Q. My parents won’t help me pay for school, what do I do?

This is a tough situation. Under the federal guidelines, parents’ unwillingness to help pay for school is not an approved criteria for making a student independent. If your parents are still willing to complete the FAFSA, (even if they won’t pay for college), that would be helpful in determining what federal aid you are eligible for. Completing the FAFSA does NOT make a parent liable for paying the bill. If parents won’t even complete the FAFSA, you can complete it yourself with just your (student) information, but your aid would be limited to Federal Unsubsidized Student loans. You could also explore alternative loans with the Loan Officer in the Financial Aid Office. Source: Financial Aid Office.  Contact: 717-477-1131, finaid@ship.edu