FAFSA, Financial Aid, and Parents

Paying for College
1

Hello,

I’m having trouble understanding how the FAFSA and financial aid works. On the FAFSA it asks you to list your parents, provide their financial information, and their IRS tax information. This is my situation. I filled out my FAFSA and when you list your parents I listed my mother, and my stepfather. My actual father passed away during my junior year summer. So for all the financial information and IRS tax information I listed was for my mother and stepfather. Was I suppose to use my stepfather for that or not provide anything for parent two since my actual father had passed? Also, my father is on disability for a neurological disorder and has been for a while. Her income is under $10,000 a year and my stepfather is around $40,000 a year. Why should my stepfather matter if he’s legally not financially responsible for me? I qualified for one grant under $4,000 at my university and the rest of it is loans. Should I have qualified for something different? Did I fill out the FAFSA incorrectly?

Thanks for the assistance!

2

I’m sorry to hear that your dad passed.

You need to include your mom’s income AND your stepdad’s income. He is part of your household, he is married to your mom. His income goes on FAFSA.

it doesn’t matter that your stepdad isn’t financially responsible for you. Most parents aren’t responsible for their kids when they get to be college aged anyway.

3

You are supposed to list the information for the parent you live with and their spouse. So yes your mom and step dad if they are still married. That’s the rules of federal aid.