A mixed-status family is a family where the student is a U.S. citizen or eligible non-citizen, but the student’s parent(s) or spouse does not have a social security number (SSN).
Guidance for Mixed-Status Families FAQs
Right now, NYS residents must complete the FAFSA in order to complete a TAP application.
The FAFSA is a requirement for all Title IV aid, including federal work-study, PELL grants, and U.S. Department of Education (DOE) Student Loans. Students who do not complete the FAFSA will not be able to receive funds from any of those programs.
Students who are not NYS residents who meet eligibility criteria can apply for all NYS aid programs using the DREAM Act application and do not need to complete the FAFSA. NYS residents must complete the FAFSA to be eligible for Excelsior Scholarships or Enhanced Tuition Awards (ETA).
Students who are considered financially independent do not need to input their parents' information on FAFSA or TAP applications.
If you have already filled out the FAFSA, you will be eligible for all federal Title IV aid. You can also fill out the TAP application to receive NYS aid, but you cannot delete your FAFSA if it has already been submitted.
Whether or not you can delete your FAFSA depends on where you are in the process. Once you have created an FSA ID, any data you have already provided stays in the ED data archives.
While you can delete your FAFSA, the data will continue to exist in the ED data archives.
Currently, neither federal nor New York State law requires the disclosure of information to officers conducting immigration enforcement absent a judicial subpoena or court order. Providing such information without proper legal authorization would breach both state and federal data privacy laws. New York State remains dedicated to upholding these laws and policies to ensure the safeguarding of all student data.
Information submitted on the FAFSA form is generally protected under the Family and Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). Although FERPA restricts agencies that possess students’ personally identifiable information (PII) from releasing student data without consent for non-educational purposes, there is no way, at this time, to know if changes will be implemented to obtain or use FAFSA information for purposes other than financial aid. Click here for a full FERPA overview.