Financial Aid Update. . . .I'm not real happy

I recently posted a request asking y'all to pray about my financial aid situation. So far all that I have been told is that rules are rules and "I'm sorry miss Hinshaw but there is simply nothing we can do but I hope this wont hinder you continuing your college education"

Well thats dumb if it weren't going to hinder me in continuing my college education I wouldn't be fighting this tooth and nail!

Sorry guys but I'm a little more than upset right now. We just have to keep praying that something will change. I just got through writing a letter to the chancellor of my school and I thought I would share some of it with y'all so that you could see what I am dealing with and see if you think I have a valid argument.

Dr. Lassiter,
I know that you sent me to Mr. Jones but he was unable to help me. I realize that you are out of the office until Wednesday but I decided to write this letter anyway. I’m sure you know the rules that are in place but just so that there is no confusion I have included some of the rules on dependency status in this e-mail. I hope that by the time you finish reading this you will agree with me that some of these rules need to change. I know that you don’t make the rules but I’m sure you know where to go to make a difference.

Currently the rules state that seven questions must be answered to determine the dependency status of a college student. The seven questions are as follows.

1. Was the student 24 years old on or before December 31st of the most recently completed calendar year?

2. At the beginning of the Award year will the student be enrolled in a Masters or Doctorate program?

3. As of the date the FAFSA is completed is the student married?

4. Does the student have children who receive more than half their support from the student?

5. Does the student have dependents other than his or her spouse or children who live with the student, and who will receive more than half of their support from the student, from the date the FAFSA is completed until the end of the Award Year?

6. Are both of the student's parents deceased, or is/was the student a ward/dependent of the court until the age of 18?

7. Is the student a veteran of the U.S. Armed Forces?

If the student answers yes to one or more of the following he or she is considered independent and therefore is not required to present his or her parents tax and income information when applying for financial aid.

There are some conditions which allow financial aid offices to override the dependency status rules. However those rules are never clearly laid out the only thing that is ever stated is that extreme cases will be considered for this. What qualifies as an extreme case?

There are four regulations currently in place that state when dependency status cannot be overridden. They are as follows.

Parents refusing to contribute to the student’s education;
Parents unwilling to provide information on the application or verification;
Parents not claiming the student as a dependent for income tax purposes;
Student demonstrating total self-sufficiency.

I laugh every time I read those four regulations especially the last one. To be independent means to be self sufficient these rules and regulations are very contradictory. It is not right to make a student suffer because parents are not helpful. It is my opinion that if a student can demonstrate self sufficiency he or she should be allowed to be considered an independent. I have not lived with my parents since I was 14 years old. I have seen my dad once in 10 years. I moved out of my mothers house at 14 because there were some things going on that I did not want to be around . Now because of the fact that a year ago she remarried I am losing all of my financial aid because I don’t fall into one of the tidy categories that congress has said makes me an independent. This needs to change. I should not be punished for something I have no control over. I’m attempting to be the first person in my family to graduate college and these guidelines are making things very difficult. I realize that you have rules to follow but there has to be something that can be done. Basically the law says this. . . .
I am old enough to drink, smoke, gamble, have a job, pay my own bills, live in my own house, pay taxes get married and have kids and a whole list of other things but yet I’m still not considered independent from my parents does this seem odd to you? It does to me.

The following comes from the FAFSA website and discusses the difference between a dependent and an independent student.

“In the federal government's eyes, all students are considered primarily responsible for funding their higher education. But the government also recognizes that most parents contribute financially on some level. Parents provide assistance whether they've been saving for years to fund their child's degree or simply provide housing while their children study.
Taking this into account, the federal government applies two different standards for students, one for dependent students and one for independent students. Dependent students are assumed to have parental support while independent students are not. The result: Independent students might qualify for more aid.”

The second to last sentence says “Dependent students are assumed to have parental support while independent students are not” I do not have parental support and I can prove it so shouldn’t I be considered independent?

Please forgive me if this e-mail comes across as rude that is not my intentions. I am simply trying to let people know that there is a problem with our system and something needs to be done to make some changes.

I’m not the type to give up easily Dr. Lassiter and if you tell me rules are rules and there is nothing that can be done I’ll simply go up the ladder until I find someone that will listen to me. I’ve worked too hard to simply walk away from my college education now. I’ve even been in contact with Senator Lincolns office in hopes that maybe they can do something for me.

I guess the whole point of this e-mail is to simply ask you to look into things yourself and see what can be done to change some things.

Thank you for taking the time to read this I hope you don’t see me as rude.

Sincerely
Yvonne Hinshaw

So I'm basically just waiting now hoping that I can make these people realize how contradictory and stupid some of these rules are that they have in place. Just remember to keep this situation in your prayers when you pray.