Parent Information Requirement
Applicants for Boston University financial aid with living parents are required to submit parental income and asset information on the CSS Profile™ and supporting documentation even if they are not required to provide parental information on the FAFSAThe Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is used to determine eligibility for state and federal grants, scholarships, and loans. The FAFSA can be completed on the Federal Student Aid website. The Boston University FAFSA school code is 002130. (Free Application for Federal Student Aid). An applicant’s eligibility for BU aid is based on student and parent resources. Students who are self-supporting and financially independent are still required to provide parent income and asset information on the CSS Profile™.
Students who believe that it is impossible to provide parental information may use the Parent Information Waiver Request form to petition for a waiver of this requirement prior to enrolling at BU.
Admitted students should not make a commitment to enroll until they have received a waiver decision and a financial aid offer. We cannot consider any additional appeals after you have deposited for enrollment during your first year.
Important Information & Questions
Applying for Federal Need-Based Aid and Dependency Status
Based on guidelines set by the U.S. Department of Education, an aid applicant is a dependent studentA student applicant for financial aid who is required to provide parent information on the FAFSA form. Here’s a link to information on who is and is not required to provide parent information on the FAFSA. if they are under the age of 24 and answered “No” to the dependency questions on the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid). Dependent students must provide parent information on the FAFSA. Students who are considered independent are not required to provide parents’ information for federal aid.
More information about who qualifies as independent can be found here at Federal Student Aid. Independent students may be asked to verify their status as part of their aid application process at BU.
Adjustments to Dependency Status - Dependency Override
Students may be unable to contact their parents due to what the Department of Education characterizes as “unusual circumstances”. This includes students for whom contact with their parents is impossible because it is dangerous.
Students with unusual circumstances may request a waiver of their parents’ information from the FAFSAThe Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is used to determine eligibility for state and federal grants, scholarships, and loans. The FAFSA can be completed on the Federal Student Aid website. The Boston University FAFSA school code is 002130., a Dependency Override. When a Dependency Override is approved, the student’s parents’ information is excluded from the FAFSAThe Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is used to determine eligibility for state and federal grants, scholarships, and loans. The FAFSA can be completed on the Federal Student Aid website. The Boston University FAFSA school code is 002130.. Students’ parent(s)’ information will still be required on the CSS Profile for determining eligibility for BU need-based aid, even if a Dependency Override is approved.
Unusual circumstances include but are not limited to:
- Human trafficking, as described in the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (22 U.S.C. 7101 et seq.);
- Legally granted refugee or asylum status;
- Parental abandonment or estrangement;
- or student or parental incarceration.
The following are not considered “unusual circumstances”:
- Parents refuse to contribute to the student’s education.
- Parents will not provide information for the FAFSAThe Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is used to determine eligibility for state and federal grants, scholarships, and loans. The FAFSA can be completed on the Federal Student Aid website. The Boston University FAFSA school code is 002130. or verification.
- Parents do not claim the student as a dependent for income tax purposes.
- A student demonstrates total self-sufficiency.
Prior to enrolling at BU, students may request a waiver of their parent’s information by submitting a Parent Information Waiver Request form to BU and following the instructions provided on the FAFSAThe Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is used to determine eligibility for state and federal grants, scholarships, and loans. The FAFSA can be completed on the Federal Student Aid website. The Boston University FAFSA school code is 002130. to apply for aid as a provisionally independent studentA student applicant for financial aid who is not required to provide parent information on the FAFSA form. Here’s a link to information on who is and is not required to provide parent information on the FAFSA..
Parent Information Waiver Requests are considered by committee, on a case-by-case basis.
Every waiver request will be carefully considered; not all waivers will be approved. BU uses the dependency status and noncustodialIf your biological or adoptive parents are divorced, separated, and/or do not share the same household, your noncustodial parent is the parent who provides less support for you than your custodial parent. parent status established with your initial applications for for subsequent appeal consideration. Once you pay the enrollment deposit and enroll at BU, Changes to either of these statuses may not result in an increase to BU need-based aid eligibility.
Applying for BU Need-Based and Parent Information Waivers
Eligibility for Boston University need-based financial aid is determined using the financial resources of students and students’ living biological/adoptive parents or guardians (including stepparents, if parents are remarried).
