Can I lower my kid's efc by taking college classes?

Paying for College
1

I work full time and make a good salary, so that my efc will probably be around 40-45,000 per year.

However I’m cash poor. I have minimal savings, no house, I live in an expensive area, I wont get an inheritance and I support (not officially ) my gf and her kid.

My older kid is going to college in 2020.

My gf is a full time student currently and lives with me, I pay some of her expenses but we file taxes separately. She doesnt work. Can I use her to reduce my efc in the fafsa?

Also i have been thinking about getting an mba (while working). Will me signing up for mba classes help me lower the efc on the fafsa (I will continue to work full time)?

2

Your girlfriend is not a family member so no…she can’t reduce your EFC.

Parent attending college is NOT included on a student FAFSA.

3

It is lovely that you support your non-working GF and her child.

College financial aid is not there to subsidize your GF and her lifestyle/life choices. It’s there to help kids whose parents don’t have the means to provide them with an education.

Nice of you to pay your GF’s expenses. Maybe a family meeting is in order to figure out exactly what you CAN provide your own kid, and then find some affordable options for college.

4

In addition, how would you fund YOUR return to college? Maybe it’s a better idea to use that money to help pay for your kiddo to go to college.

5

Run the numbers with gf. It may make best sense to get married so that she and her child can be part of your household for financial aid purposes.

What can you afford to pay for your kid’s education out of pocket right now? Something? Nothing? That is the figure you need to give your kid so your kid can focus on finding affordable options. In your other thread, you indicate that you are still paying down your own loans. Don’t set your kid up for that kind of problem. If the only way to an affordable, low or no debt education is through the community college to state U pathway, then embrace that pathway. We did. Our kid turned out great and is doing well in her career.

6

Your primary responsibility is your child first. Not your GF.

Your GF won’t count on your child’s FAFSA. Even if you marry her, you can’t count her as a student. You returning to school won’t lower your child’s EFC either. Parents/stepparents’ education is not counted on FAFSA (for exactly the reasons you’re describing)

Here’s an idea…take the money that you’d spend on the MBA and what you spend on the GF and put it towards your child’s college costs.

How much would your MBA cost you?

7

She files taxes?

8

She does seem to have a good deal going… can she get a part time job to supplement your household income?

9

Good suggestion. Even if she’s taking max loans and getting a Pell Grant to pay for college, she probably could work part-time during the school year AND work full time during the summer. That way you can put the money that supports her towards your child.

Just had a thought…she might not want to marry while in college because she may be getting a Pell Grant based on her low/no income.

10

Will the GF graduate soon? Maybe she can help you with your child’s college costs? If she wouldn’t ever do that, then seriously rethink why you’re helping her.