conuly

OK, I've been googling, and I've found one thing that changed in 2008, but it's disappointingly minor: "The Higher Education Opportunity Act of 2008 amended the Higher Education Act of 1965 to permit college financial aid administrators to to offer dependent students an unsubsidized Stafford loan without requiring the parents to file a FAFSA, provided that the financial aid administrator verifies that the parents have ended financial support and refuse to file the FAFSA. The unsubsidized Stafford loan is not based on financial need and its a loan, but at least it's something to help you pay for school."

From this page which has some good info mixed in with really creepy exhortations to suck up to abusive parents to get them to cooperate.