<prompt> Human: I am a 21-year old student with a self-employed income of 14,000 per year and I have a large merit-based scholarship that pays for the entirety of my schooling. Because of the aforementioned finances, my parents do not provide support of any kind to me, I do not live with them at any point in the year, and our contact is limited. I dont qualify as an Independent for FAFSA purposes, even though I am completely self-sufficient, and they will not claim me as a dependent since it would be fraudulent, considering they provide no support whatsoever. How should I proceed with trying to file FAFSA? They will reject my claim as an independent, but I also cannot provide their tax information. Thanks for any advice you may have to offer.  <response>: Contact your Financial Aid Specialist at the school you are attending ASAP and explain the current situation to them.Let them know you arent a dependent and you are your own household and would like to file as independent some schools allow this if you can prove it, its called a dependency override.Do not fill or sign any forms until you can talk to someone and usually you might have to write a statement declaring your status.Heres the FAFSA statement which maymay not apply to your case:If a student is considered to be a dependent student, the students parents must complete the FAFSA. The parents must also supply copies of their federal income tax returns if requested by the college financial aid administrator.If the student is considered to be an independent student, parental information is not required on the FAFSA.In most cases a student who is under age 24 as of December 31 of the academic year is considered to be a dependent student, regardless of whether the student is claimed as an exemption on the parents federal income tax return and regardless of whether the student is financially self-sufficient. The main exceptions are when the student is married, a graduate student, a veteran or active duty member of the US Armed Forces or an orphan, or when the student has a dependent other than a spouse.When there are unusual circumstances, a student can appeal to the college financial aid administrator for a dependency override. Unusual circumstances do not, however, include any of the following circumstances, alone or in combination: the student is financially self-sufficient; the students parents do not claim the student as an exemption on their federal income tax returns; the parents refuse to complete the FAFSA; the parents refuse to supply federal income tax returns or other documentation during verification; or the parents refuse to contribute to the students education. 