Family's gross income in college app?

Applying to College
1

<p>Hello all,</p>

<p>I'm applying as a transfer student to a large Texas state university, and am pretty much finished with the online application at applytexas.org , but I'm not sure what to enter in the optional section where it asks me for my family's gross income. </p>

<p>Up until now I have lived at home (though will be moving out no matter where I get accepted, becuase I dislike the local university and everything else is too far). I have been a student for the past 3 years at a local community college. My sister is in her 2nd semester at the same community college, as she graduated from high school last year. If it changes anything, in November 2007 I'll be 24.</p>

<p>My sister and I both work, and pay our own bills and school, and even help the family out (low income blue collar family) while going to school. My question is, for the "family's gross income" field, should I enter my parents income only, theirs and mine combined, or everyone's, including my sisters? (I'm 23 and shes' 19)</p>

<p>The lady that did our taxes recommended I only put my parent's income, or at the most mine and my parent's combined and not my sister's, but her main area of knoweldge is about financial aid applications, and not college applications.</p>

<p>A little help please? The submission deadline is looming...</p>

2

<p>Call the transfer admissions office at the university you are applying to and explain your situation. I would think the only way to get a definite answer is to get it straight from the source.</p>

3

<p>why would you include your income? just put your parents income, you'll get more financial aid that way. Also, you're not going to be able to work in college, and even if you do it certainly wont be as many hours as you're working now, so you wont actually be making as much as you are now. It just wouldn't make sense.</p>

4

<p>I waited to call the admissions office today and the lady... let's just say she wasn't very helpful. She kept telling me it's an optional section, and I told her, since I had already started filling it out, there was no way to reset it to not include any answers, so I would have to choose an amount. Then she kept saying it wasn't important, and I'm thinking so *** is it in there at all then?</p>

<p>I'm just going to go with my parents' combine income after all. Yeah, more financial aid that way too I hope. Thank you to both nathantx07 and theuniverse for your replies.</p>