Can this be right???

Paying for College
1

<p>Calling out to financial aid/scholarship experts out there ... I went online to figure out tuition, room and board, books fees etc for LSU and what my son should get with scholarships & financial aid. Here is what I came up with per year. </p>

<p>This is based on instate tuition because my son was approved for the common market out of state tuition waiver. I dont work and the financial aid is based on my husbands income. Financial aid based on income of $83K a year family of 7 - 3 in college (a strange living arrangement bc my daughter, her boyfriend and their 5 month old baby moved in last year and they are both still in college. He is a senior and she is a sophomore ... I called FAFSA a couple months ago to see how that would all work out since they are independent students and not on our tax returns ... they assured me that they do count as college students living under our roof and are to be counted as such - I asked 4 times to be sure lol) </p>

<p>$21442 - cost per year</p>

<ul>
<li>$15500 (Academic scholars award - he got a 32 on ACT) </li>
<li>$1500 - Engineer dept scholarship (if chosen - based on ACT minimum of 28) </li>
<li>$2000 - Engineer Alumni scholarship (guaranteed with 28 or higher on ACT)
-$2780 - Pell Grant (based on LSU Net Price calculator)</li>
</ul>

<p>Total due - nothing!!!! Actually a surplus of $338 a year. Could this be right???? </p>

<p>(not sure if student can get both Engineering scholarships. There was nothing that stated they couldnt on the website - I emailed and waiting on response) </p>

<p>Is this possible? </p>

2

<p>Call LSU financial aid to find out if LSU considers your household to have 3 in college.</p>

<p>There have been lengthy discussions on CC if independent students in the household (older siblings in grad school) count as ‘in college’ or not. I seem to recall the conclusion was, check with the college (my kids’ college does NOT consider an independent FAFSA sibling to be ‘in college’ for the undergrad sibling’s FAFSA).</p>

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<p>Agreed. You need to check with he colleges. When my son was approaching grad school…and would have been independent for financial aid purposes…and we still provided the bulk of his support…and he lived with us…MOST of the colleges DD was considering for applications told us they would NOT count him as a college student for financial aid purposes. </p>

4

<p>Are you providing more than half (at least 51 %) of the total support for your D and her BF? </p>

<p>This includes cost of attendance which means unless you are providing more than half the support of your granddaughter, daughter and BF?</p>

<p>Regarding your D and her BF the question is; Is the FA they are receiving is less than half of the COA and you and your husband are paying the other half?</p>

<p>For your D and BF to be considered independent they would have to have a child for which they are paying more than half of the support. IF your D is paying half the support for her child , necessary to be considered independent, and her BF is paying for half of his child support, which is necessary for him to be considered independent, it does not add up for you/your husband to be paying for half of the support for your grandchild to be counted as part of your household.</p>

<p>I would recommend reading this thread, specifically post from Kelsmom who is a FA Officer</p>

<p><a href=“The "How many people in your parents' household will be college students" question? - #53 by kelsmom - Financial Aid and Scholarships - College Confidential Forums”>The "How many people in your parents' household will be college students" question? - #53 by kelsmom - Financial Aid and Scholarships - College Confidential Forums;

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<p>I would be concerned about getting BOTH the ACM rate AND merit. Many schools will NOT let you have merit, if you get the ACM rate.</p>

<p>What is that $15k award? Is that for instate or OOS students???</p>

<p>It looks like the $15k award is for OOS students. I highly DOUBT that LSU is going to give $15k OOS award to a student who has been given instate rates for ACM. If anything, he’ll probably be given a choice…$15k with OOS rate…or instate rate with the much smaller instate $2000 award.</p>

<p>Does that make sense. The school isn’t likely going to let you have both instate rate and OOS larger merit. The intent of the larger OOS merit is to cover some/all of the OOS rate…which has already been waived!</p>

6

<p>Possible, yes. But I wouldn’t bet much on the online NCPs. They may not have certain nuances in place, they may have internal limits. But it looks good.</p>

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<p>Are you indicating that the student is OOS, but getting ACM rate?</p>

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<p><<<
Are you providing more than half (at least 51 %) of the total support for your D and her BF?</p>

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<p>@kelsmom‌ please weigh in on this…</p>

<p>I think the problem is this…the D and her BF are each claiming independence by claiming that THEY are providing 51% of their child’s support (I don’t know how BOTH could make that claim…lol…they aren’t married).</p>

<p>Then, you’re ALSO claiming that YOU are providing 51% for EACH of their support (D, BF, and baby). </p>

<p>This can’t all be true.</p>

<p>Either the D is providing 51% of support for her baby, making her independent (and BF is still dependent on his parents’ info for FAFSA)…or BF is providing 51% of support for baby and then HE is independent and your D is NOT independent.</p>

<p>Simply having a baby doesn’t make one independent. The student MUST provide for 51% of expenses.</p>

