<p>My senior D is planning to finish this summer, but that depends on 2 quarters with 18-20 units and a summer school class! Would you fill out the FAFSA and include her as also in school, in case she needs the fall quarter?</p>
<p>first -- find out if the school your daughter attends considers the summer semester as part of the 2005-2006 school year or part of the 2006-2007 school year. every school is different in how this is treated.</p>
<p>then -- is summer is part of 2006-2007, the answer is clearly yes.</p>
<p>If not -- I would still mark yes, since she may very well attend another semester (things never seem to work out). any possiblity she might attend grad school, even part-time? if so, again -- a yes answer.</p>
<p>I thought if they would be in grad school then it does NOT count for FAFSA since they are then considered independent and file for themselves. Someone please correct me if I'm wrong.</p>
<p>the FAFSA asks you how many people are in your household -- that live with you or will get more than half their support from you between July 1 2006 -- June 30 2007.</p>
<p>then it asks you how many people in the above question will be attending college.</p>
<p>If you support you older daughter, the way I read it, no matter what degree she is seeking, she would qualify.</p>
<p>I know there IS a difference if it is grad school, but I don't know if the FAFSA reflects that difference. We faced that this past year, because my older son was intending to start grad school. We talked to the financial aid dept. of one college my second son was considering, and they said in order for us to claim him as a dependent in school for financial aid purposes, there were a number of criteria he had to meet. (I can't remember what all they were--my younger son didn't end up going to that college, and my older son didn't end up going to grad school, so the situation changed.) But I know that a child in grad school is not seen the same as a child going for his/her bachelor's degree.</p>
<p>I know I talked to finaid at UVa and they specifcally said that grad school does not count for the number of kids in college. In this case, she will not begin grad school next fall, no time for grad school apps if she takes 20 units, but she won't know if she can get all those classes in her schedule and survive until the spring quarter.</p>
<p>I am planning to claim her, and then correct it if she does finish (I am praying she finishes!!) but wondered if any one else had crossed this bridge.</p>
<p>I spoke to the people at FAFSA about this last year. Believe it or not, this is what they said.</p>
<p>As expected, a student going to grad school will file the FAFSA as an independent student. However, if that student has a brother or sister in undergrad studies; the undergrad student still gets to claim the graduate student as another sibling in college. I asked the person twice on the phone because I wanted to make doubly sure.</p>
<p>I think this may be the only place in the FAFSA filing where there seems to be justice.</p>
<p>What I found surprising is that the FAFSA doesn't allow you to claim a parent on the "number going to college".</p>
<p>I may not be interpreting it correctly. If I am the one going to college (a parent) and it is my FAFSA, I can claim myself and my son (if he is also attending) correct?</p>
<p>But when my son attends, he cannot indicate that I am also going to college? </p>
<p>I am going to be contacting FAFSA today on this and will update!</p>
<p>Just got off the phone with the FAFSA help line. I was told that he could not claim me (a parent) in the total of those going to college.</p>