Oh, and it's theoretically possible that isn't the way it works. However, since that's the info you get from the schools and generally around, if there is a way around it, it's not generally findable.

But several young adults have been completely screwed out of an ability to go to college because their parents are unwilling to contribute. It doesn't even need to involve sexual orientation. Sometimes it's just a belief that once the kid turns 18, the parent is done. Sometimes it's a belief that kids don't need to go to college. And these are the people least likely to find a way around that. Certainly financial aid officers don't seem to offer solutions.