Many would suggest that if a student is in college, they're already plenty independent, or at least independent-enough. For financial aid purposes, though, there's a HUGE difference between independent and Independent.

The vast majority of undergraduate students are Dependent, which essentially means that one's parental income and assets are considered in a student's aid application. Most high school students don't earn six-figure incomes, don't own half-million dollar homes, and don't have years or decades worth of retirement savings nestled away in a variety of accounts. But a lot of their parents do, and this can have a not-so-nice impact on an aid application.

What if all of those parental assets were not included in an aid application? Could that make a difference, a big difference? Without further declaring the obvious, absolutely.

How can an otherwise Dependent undergraduate student be considered Independent?

Only one of the six following criteria need be met. If you recently filed a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) application, you had to answer the following Yes-No questions:

1. Student is required to be 24 years or older?
2. Student is a veteran of one of the U.S. armed services?
3. Student is enrolled in a graduate degree program?
4. Student is a ward of the court?
5. Student is married?
6. Both parents of a student are deceased?

If any of these criteria apply to you, be sure not to race through this part of the FAFSA. Answering "yes" to any one of those questions could have an enormous, and positive, impact on your eligibility for need-based aid.