EFC and FAFSA Household Size & Number in College

Paying for College
1

<p>Did I fill out the Fafsa correctly? </p>

<p>In 2013 (and this year too) I have a household of five, including a 24 year old who for most of the year was in an unpaid internship along with taking some online college classes towards a bachelors degree at a state university. She has about 90 hours but she has changed majors a couple of times so she has a while to go. She does not pay rent, she has no assets, she uses my car, I pay for her to be on my car insurance, have her on my health insurance, buy her food, etc. I can prove that I paid at least $900 of her tuition last year and more than half of her subsistence. She helps me with my other kids and overall, is pursuing her passion of working in music. She is a good kid and living in California is hard for single people trying to make it alone, many singles have roommates, but at this point even that is more expensive.</p>

<p>In 2014, I will have a son attending college as a Freshman. So when I filled out the Fafsa, I put that in 2014-5, I will have 2 in college. I was selected for verification. On the school's verification form, it asks about people in the household born before 1991. So since my daughter was born in 1989, I check yes. So far, one school has changed my EFC because they say that I cannot count my daughter as a dependent in my household because she is now considered independent at age 24. So they doubled by EFC from $4600 to $9200.</p>

<p>I have been searching a bit online and I find this at finaid.org <a href="http://www.finaid.org/educators/pj/householdsize.phtml:"&gt;http://www.finaid.org/educators/pj/householdsize.phtml:&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>
[quote]
Similarly, other family members who are automatically independent, such as a child who is 24 years old or older or a child who is married, may still be counted in household size if the 50% support test is satisfied. Some financial aid administrators will require evidence than the family is helping pay for the college education of an independent student before counting that student in the number in college figure. They may also require documentation that the family is providing more than half the support of the independent student.

[/quote]
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<p>When I go into my son's Fafsa and change it to show 1 in college, my Fafsa changes to $7700 from $4600. It does not double. This is also affecting my son's previous eligibility for Pell and Perkins.</p>

<p>Another issue is that my daughter is in student loan default, so she cannot get any more student loans, she has to pay for classes out of pocket until she starts making a decent salary to get back on track. She does work less than 40 hours a week at a radio station in town and her pay is being garnished, but it is not much like $50-70 every two weeks.</p>

<p>Will her defaulted status hurt my son as I try to get financial aid for him as Fall 2014 freshman?</p>

<p>I am assuming I am going to have this problem with all the schools he is considering this Fall (about 3-4), so I guess in order to get a true picture of the actual, final aid package for my son, I have to explain this to all of them as I go through verification to see which school is actually the most affordable. </p>

<p>Anyone gone through this before? </p>

2

<p>your d’s default will have no effect on your son.</p>

<p>“She does work less than 40 hours a week”</p>

<p>How much does she earn a year? Does she live with you?</p>

3

<p>Last year she made just short of $7K. She lives with me.</p>

4

<p>At 24, your daughter is independent for FAFSA. My understanding has always been that means she can not be included as one in college for your son’s FAFSA. maybe kelsmom will chime in. Changing from 2 in school to one would double the EFC if it is all based on parent income and assets (no student assets and less than $6000 ish income). His corrected EFC is too high for Pell eligibility.</p>

<p>If your daughter lives at home and you provide more than half her support, I would think she can be included as a member of household though. That is a much smaller benefit as it just increases your income protection a little.</p>

<p>Your daughter’s loan problems should not affect your son’s eligibility.</p>

5

<p>Today I saw am email that said a school corrected my son’s FAFSA. They took my D off as a member of my household (changing my household from 5 to 4) and changing the number of students in college to 1. Is this going to affect all my schools? Or just the school that instituted the change? Of course I do not agree with the changes they made. </p>

6

<p>I think the change will affect all schools. It also sounds like last year your d didnt earn much but this year she will. so even if you can get her on your son’s fafsa this year, she may drop off again next year.</p>

7

<p>I spoke with financial aid at the college my S will most likely be attending (not the one who made the change doubling the EFC). This school’s FA counselor felt that my D should be considered a part of the household, so my EFC should not be doubled, but should go up about a 1/4 more, so more like $7700 instead of $9200. </p>

<p>S’s preferred school asked him to submit a PRELIMINARY SPECIAL CIRCUMSTANCE letter explaining all income changes and household changes to the school. </p>

<p>Can I go into FAFSA and change it back to what I originally had it as and then if the school he wants to really go to makes the change, then I will understand they considered all the information I submit on the Preliminary Special Circumstance letter?</p>

8

<p>When D2 got into universities, I checked with each financial aid department regarding D1 and what would happen when she graduated. Some schools allowed a grad student to be part of the family and some did not, plain and simple. So if I were you I would check with each school and probably do it by email so I had the answer in writing.</p>