<p>I'm hardly an expert at this, but this is my understanding. FAFSA is a federal form. It is the basis of a determination as to how much a family can borrow using federal student loans. </p>
<p>It is ALSO used by some colleges, notably public schools, to determine financial aid for UNDERGRADUATES. However, many private colleges, especially the more selective ones, also use PROFILE. PROFILE requires additional information, including, for example, the income and assets of non-custodial parents. </p>
<p>ANY grad or professional student can apply for federal student loans based solely on his/her own income and assets and those of a SPOUSE. Parental income/assets do not count. </p>
<p>However, SOME law, biz, and med schools DO count parental income/assets in determining whether you qualify for need-based financial aid. (Just, FYI that definitely includes Harvard Law, Marite). It does NOT matter that the student has been out of school and working for a few years if the student is not yet 27 or 28. Others don't ask about parental income/assets but most of those which don't do not offer need-based financial aid to ANYONE. It's all either loans and/or merit scholarships. </p>
<p>In law, the schools that do offer financial aid based on NEED also tend to be the ones with good loan forgiveness programs. (That means that if you take a lower paying public interest job, you won't be expected to pay back all the loans.) </p>
<p>The actual cost of attending a top law, biz, or med school, including "room and board" is in excess of $55,000 per year. You can NOT get low interest federal student loans for all of that amount. It's also pretty darn hard to earn it as you go along. Yes, during your 2L summer, you may be able to earn as much as $30,000, but you will have to pay taxes on that amount and if you don't happen to live in an area with law firms paying that amount, you'll also have to find a place to stay. In most cases, you will not earn that much money the summer before entering law school or after the first year of law school. When you finish law school, you will probably spend the summer preparing for the bar exam. </p>
<pre><code>Thus, to fund the cost of law school, you MAY have to borrow additional money at a higher rate than that available for "student" loans.
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<p>Sometimes, working a few years backfires because it changes FAFSA and thus the amount of $ the student is eligible to borrow. At some schools, there are also special programs for living stipends while you work for public interest organizations during summers which are not open to students if their OWN or a SPOUSE's income makes them ineligible. </p>
<p>Students in Ph.D. programs in arts and sciences at top schools often do not have to pay tuition at all and receive a living stipend. This may vary by field, with those in math and science often being paid more than those in the humanities. But, in many fields, the "normal" time to receive a Ph.D. is seven years. The stipend may only be payable during the academic year. </p>
<p>In any event, FAFSA does not count your income for determining how much you son or daughter can borrow for grad OR professional school. In terms of borrowing under the federal student loan programs, your income is irrelevant. So, it doesn't affect how much you can borrow for your kids who are still undergraduates. What is on FAFSA does NOT necessarily determine how much need-based financial aid your S or D will get EITHER as an undergrad or grad/professional school. The schools may set their own policies. </p>
<p>Many law, biz, and med schools have policies that limit need-based financial aid to students from lower-income families. If parents don't pay, the "kids" can borrow, but not at the low interest rates you're used to thinking about for "student loans." </p>
<p>That's the general gist of it, though I'm far from an expert.</p>