Questionnaire: Financially Independent Students

Students whose parents or court-appointed legal guardians do not reside in Washington can only obtain residency for tuition purposes by fulfilling the requirements as a financially independent student. Students must complete and sign the Residence Questionnaire form (both pages) and provide all documentation as requested on the Residence Questionnaire and the Financially Independent Student Documentation Checklist.

Residence Questionnaire – Financially Independent

To be considered as financially independent, students must meet all of the following criteria in addition to meeting all of the other bona fide residency requirements:

• Parents/legal guardians or others (except spouse) have not claimed and will not claim the student as a dependent on Federal Income Tax returns for the current and previous calendar years;
• Parents/legal guardians or others (except spouse) have not and will not provide the student with significant financial assistance, directly or indirectly, for the current and previous calendar years;
• Students have been and will be independently paying at least 51% of their combined total expenses (cost of attendance and room/board) with their own independent income/resources for the current calendar year and previous calendar year.

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Students who are:

25 Years of Age or Younger (Married/Domestic Partnership)

Students who are receiving significant financial assistance from a spouse or registered domestic partner may qualify as financially independent as long as the marriage or domestic partnership has been in place for at least one calendar year prior to the quarter of application for residency for tuition purposes. Documentation of marital or domestic partnership and financial information must be provided.

(Students who are receiving significant financial assistance from someone other than their spouse or registered domestic partner will be considered financially dependent regardless of their marital or domestic partnership status if they do not meet the three criteria of financial independence.)

25 Years of Age or Older

Students that are 25 years of age (for the entire academic year prior to the quarter of application) and older may be presumed financially independent unless there is evidence proving otherwise. In this situation, students may not be required to provide information from their parent/legal guardians; however, they are still required to provide their own financial information.

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