Current federal definitions and proposed alternative definitions of financially independent students, and the effect of the definitions on the numbers and attributes of independent students, are reviewed. Current federal law defines financial aid applicants as financially independent of their parents if they meet three criteria (the "tri-form" test): a residence criterion; an income tax deduction criterion; and a financial support criterion. Census and program data describe growing pools of older potential and actual undergraduates, along with increasing enrollments drawn from younger, single (and possibly independent) groups. Dissatisfaction with the current definition of independent students has stimulated a number of proposals for change. Six options for alternative criteria can be categorized as follows: (1) extended tax independence, (2) tri-form and age requirement; (3) tri-form and self-sufficiency; (4) combination of tri-form and options two and three; (5) age alone; and (6) option two with exceptions where there are dependents. Appended materials include 11 options proposed by the Department of Education; information on data sources, estimation procedures, and reliability of estimates. (SW)