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How long does one have to be off his/her parents tax return in order to be considered for need-based aid?

24 years old or older and they cannot claim you the year you file as independent.

I would think this varies by school. On the FAFSA, you're automatically independant as a grad student regardless of age but many schools make you fill it out no matter what.

blowhard wrote:I would think this varies by school. On the FAFSA, you're automatically independant as a grad student regardless of age but many schools make you fill it out no matter what.

Yeah, that's what I've heard as well. It sucks, though, in terms of planning because I'd think that with a typical entry-level job salary there'd be a decent chance of getting at least (some) need-aid; conversely, I doubt I'd get sh*t based on my Dad's $ eventhough he won't be contributing for law school.

Does anyone else have any inside knowledge on this stuff? 1 year as non-dependent? 2? 3..?

The thing is that need-based aid is so rare in law school that it probably doesn't matter. In my experience if need-based aid is given, schools tend to either uniformally consider your parents' income, regardless of how many years you've been independent (unless you are like over 30 I think, at least for GW), or they won't consider your parents' income at all, because they consider all law students to be independent. So in either of those scenarios, I don't see the number of years of your independence being a factor.

But the bottom line is, don't bank on getting need-based aid for law school regardless.