<p>Since the couple is NOT married, only ONE can claim that he or she is providing 51% for baby…or they can say that Grandparents (YOU) are providing, and they YOU can claim D and grandbaby.</p>

<p>I don’t see how you can claim the BF since he’s under 24, and he should be dependent using his own parents’ info. </p>

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<p>@mom2collegekids‌: that is spot on. </p>

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<p>Calling FAFSA does not yield the best advice in all cases. Calling the school is always the best way to find out what the school allows.</p>

<p>If the D and BF are “independent,” that means that they are either at least 24 or they certify that they are providing at least 51% of the baby’s support. They actually cannot both say this, if they are both under 24. If he is independent due to age and if she is not but provides at least 51% of the baby’s support by herself, then they could both be independent. I used to work at a school with a relatively large number of unwed parents, and we did ask for proof of support if they were under 24 & claiming to be independent due to having a child. Only one parent could provide at least 51% of the support, therefore only one parent could be considered independent in this case. I cannot see how one or the other can be considered independent for financial aid due to supporting a child, yet have you consider that student and the child to be supported at least 51% by you. That is the sticking point in the original post, for me.</p>

<p>Assuming that the students are actually dependent (and perhaps the BF is independent only due to age), I have included some extra info below. Here is info from the finaid.org website, which is a good resource:</p>

<p>Members of the household do not need to be related to the student. The language concerning “other persons” only requires that they live in the household and receive more than half their support from the family. The entire purpose of reporting the household size is to trigger the income protection allowance, which represents a modest living allowance for each person in the household. The use of the 50% support test ensures that any unrelated individuals are actually being supported by the family. The Federal need analysis methodology does not use the same definition of dependent as the IRS. Accordingly, it is appropriate to include a significant other in household size if the significant other lives with and is supported by the family. It is not uncommon for a family to take in one of the children’s classmates when the classmate’s parents have kicked him or her out of the house. If the classmate lives with and is supported by the family, it is appropriate to include him or her in household size. Foster children and children for whom the family is the legal guardian are not included in household size because they fail the 50% support test.</p>

<p>If a significant other or other person supported by the family is included in household size, income and benefits received by that person in his/her own name are generally not reported on the FAFSA. Only income and benefits received by the student and parents are reported on the FAFSA. So a student who is part of an unmarried couple gets to exclude the income received by his/her significant other. Note, however, that the student must provide more than half of the significant other’s support in order to count the significant other as a dependent.</p>

<p>An unmarried couple does not really get more favorable treatment than a married couple when both members of the family are students. With a married couple, both get to be independent, even if neither satisfies the 50% support test. With an unmarried couple, only the spouse who provides more than 50% support for the other gets to be independent, if either of them provides more than 50% support. If neither of them satisfies the support test (e.g., due to financial assistance from the couple’s parents), neither will be independent. Marriage usually leads to more student aid in such situations.</p>

<p>A person can be included in an independent student’s household even if the student did not have enough income during the prior tax year to support that person, so long as the student currently has enough income, is providing more than half that person’s support, and will continue to do so throughout the award year. </p>

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<p>@tlcmommi4‌ </p>

<p>@kelsmom is a FA Director, so she knows what she’s talking about.</p>

<p>All of you can’t be claiming that you’re providing 51% of aid for the baby. If it’s YOU, then it’s not the baby’s parents, and if they’re under age 24, then they’re not independent.</p>

<p>Since they’re current college students and likely have each already made such a misleading claim, if this gets caught soon, one or both will lose their independent status and likely their Pell Grant (which will need to be repaid). </p>

<p>You can’t compound the error by claiming that you are also providing 51% for the Baby. </p>

<p>There just seems to be too many people claiming to be providing 51%+ support for either the young parents or the baby. </p>

<p>Does the BF work? If so, how much does he earn? If his school tuition, books, car, car insurance, gas, food, and personal expenses come to - say - $15k …and you’re paying $7600, then he’s a dependent. It is unlikely that you would be spending that much on your D’s BF. </p>

<p>If the BF and your D are both getting Full Pell and full student loans, then you may not be providing 51% of their expenses or their baby’s expenses.</p>

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<p>oh wow so much information … ok, It’s early and my oldest daughter flew in Christmas Eve and my parents came in yesterday from Chicago so I have a full house and havent logged in. But its 4 am and the house is actually quiet right now. </p>

<p>First, I did talk to the FAFSA office - not the financial aid office at LSU because honestly my son just made up his mind Christmas Eve where would attend. But after reading all of this I will certainly call them when they reopen. When I called I made it VERY clear that my daughter received the full Pell Grant this year and is “independent”. I assumed her boyfriend was independent too because he is 22 and pays his own way through school. My mistake. At any rate - she asked me “are they all 3 living under your roof and do you pay at least half their living expenses?” I stated yes, but not their tuition. My daughter gets the Pell grant and her boyfriend pays his own tuition with loans and savings and a small scholarship. (he quit football this year) She said "If you are paying at least half their living expenses that qualifies to add them as living under our roof. I asked over and over to be sure. I told her I did not want to mess up the application and have it come back later. She assured me each time that counting them as living under our roof as college students was the correct way to fill out the form. But I absolutely will call LSU next week. </p>

