Question: do i have to claim monetary gifts on financial aid application? 

Answer: You're supposed to, yes, on Schedule B of your FAFSA. Technically, you're even supposed to include "in-kind support" (i.e. if you live on your own but your parents pay your electric bill, or for your food -- anything like that).  Again, while you're supposed to report these things (in fairness to the students who truly do have *nothing* and are scraping by on their own), I suspect that few people do.  \n\nAs with many things in life, this part of the form places you on the "honor system." Its up to each FAFSA filer to decide how honest s/he wants to be, even when no one's watching...
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