Well…if he is at the top of Pell eligibility, how much Pell do you think you will receive? If his EFC per FAFSA is about $5200, you get nothing from Pell at all. And if it’s a $4500 FAFSA efc, the Pell would be about $1200.
Is this amount going to make or break her college attendance? It might. But if you are that close to the edge, are these schools really affordable at all?
Also, keep in mind that the custodial parent on the profile needs to match the custodial parent on the FAFSA.
So…if your self employed husband is the custodial parent on the FAFSA, he will be on the Profile as well…and you will complete the non-custodial parent Profile, if required. Your self employed husband likely has deductions allowed by the IRS which are not allowed by the colleges for financial aid purposes…and will be added back as income. This won’t affect any Pell eligibility you have, but it could affect aid at these Profile schools.
What is the projected EFC with the added two kids as members of the household? What is it without them?