<p>Second, my daughter, her boyfriend and their son all live here. They both work minimally. Maybe 20 hrs a week and make around $9 an hour. So the money they make is spent on diapers, wipes and gas - the rest goes into savings. My daughter is the only one that gets the Pell Grant. Maybe I misunderstood the “independent” student thing. Her boyfriend has paid his own schooling from freshman year. With football scholarships, earnings while in school and summer and loans he pays it himself. </p>

<p>Third, We do not charge them rent, we buy all the food, pay all the bills and support them 100% minus college expenses and what they spend on diapers and gas to and from school and work. So right now the only one claiming to pay 51%+ of the baby’s expenses is actually my daughter. I have not submitted a tax return or FAFSA since he was born - my daughter and her boyfriend did since they are both in college and they decided to let my daughter collect the full Pell grant. So the claim there are too many claiming 51% + for the baby is incorrect. </p>

<p>And finally, as for the OOS tuition waiver through Common Market and the OOS scholarship award … as crazy as it sounds this is the way LSU awards it!! I was over the top excited about it and talked to Financial Aid twice to make sure. It is absolutely the case. I also was told this is true by other parents whose children attend and receive it. So yes, the $15,500 for his ACT is the correct amount even though we pay in state tuition. </p>

<p>Thank you for all this information!! Even without the Pell Grant it is an AMAZING award and we are thrilled - paying less than $3000 a year for college is unheard of! I just couldnt believe when I added it all up and subtracted the scholarships and awards that it could possibly be free too!! But either way - Pell Grant or not, it is still an amazing gift!! </p>

<p>@Kelsmom thank you for all the info above and to the other posters - thanks for your input!! I have some calls to make after the new year, but we will get it all straight before I submit the FAFSA. </p>

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<p>IS the D providing at least 51% of the baby’s support? It sounds like the grandma (and grandpa) could be providing the baby’s 51+% support.</p>

<p>The D earns up to 20 x $9 per week ($720 per month). How much does it cost to provide the baby with food, shelter (but grandparents provide this) and health insurance (who is providing that)?</p>

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<p>Diapers and wipes- I get that. Co-pay at the pediatrician? Child care?</p>

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<p>Wow, that is very generous of LSU to give an OOS award to someone using ACM. Many schools will not let an ACM student get any univ merit, much less an OOS award. That is very good. :)</p>

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<p>I don’t know if excluding school costs count. I think school costs do count. Maybe @kelsmom can weigh in here on that point.</p>

<p>So, the BF used his parents’ info on his FAFSA?</p>

<p>I agree that with both D and BF working 20 hours a week, that it’s unlikely that mom is providing 750+ per month for each. </p>

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<p>Its really hard to gauge exactly the percentage is and who is providing what. We let them live and eat here for free. Of course we still pay daughters health and car insurance along with her cell phone since its on the family plan. Since i don’t work i obviously watch my grandson while there are in class at work or studying at the library, so there are no daycare costs. The baby could not be covered under my husband’s ins so he is under the state ins since neither have a job that offers ins. Not sure what that is called maybe Medicare or whatever the state name is called. I suppose her bf is under his parents FAFSA since he isn’t 24 and can’t be considered independent. He is also still covered under his dads health ins. </p>

<p>I was very insistent about our circumstances here and explained everything but i will definitely talk to LSU too. I just find it strange FAFSA would give me bad advice. I really spelled everything out over and over to make sure they understood. </p>

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<p>In my sons case the school would not let us have more than our “need”. So although he was given a large scholarship, and qualified for an automatic in-state grant that would have brought the cost to zero and some left over, they cut the grant amount so that what we had left was exactly my EFC as determined by FAFSA.</p>

<p>I had no idea the state grant could be cut, but in effect the school met 100% of need. COA minus EFC.</p>

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<p>That that makes sense about no overage. Darn though. We never qualified for a Pell Grant with my older 2 so I was kind of excited and in MS they will give you a grant for $250 if you don’t qualify lol woo hoo lol. Hardly worth the time to fill it out </p>

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<p>Thanks all the help. It looks like i might be getting banned or reprimanded soon from this site so I just wanted to thank you for your input and help</p>

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<p>Keep good records. It’s ok to estimate but you’ll need a paper trail if you need to document your expenditures.</p>

<p>If the $250 is per year for four years- heck, and it takes 20 minutes to fill out the form, guess what- you’ve just earned 1K for a 20 minute investment. Not bad, right?</p>