You are so right about that. Hooah! Sidenote: If you have gone to boot camp, then the college can waive all the fitness class requirements. First time go!

Do colleges usually have fitness class requirements? I’ve never seen that in any GenEd section of a degree program?

Columbia does if you're in the College (aka 90% of students)

My california community college did, and I believe it's a requirement for UC and CSU as well. I don't think the private engineering school I transfered to did; because I don't recall anyone complaining about it.

But at least at community college there were many options. Table tennis once a week for one semester wasn't a huge burden.

Yes, military service emancipates you for FAFSA purposes.

There are a few others as well. As of the 2023-2024 cycle, there are 13 ways to be considered independent (any one of them suffices), according to the official list [1]. To summarize them here:

1. Born before Jan 1, 2000; 2. Married; 3. Will be attending grad school [2]; 4. Active-duty U.S. military; 5. U.S. military veteran; 6. Have dependent children; 7. Have live-in dependents other than children; 8. Both parents deceased and/or were a foster child or a ward of the court after age 13; 9. Current or former emancipated minor; 10. Legal guardian is someone other than parent or stepparent; 11,12,13. Homeless or at-risk-of-homelessness within the past year (three different routes of determination).

[1] https://studentaid.gov/2324/help/need-parent-info

[2] Graduate students in the U.S. generally don't get the kind of need-based financial aid that undergrads do, though, so this one is often not very helpful.