Request to Waive Parental Documentation
The Department of Education and Swarthmore typically require parental information to determine eligibility for need-based financial aid. To simplify this dual process, Swarthmore College utilizes one process through which parental circumstances can be evaluated for both Federal and Institutional financial aid consideration. By default, Swarthmore College believes that a student’s parents are obligated to financially contribute toward their child’s educational costs. At the same time, Swarthmore’s institutional aid is determined by a family’s ability to pay.
We understand that every family’s situation is different. However, please be aware that we cannot consider the following as unusual circumstances. Generally, they will not result in the approval of a waiver request.
- A parent’s or parents’ refusal to provide financial aid documentation or otherwise meet financial aid application requirements
- A parent’s or parents’ refusal to contribute to their student’s education
- A parent or parents not claiming their student as a dependent for income tax purposes
- A student’s demonstration of financial self-sufficiency
If student applicants are experiencing circumstances not included in the above list, they may select one of the following options to jump to the appropriate informational section:
I would like to request that both parents be waived from the financial aid application process.
For Students Requesting the Waiver of One Parent in the Application Process
In most cases, all biological, adoptive, or stepparent information will be required to complete a financial aid application for consideration of Swarthmore College financial aid. In very few extraordinary circumstances, Swarthmore will consider waiving one parent’s participation or financial information when determining an applicant’s eligibility for Swarthmore Scholarship.
As noted above, a parent’s unwillingness to participate or financially contribute is not an acceptable criterion to base a waiver request and will not be considered. Examples of criteria that may be considered are as follows:
- A court-documented order of protection, adverse home situation, or determination of an unsafe relationship with the parent in question
- A documented case history of parental abandonment or estrangement
This is not an exhaustive list, nor is there any guarantee that these specific criteria will result in an approved waiver of parental information.
We advise that you first fill out the Request to Waive Parental Application Information Form so that our office may gather additional information about your specific circumstances. This information will be reviewed by our financial aid committee to determine your next steps in completing your financial aid application and what specific documentation will be required. Submission of this form will allow our office to provide you with guidance on completing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA®) and the College Board's College Scholarship Service (CSS Profile®). Please note that this request form must be submitted before the financial aid application deadline to be considered.
The Financial Aid Office determines which parent/parents are required to submit financial aid application information and materials before the student is admitted to Swarthmore College. This determination of parental requirements is not expected to change at any point throughout their student’s enrollment at Swarthmore. If circumstances, however, do change, the student is advised to contact the Financial Aid Office immediately.
Steps and timeline for consideration:
- Fill out the Request to Waive Parental Application Information Form
- Review application outcomes and next steps with the Financial Aid Office
- Complete the CSS Profile and FAFSA by the financial aid application deadline
For Students Requesting the waiver of both parents in the Application process
For Federal financial aid purposes, requesting to waive both parents is known as a request to evaluate your “Dependency Status.”Your dependency status determines whose information you must report when you fill out the FAFSA form (if applicable) and the CSS Profile.
You may initially determine that you are an independent student when completing the FAFSA. In doing so, parental information will not be required to submit a valid FAFSA for federal student financial aid purposes. The Federal government will require verification by the Financial Aid Office and further documentation will be required to finalize this determination.
This federal determination is made separately from Swarthmore College’s determination of your dependency status, which is used to administer Swarthmore College financial aid. It is important to know that Swarthmore defines independent student status more strictly than the Federal government.
Swarthmore College requires information from both biological parents to determine institutional financial aid eligibility. In exceptional cases, and with appropriate documentation, a student may petition Swarthmore College’s financial aid committee to consider them to be an independent student.
Swarthmore’s process for determining a student’s independent status differs from the process of applying for federal financial aid. During the federal process, a student’s independent status could potentially be determined upon submission of the FAFSA. For Swarthmore College’s institutional aid, a student’s potential independent status must be separately requested by the student.
To make this request, a student must submit Swarthmore College’s formal request form and provide the required supporting documentation. Only upon receipt of these materials will Swarthmore College consider evaluating a student’s potential independent status and the resulting institutional financial aid eligibility.
In order to initiate this process, we advise that you first fill out the Request to Waive Parental Application Information Form. This will allow our office to gather additional information about your specific circumstances. This information will then be reviewed by our financial aid committee to determine your next steps in completing your financial aid application. This may include a request for additional documentation. Once a determination has been made, the Financial Aid Office will provide guidance on how to best complete both your FAFSA and CSS Profile. Please note that this request form must be submitted before the financial aid application deadline to be considered.
In some cases, the FAFSA cannot automatically consider you as an independent student and your FAFSA Submission Summary (FSS) may classify you as a provisionally independent student. As noted above, additional documentation must be submitted to the financial aid office. If the financial aid committee denies your request to be considered an independent student, you will be required to provide parent information on the FAFSA and resubmit the form to be considered for Federal aid.
The following are examples of what may constitute an acceptable circumstance for a dependency override with sufficient supporting documentation:
- Abandonment by parents
- An abusive family environment that threatens the student’s health or safety
- Homelessness (evidenced by McKinney-Vento Paperwork filed prior to enrollment, or an explanation as to why that paperwork is not available with corroborating documentation)
We are unable to take into consideration the following reasons:
- A parent’s or parents’ refusal to contribute to their student’s education
- A parent’s or parents’ refusal to provide financial aid documentation or otherwise meet financial aid application requirements
- A parent or parents not claiming their student as a dependent for income tax purposes
- A student’s emancipation from their parents
- Student demonstrating financial self-sufficiency
A student’s dependency status is determined prior to or at the time of admission and is not expected to change during their time at Swarthmore. If circumstances do change, students are advised to contact the Financial Aid Office.
Steps and timeline for consideration:
- Fill out the Request to Waive Parental Application Information Form
- Review application outcomes and next steps with the Financial Aid Office
- Complete the CSS Profile and FAFSA by the financial aid application deadline
- Provide additional documentation if the FAFSA determines you are not an independent student or a provisionally independent student
