Filing an emancipation form is the 'easy' route, but also requires the co-operation / agreement of the parents ( who in turn are likely to 'lose' many thousands of dollars worth of tax deductions by losing their ability to claim the student as a dependent ).
In a larger sense, FAFSA sets the following criteria ...
http://www.fafsa.ed.gov/FOTWWebApp/f...S&wstype=WSDEP
and in particular cases, state laws / programs may dominate - New York has the following set of requirements for a college student to establish 'emancipated' status ...
"Students under the age of 22 must provide evidence of one year of independent living in order to be considered emancipated.
Factors relevant to the determination of financial independence include, but are not limited to, the following:
- Employment on a full- or part-time basis within New York State
- Sources and extent of financial support from parents or guardians
- Sources and extent of other income
- Parents' Federal and State income tax forms which do not claim the student as a dependent (if the student continues to receive financial support, however, the student shall not be considered emancipated)
- Student's place of residence during the summer or other academic term recess.
- Student's status as financially independent for purposes of Federal and/or State financial assistance
- Independent filing by the student of Federal or State income tax return
- Student's assets and liabilities
I would also point out that such financial information is subject to automatic information sharing / verification with both gov't student loan agencies and with the IRS.
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Without 'emancipated' status, and without the voluntary co-operation of parents, it is essentially impossible for a student to comply with the application requirements for gov't guaranteed student loans and grants. This essentially leaves three options ...
- drop out of college until you reach age 24, at which point 'emancipation' no longer legally matters
- apply for 'commercial' student loans through a local bank or credit union ... which will need to verify your (dancing) income, which will carry a comparatively high interest rates, and which may not be approved based on the local bank credit committee's 'faith' in the creditworthiness of a 'stripper'.
- pay cash for all of your tuition payments ... knowing that doing so will increase your chances of an IRS audit of your dancing income because the college bursar's office is required to automatically report your tuition payments to the IRS.
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