Is it permissible to lie on financial aid forms? (Please read full situation)
As-salamu alaykum, I'm a 19-year-old woman studying Construction Management. I've been taking classes at community college to keep costs down before transferring to university, but tuition there will be much more expensive. I don't qualify for aid because my parents' W-2s make our household income look high. My dad refuses to help me, and my mom's earnings mostly go to bills and savings is tight, so she can't really cover extra costs. A lot of people I know seem to bend the truth on financial forms or use other tricks to get aid, so they're basically going to college for free. Meanwhile I'll probably have to work almost full-time while trying to keep my grades up. I could take loans, but I worry about interest (riba) - I'm thinking I could ask my mom to cover payments and repay her to avoid interest. The bigger worry is housing: transfer students often can't dorm, so I'd need to rent. Student housing is cheaper but usually shared, and as a clean, observant Muslim I feel anxious about living with strangers who might bring men over, drink, or otherwise clash with my values. I hope to find decent Muslim sisters to room with or somehow afford a single place, but working to cover rent, food, and necessities while maintaining grades, health, and other responsibilities will be exhausting. I have ideas like using my grandmother's paperwork, claiming homelessness, or saying my parents are separated and only reporting my mom's income - the last feels less dishonest since only my mom helps me for college. I chose Construction Management instead of Civil Engineering to have more study-free time to work internships and gain experience, but if I must work all spare hours just to survive it defeats that aim. Is it haram to lie in this situation? I want to achieve success in a halal way, but I'm really worried about how to manage everything without resorting to dishonesty. JazakAllahu khairan for any advice or perspectives.