Before we delve into that answer you should first know that twenty-four is an important number for you to take note of, and not just because of government agent Jack Bauer. Twenty-four is the age when you officially move from a dependent to independent student in the school’s eyes, unless you have a child of your own, are married, or are emancipated.

If you are twenty-four or meet one of the aforementioned criteria above than this legal guardian question is a moot point for you as you do not need to list parental information on your FAFSA. For all others the answer is no. A legal guardian, foster parent, grandparent, or other relative is not treated as a parent for purposes of filing a FAFSA, unless that person has legally adopted you. Adopted parents are viewed the same as biological parents for FAFSA purposes.

So what happens if you are under the age of 24 and submit your FAFSA with no parental information? It will get rejected because, as we just mentioned, a legal guardian, foster parent, grandparent, or other relative is not treated as a parent for FAFSA purposes. The school’s FAO will then need to do a professional override, which would change your status from dependent to independent, which would allow you to access more federal aid.

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