The Government considers a child a dependent if they are under the age of 18, for which we can claim an exemption. However, when completing the Student Loan FAFSA application (required for college students), the student must use the parent's income up to the age of 24 because they are considered a "dependent". Financial need is based on the parent's income; yet the parent has no rights under FERPA (college student confidentialty law), cannot access the FAFSA application without a separate password and has no parental rights since anyone over the age of 18 is considered independent (adult). Parents should be allowed to claim their College Student Child when we are forced to use our financial information to determine eligibility for student loans. Either they are dependent or they are not.
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