If you one of the millions of parents that have opened your home and heart to accept another family member or remarried someone with children then you know that trying to explain it when filling out forms can be confusing. Especially when you do not know the full impact of what you are writing on the forms or applications that are so important to many of the school, employer and government required forms.

The financial aid forms that are required to determine qualifications for financial aid assistance for college are equally as important. The legal relationship of those in the student's household is one of the most vital pieces of information in regards to whose income and assets are reported on the FAFSA, and whether or not the student qualifies as a dependent or independent student.

Here is a quick cheat sheet to give you some information to help you determine how to answer the financial aid questions in the best way possible.

Married Parents

If the student's parents are married, both their income and asset information must both be listed on the financial aid application. If the student's parents are living together and have not been formally married, yet meet the criteria in their state for a common-law marriage, then they should report their status as married on the FAFSA and report their income and assets. If the state of residence does not consider the relationship to be a common-law marriage, then the parents should file as if they are separated.

Step-Parents

If the student has a stepparent, the stepparent's income and asset information must be included on the financial aid application, even if the stepparent was not married to the natural parent prior to signing the application. Pre-nuptial agreements do not affect this rule.

If the biological parent has died and the stepparent survives, then the student is considered an independent student (assuming the student is not dependent on the surviving parent), unless the stepparent legally adopted the student.

Divorced or Separated Parents

If the parents are divorced or separated, the income and asset information of the parent with whom the student lived the most in the last twelve months must be listed. The separation need not be a legal separation. The student's parents may consider themselves separated if one of the parents has left the household for an indefinite period of time and no longer makes a substantial contribution to the finances of the household.

If the student did not live with one parent more than with the other (as in the cases of joint custody), the income and asset information of the parent who provided the majority of financial support during the last twelve months must be listed. Support includes money, gifts, loans, housing, food, clothes, car, medical and dental care, payment of college costs, etc.

Widowed or Single Parents

If the parent is widowed or single, only that parents income and asset information is listed on the financial aid application. If a parent dies before the application is signed, only the surviving parent's income and assets are listed on the application. When a joint tax return has been filed, the surviving parent's income and corresponding tax liability is separated out and only these amounts are listed on the application. The surviving parent must list only his/her income and assets at the time of signing the application. Should both the student's parents be deceased at the time the student signs the application, the student is considered an independent student.

Adoptive Parents

Adoptive parents are treated in the same manner as biological parents. Their income and assets are reported on the financial aid application forms.

Foster Parents

If the student has foster parents, the foster parents income and assets are not reported on the financial aid application forms, unless the student is legally adopted by the foster parents.

Legal Guardians

If the student has a legal guardian, the guardian's income and asset information are not reported on the financial aid application, unless the student is legally adopted by the guardian(s).

Grandparents

If the student is living with grandparents, the grandparents income and asset information are not reported on the financial aid application, unless the student is legally adopted by the grandparents.

The guidelines above are just one of many factors that parents of college-bound students must know about. Your children should have a fair chance at getting a great education that is both affordable and puts them on the path to a great education.

One of the biggest secrets that Connecticut parents of college-bound students don't know is that by accepting a financial aid award offer from a Connecticut College you are not required that your student attend that college.

Hear me when I say this...

Your child is not required to attend a college simply because you sign and accept an awards offer!

So if you are like the thousands of Connecticut parents who are juggling timelines from many different schools then accept the initial awards if you are worried and then compare the rest as you receive them.

Let's take a look at this example to see how you could get the best of both worlds.

A student had applied and been admitted to four Connecticut colleges. He received a financial aid award offer from College 1 on February 13th. The award contained a $10,000 per year scholarship for the four years of college. The award offer had an acceptance deadline of March 21st. However, the student had not yet received his award offers from College 2, College 3 or College 4. The student then contacted College 1 and requested an extension of time to accept its award letter. However, the college denied his request and restated that the deadline for accepting its award offer and scholarship was March 21st.

The student then contacted Colleges 2, 3 and 4 and asked them to send their award offers to him before March 21st so that he could compare all four colleges' award letters. Colleges 2, 3 and 4 informed the student that they would be unable to send him their award letters until after March 21st. At this point, the student was faced with a huge decision. Should he accept College 1's award offer by March 21st, without knowing what College 2, 3 or College 4 would offer him, or should he wait until he received their award offers and miss the deadline (and lose the scholarship) for accepting College 1's offer?

Fortunately this student's parents had sought the expertise of a Connecticut college consultant and had attended Connecticut college admission counseling and as a result the student then signed and accepted Connecticut College 1's award offer. By accepting the offer, he safeguarded the award offer and scholarship. Nonetheless, the student was not obligated to actually attend College 1. The student then had time to receive the award offers from College 2, College 3 and College 4 and to review and compare the award offers from all four colleges.

If you are concerned about getting the best financial aid package at a college in Connecticut and do not know how to compare them then click on the link below to get dozens of free tips, strategies and insider secrets that will give you the specific knowledge that can help your student.

Many Connecticut parents don't realize it but many Connecticut colleges are giving students a break to help with the rising cost of tuition in Connecticut. When this happens it's called tuition discounting, but don't ask the colleges if they discount tuition because few colleges will admit to the public that they discount their tuition. For the record tuition discounting is merely reducing the sticker price of a college in Connecticut in order to attract students to fill the college's enrollment needs. It has been documented that many freshman are receiving some form of institutional grant that reduced college tuition by 28% to 38%.

Usually Connecticut college tuition discounts are often non-need based and are used to lure students with special talents or merit to the college. This type of financial aid is becoming more prevalent across the U.S. for affluent families who do not qualify for need-based financial aid. Consequently, it is becoming increasingly important for Connecticut college consultants and college admissions consultants to explore this type of financial aid for families.

You may be thinking, why would a Connecticut college reduce the price that it charges for tuition. There are many reasons why a particular college offers tuition discounts and incentives. Some of the obvious reasons are to:
# Attract better students

# Compete with public university prices

# Increase freshmen class size (fill empty seats)

# Increase ratings average

# Boost net revenues

# Improve the diversity of the student body

# Attract legacies (students of alumni)

# Attract students from wealthy families (increase alumni contributions)

Regardless of the reason, it has been proven in studies that those Connecticut colleges actually benefit in the long run from price discounting decisions. Understanding how and where to find those colleges in Connecticut that offer money inducements gives students an opportunity for a quality education while reducing their overall college costs. Because colleges do not publicly broadcast the fact that they offer tuition discounts and incentives to discriminate meet their administrative agendas parents have to search for the information using a variety of sources including online resources and Connecticut college consultants. However, many parents are getting an even bigger tuition discounts by hiring Connecticut admissions consultants or college consultants who have extensive knowledge regarding schools that award the most non-need based merit aid. If you don't qualify for need based aid, but know that you can't afford the tens of thousands of dollars to send your child to college then get dozens of FREE strategies, tips and insider secrets below.