Parents’/guardians’ financial information is required when completed the CSS Profile for all aid applicants regardless of whether the student is required to provide parent information on the FAFSAThe Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is used to determine eligibility for state and federal grants, scholarships, and loans. The FAFSA can be completed on the Federal Student Aid website. The Boston University FAFSA school code is 002130. (Free Application for Federal Student Aid).
Students who believe it is impossible to provide parents’ or guardians’ information on the CSS Profile may use the Parent Information Waiver Request form to petition for a waiver of this requirement, prior to enrolling at BU.
Every waiver request will be carefully considered; not all waivers will be approved.
Eligibility for BU need-based scholarship throughout a student’s undergraduate years is established prior to their enrollment. When a student initially applies for aid at BU, the university considers a student’s dependency status and, if applicable, any information provided by a noncustodialIf your biological or adoptive parents are divorced, separated, and/or do not share the same household, your noncustodial parent is the parent who provides less support for you than your custodial parent. parent to establish their aid. Requests for removal of this information after a student enrolls can rarely result in an increase to BU need-based scholarship to replace parents’ contributions.
When should I request a Parent Information Waiver?
Applicants for admission: We encourage all students who feel a waiver approval is an essential part of their aid application to submit the Parent Information Waiver Request as part of their Financial Aid application by their aid deadline. Admitted students should not make a commitment to enroll until they have received a waiver decision and a financial aid offer.
We cannot consider any additional appeals after you have deposited for enrollment during your first year.
BU uses the dependency status and noncustodialIf your biological or adoptive parents are divorced, separated, and/or do not share the same household, your noncustodial parent is the parent who provides less support for you than your custodial parent. parent status established with your initial applications for for subsequent appeal consideration. Once you pay the enrollment deposit and enroll at BU, Changes to either of these statuses may not result in an increase to BU need-based aid eligibility.
Requesting a Parent Information Waiver - What you should know about the process?
Parent Information Waiver Requests document persistent compelling reasons for excluding parent information from aid applications and provide supporting documentation that demonstrates the nature of the student/parent relationship. Most successful waiver requests document ongoing and irreconcilable family conflict.
Parent Information Waiver Requests are considered by committee, on a case-by-case basis.
Every waiver request will be carefully considered; not all waivers will be approved.
As with federal Dependency Override requests, Parent Information Waivers will not be granted if:
- Parents refuse to contribute to the student’s education.
- Parents refuse to provide information for the FAFSAThe Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is used to determine eligibility for state and federal grants, scholarships, and loans. The FAFSA can be completed on the Federal Student Aid website. The Boston University FAFSA school code is 002130. or verification.
- Parents do not claim the student as a dependent for income tax purposes.
- A student demonstrates total self-sufficiency.
* Please do not confuse the process outlined above with the process for requesting a waiver of a CSS Profile from a noncustodialIf your biological or adoptive parents are divorced, separated, and/or do not share the same household, your noncustodial parent is the parent who provides less support for you than your custodial parent. parent. If your parents do not share the same household and you are seeking a waiver of the requirement that you provide a CSS Profile from your noncustodialIf your biological or adoptive parents are divorced, separated, and/or do not share the same household, your noncustodial parent is the parent who provides less support for you than your custodial parent. parent, submit the NoncustodialIf your biological or adoptive parents are divorced, separated, and/or do not share the same household, your noncustodial parent is the parent who provides less support for you than your custodial parent. Profile Waiver Request for the NoncustodialIf your biological or adoptive parents are divorced, separated, and/or do not share the same household, your noncustodial parent is the parent who provides less support for you than your custodial parent. Parent form.
What if I have a change in dependency or noncustodial parent status?
BU uses the dependency status and noncustodialIf your biological or adoptive parents are divorced, separated, and/or do not share the same household, your noncustodial parent is the parent who provides less support for you than your custodial parent. parent status established with your initial applications for subsequent appeal consideration. Changes to either of these statuses may not result in an increase to BU need-based aid eligibility.
BU still requires parent income information for independent students regardless of changes in circumstances after enrollment at BU.
