So for the upcoming school year I will have 2 full-time undergrads and 1 full-time law school. For the question where it asks “number of family members in college” I’m assuming my answer should be 3 given he is going straight to law school from undergrad and is still dependent upon us financially.
Any thoughts?
“You do not want to include your parents in this section, even if they are in college or a degree-seeking program. Adults who have already earned a degree, are in graduate or professional programs, or who are over the age of 24 will not be counted as being in college at the same time as you (even if your parents are helping to pay their educational costs).”
https://www.nitrocollege.com/fafsa-guide/question-95-96-student-household-information
The law school student is not counted.
Thank you very much for your responses.
You could call the FAFSA helpline to confirm.
I thought they could be counted as members of the household and students in college on the sibling’s FAFSA, if parents will provide more than 50% of their support.
Some colleges will count the grad/professional sibling and some won’t. The OP needs to contact each school to ask that question. For the undergrads.
For the law school student, that student will be filing a FAFSA in their name as an independent student…and their siblings are not included on their FAFSA.
start here
Are you paying for law school as part of the 50% financial support you are providing for your professional school child? (your child can borrow up to the full cost of attendance - any financial aid as a Gradplus loan).
If you are not paying for law school as part of your 50% support, the student is not counted as a member of your household.
Your older child already has a college degree is is pursuing a professional degree and is independent for federal aid.
i wanted to add that when I called Fafsa and asked this exact question, they told me that paying for a car, transportation, clothing, food, etc…all count toward the 50% support of a child in grad school.
Keep in mind that each undergraduate school will handle this information differently.
We contacted the financial aid offices at our younger kid’s college choices and asked this question. Older sibling was graduating at the end of younger sibling’s freshman year.
Older sibling was more than half supported by us, and was under age 24.
Some schools said they would count older sibling, and some schools said they would NOT.
Contact the colleges. They really are the only ones who can answer about their school policy.
Based on what you just wrote, your older was and could be counted as a member of your household (because you were supporting kid 1 at least 51%), but not necessarily an additional student in college (because kid 1 had graduated).
@sybbie719 in my number 2 kid’s case, her college did count the older sibling. But we contacted others that didn’t.
I should also add…the 2nd kid’s school did not meet full need for all accepted students…not even close. With 2 in college, our FAFSA EFC was $24,000 or so each. Kid 2 got $6000 in Grant aid, and hers was a merit scholarship that also considered need.
But we did contact every college to ask.
Really…that’s what you need to do. If i were betting, I’d say that most will say…NO.
Some colleges count grad school for older sibling as two in college…while others don’t. It’s important to ask.
My D attends a school that meets full need. I called every school that accepted her that met need…and asked this question. One told me they count the sibling, two told me they didn’t, and two told me “it depends.”
Whether or not schools count is immaterial for filling out the FAFSA. Per directions, no, this is not an additional student in college. Yes, this could be an additional member of the household.
What if older child is under 24, in vet school, we pay greater than 50%, and did not get a BS before attending grad school but will obtain it when he completes his second year of vet school (early admission program)? Kind of an odd case but curious.
@momocarly, wouldn’t he still count as a dependent student, an undergraduate student, since BS has not been attained yet?
The above quote doesn’t say that a professional degree doesn’t count in order for FAFSA to count grad student as student in college, it only says that they need to attend at least half time to pursue a degree or certificate. And that parent needs to provide more than 50% of support.
The federal training sessions I attended when working with undergraduate populations indicated that students who are independent for aid purposes but who receive at least half their support from the parents can be included in both HH size and # in college. I am aware that there are schools that disagree, as did one school for which I worked … until we attended a webinar where the trainer said that there was nothing in the regulations that said students who are independent for aid purposes should be excluded from HH size or # in college if they met the “at least 51% support” test. If you challenge a school that says they shouldn’t be included, you would need to be prepared to show proof of the 51% support to have a chance at being successful in your challenge.
@momocarly I was just going to post that there is a situation where the ‘grad’ student can still be counted as an undergrad, as you described.
My nephew is doing that this year. He completed all requirements for his undergrad last May but stayed an undergrad so that he could still qualify for undergrad FA while he completes the masters. If at any time he wants to quit and just take his diploma he can, but while he’s in he gets the undergrad rates and he gets a state rebate on credits. He has no siblings in college so no benefit there. His parents still had to compete the FAFSA.
That wouldn’t be possible for law school.
Ours is even stranger since per the college he will be considered a graduate student for FA, tuition etc. In the veterinary college. BUT he won’t have his BS until he completes his second year of veterinary school.
My D is considered being in graduate school (pharmacy school) in P1 and P2 year, but still an undergraduate, she gets charged undergraduate tuition and fees, qualifies for undergraduate aid like state grant and UG scholarship.
In the P3 and P4 year she is considered to be a graduate student and her aid can be direct graduate and grad plus loan, health professions loan (subsidized), and scholarships from the pharmacy school.
We were required to provide our information on her (independent) FAFSA in order for her to be considered for the health professions loan.
@momocarly my D’s friend in 5 yr BS/MPAS program has that situation. She had 3 undergraduate years, and then she has 2 years in graduate school, getting her BS and master’s of physician assistant science.