While this might make financial sense at first, living in the dorms was one of (if not THE) best social experiences of my life, and in my opinion, worth the cost. I still have numerous friends and acquaintances I made via the dorms, going on 20 years later. In a few cases they have paid off socially and business-wise.
I would not recommend cutting out the singular "dorm experience" for the sake of saving a few bucks you can make back later anyway.
> To meet the qualifying child test, your child must be younger than you and as of the end of the calendar year, either be younger than 19 years old or be a student and younger than 24 years old. There is no age limit on claiming your child as a dependent if the child meets the qualifying relative test.
http://www.irs.gov/Help-&-Resources/Tools-&-FAQs/FAQs-for-In...
Getting married has a similar effect, or at least it used to. You could get married, live with one or the other's well-off parents or otherwise be supported by them, but go to school for free or nearly so. Obviously, that's not for everyone :-)
1. I waited until I was 24. This meant that my parents income did not affect my federal assistance so that I could get the maximum amount.
2. I went to a dirt cheap community college my first two years. It was so cheap that the federal grants covered my tuition, books, plus a little extra for living expenses.
3. I did really well at community college and was able to get a few scholarships at a bigger university.
4. In my state there is a block transfer program so that all of my credits at community college counted at the larger university.
5. I was able to live at home for the entire duration so I did not have to pay a huge sum for campus housing.
I was able to get a computer science degree from a state university with somewhere around $1000 in debt which I paid off entirely with my first paycheck.
I was only in $1000 in debt because I foolishly bought a $2400 gaming laptop.