<p>Can anyone tell me how my child can qualify for financial aid while still living at home? It just don't seem fair!!! If she were to move in with her boyfriend or have a couple of kids she could get all kinds of $$$!!! Would if help if we did not claim her on our taxes? She has a job that pretty much pays for her transportation costs & lunch. Should we just kick her out of the house....LOL</p>
<p>Even if your D moved in with her BF, if she’s under 24, she’d still have to use your income for FAFSA. It doesn’t matter if you claim her on your taxes or not.</p>
<p>For college purposes, a student is a dependent unless married, a vet, over 24, has a child that she supports, etc.</p>
<p>What is your EFC? Where did she apply for college?</p>
<p>I guess I don’t know our EFC. She was a student at ISU & now is at IUPUI so she can stay at home & work.</p>
<p>Here is the formula:
[Federal</a> Student Aid - IFAP: iLibrary - EFC Formula Guide](<a href=“http://www.ifap.ed.gov/ifap/byAwardYear.jsp?type=efcformulaguide&awardyear=2010-2011]Federal”>http://www.ifap.ed.gov/ifap/byAwardYear.jsp?type=efcformulaguide&awardyear=2010-2011)</p>
<p>You can run your numbers and see what would affect her aid if anything. Living at home does give her a lower COA (cost of attendance) than living on campus, but it also gives her more expenses in real life, so living at home is probably smart. If your EFC is below $5000 she may get some Pell grant towards tuition & books; or you might have a state need based grant.</p>
<p>But, yes, if she is under 24, she must report your income and assets on her FAFSA. Also, if she has worked a great deal herself in the past year, that income “counts against her” though if she had taken a year off to work full time, they could adjust for that lost income via a “special circumstances” review</p>
<p>Wait, have you done the FAFSA yet? You said you didn’t know the EFC; it’s important to do the FAFSA just to be eligible for Stafford Loans (available regardless of income) and if you have an EFC then you can see how much aid you can actually get. I don’t advise having kids to lower her EFC though; she’ll end up spending more on those kids than any college would ever cost.</p>
<p>Last 2 years we did our FAFSA & she did not qualify for any help. I guess being that time of year again I wonder why fill one out again.</p>
<p>Not claiming her on your taxes wouldn’t make a difference at all. Dependency for FA and for taxes are completely separate issues. Also kicking her out or her living with her boyfriend would not make a difference. Neither makes her independent for FA purposes. (my son worked full time for a couple of years, has not been claimed on our taxes for years, had his own place and was completely self supporting - when he returned to college at 22 he was still a dependent for FA).</p>
<p>How so you not know your EFC? Has your daughter not done a FAFSA?</p>
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<p>You can at least take out the unsubsidized Stafford loans, which have reasonable interest rates compared to most private lenders. It’s not as good as being rich enough for this not to be a concern, but it’s something.</p>
<p>Just let her get married or have a baby! Then you’ll get it all for free!! Haha!</p>
<p>If you did a FAFSA last year and your income/assets haven’t changed much, then your EFC probably hasn’t changed much. What was it last year?</p>
<p>Anyway, do FAFSA again. If necessary, she can take out an unsub Stafford if she needs to. But, if she doesn’t need to, she shouldn’t. Paying back loans can be difficult. Some kids purposely don’t work part-time and just borrow instead. That’s a bad idea.</p>
<p>If your daughter is living at home and commuting to IUPUI then you probably live close enough to campus to visit the financial aid office in person. You should make an appointment so that you can discuss your individual concerns with one of the officers there. That person should be able to help you find out what your daughter’s options are. </p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>Good advice.</p>
<p>However, I’m wondering if the problem is this…</p>
<p>If FAFSA indicated that EFC was too high for aid when the child was living on campus at her other school, it will likely be too high at her new school while commuting.</p>
<p>However, she can still get a Stafford loan regardless.</p>