Can i claim independence

As you prepare to leave for college, establishing your independence was probably one of the aspects of college life you looked forward to the most. You would finally be responsible for budgeting your own time and money, and you would no longer have to answer directly to your parents. Independence is a word most often associated with the college experience. Many students assume that because they are not living with their parents, are responsible for their own expenses, and are not claimed on their parents' tax returns they should qualify for financial aid programs as an independent student.

However, Congress' definition of independence is not that simple. The Federal Government has established the guidelines below that determine which students are considered independent for financial aid purposes and which are not. This document explains these guidelines and will help you determine if you will be considered independent when applying for federal financial aid.

To be considered an independent student for , you must meet at least ONE of the following conditions:. Turn on more accessible mode. Turn off more accessible mode. Skip navigation Find Info Sign-In. Athletics CMUChippewas. Find Info Sign-In.

Scholarships and Financial Aid. Toggle navigation. Legal Guardianship As of the day you apply for aid, you are in legal guardianship as determined by a court in your state of legal residence. Veterans and U. Armed Forces You are considered a veteran if you have engaged in active duty including basic training in the U. Armed Forces, or are a National Guard or Reserves enlistee who was called to active duty for other state or training purposes, or were a cadet or midshipman at one of the service academies and were released under a condition other than dishonorable.

Graduate Student The student is enrolled in a graduate or professional degree program i. You have legal dependents other than children or spouse who live with you and who receive more than half their support from you now and through June 30, Homeless At any time after July 1, , you were determined to be unaccompanied youth who was homeless, determined by your high school, district homeless liaison or director of an emergency shelter program funded by the U.

Department of Housing and Urban Development. After July 1, , the director of a runaway or homeless youth basic center or transitional living program determined that you were an unaccompanied youth who was homeless or were self-supporting and at risk of being homeless. The unusual situation must be documented to the satisfaction of the financial aid administrator. Independent students Report only their own income and assets and those of a spouse if married.

Not living with parents or not being claimed by them on the tax form does not determine dependency status. Self-determination was initially seen as a way for peoples living under colonial regimes to gain independence, or choose some form of association with the former colonial power or another state.

If the people of a colonised territory wanted their own country, the principle of self-determination suggested they should have it. About a third of the planet's population saw its political status changed.

From just 51 countries in , the United Nations today has members. Many jurists of international law maintained that after a colony gained independence, further separations, or consideration of changes in borders, were out. But this runs up against the idea of self-determination.

The solution was to say that, for people living inside the borders of the country from which they want independence, self-determination gives a right to autonomy, but stops short of being allowed their own country.

When Yugoslavia broke up, it was replaced by six republics, one of which was Serbia. Kosovo was a province within Serbia's borders, but with a different ethnic population which had enjoyed a large degree of autonomy.

Kosovo becoming independent would have changed the borders of Serbia and violated the principle of territorial integrity. A conflict with the Serbian authorities followed, which only ended with Nato military intervention in Then in , Kosovo unilaterally declared independence.

Serbia said this was invalid and took the issue to the court of the United Nations that settles international legal disputes - the International Court of Justice. But the crux of the matter was less a question of law and more whether Kosovan statehood was likely to be recognised. So what does it take to get the great powers to back you? East Timor was a Portuguese colony until the s, when it was invaded by Indonesia. It wasn't until after the Cold War, in the s, when international attention turned to East Timor again and the western great powers no longer needed Indonesia as an ally because communism had fallen.

In the Timorese voted for independence, which they got in But the process was marred by violence, and needed political support from the UN and the intervention of international peace-keepers. Under current principles of international law, the Catalans have a right to self-determination, but many jurists would argue that all they can hope for is autonomy, not independence, because of Spain's right to maintain its territorial integrity.

And although the situation of the Kurds is very different, ultimately they will run up against the same problem - a lack of great power support. The Inquiry: Who gets to have their own country? Islamic State and the idea of statehood.