quickly and you are concerned that your FAFSA is still in reject, please contact the Financial Aid Office for an update on the approval status of your dependency override and/or the status of your automatic override renewal.
The rules regarding dependency are complex and can have exceptions. For more information, visit the Dependency Status page of the studentaid.gov website. It is possible for CADAA filers to have a dependency override through a similar process.