<p>FAFSA's and PROFILE forms, is a student in grad school considered a kid in college for purposes of completing forms -- for example, incoming undergrad freashman plus a sibling in grad school/med school, etc. considered "2 in college"? Is this universal or school specific?</p>
<p>Thx!!</p>
<p>In my experience, the student in grad/professional school might be considered a member of the household but is not considered to be āin collegeā for FAFSA purposesā¦</p>
<p>From the FAFSA instructions:</p>
<p>*74. Number of college students in parentsā household. Enter the number of people from the parentsā household (in question 73) who are or will be enrolled in a postsecondary school in 2014ā2015. Count yourself as a college student. Include others only if they will be attending at least half time in an approved program during 2014ā2015 that leads to a degree or certificate at a postsecondary school eligible to participate in any of the federal student aid programs.</p>
<p>Do not include your parents. Also do not include a student at a U.S. military academy because the family is not expected to contribute to that studentās postsecondary educational cost at the academy.*</p>
<p>From the Profile instructions:</p>
<p>*Always count yourself as a college student. Do not include your parents. Include other family members as college students only if they are planning to enroll at least half-time in 2015-16 in a program that leads to a degree or certificate.</p>
<p>Q: What is the definition of a ācollege studentā?</p>
<p>A: A college student is one who is enrolled at least half-time as a regular student, pursuing a degree or certificate. If you are taking college courses but are not enrolled at least half-time or not pursuing a degree, even though you receive college credit for the courses you take, you are not considered a college student.*</p>
<p>Definition of postsecondary education:</p>
<p>Any type of school or training beyond the high school level (i.e., community college, four-year university, vocational training program).</p>
<p><a href=āGrad student sibling's impact on undergrad's EFC - Financial Aid and Scholarships - College Confidential Forumsā>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/1110211-grad-student-siblings-impact-on-undergrads-efc.html</a></p>
<p><a href=āFAFSA household size w/sibling in professional/grad school (again) - Financial Aid and Scholarships - College Confidential Forumsā>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/1622323-fafsa-household-size-w-sibling-in-professional-grad-school-again.html</a></p>
<p>Madison is correct. The grad student is not considered āin collegeā since they are declared as an independent student, however - they can be included in the household if they are still indeed living at home and parents are providing more than 50% of support. </p>
<p><a href=āSiblings in grad school and undergrad - Financial Aid and Scholarships - College Confidential Forumsā>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/1266940-siblings-in-grad-school-and-undergrad.html</a></p>
<p><a href=āEFC calculation with one child in grad school - Financial Aid and Scholarships - College Confidential Forumsā>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/639823-efc-calculation-with-one-child-in-grad-school.html</a></p>
<p>A grad student submits his own FAFSA. Heās not part of the āin college.ā </p>
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<p>According to the FAFSA instructions, a grad student who is receiving more than 50% of his or her support from parents is considered to be a part of the parentās household and is therefore include in the number of college students in the household.</p>
<p>If they are considered independent for FAFSA purposes then they are not one āin collegeā for parental FAFSA purposes. At least this is how it worked for our family. </p>
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<p>The FAFSA instructions say to count a sibling as āin collegeā if the sibling is in the parentsā household and enrolled in a postsecondary school. (See my post #2 above.)</p>
<p>The FAFSA instructions further say that the student completing the FAFSA should include in the parentsā household:</p>
<p>āYour parentsā other children, if your parents will provide more than half of their support from July 1, 2014 through June 30, 2015 or if the other children could answer āNoā to every question in questions 46ā58.ā</p>
<p>The emphasis above is mine. FAFSA questions 46-58 have to do with whether or not a person is considered independent, for FAFSA purposes. So even if a sibling cannot answer ānoā to each of questions 46-58, the āorā part of the quote above still allows that sibling to be included in the parentsā household, as long as the parents are providing more than half of that siblingās support.</p>
<p>@Middkid86 do you have kids in undergrad and grad/professional school now?</p>
<p>Looking at it more, I believe Middkid to be correct. However, it is a rarity for parents to provide 50% of support to a graduate student. If the grad student is living off of loan money, parents likely wonāt be in the picture. Colleges can vary in how they choose to treat the sibling in graduate school though. </p>
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<p>My personal situation is irrelevant, and Iām certainly not saying that there arenāt schools out there that will choose to act in ways contrary to how I am reading the FAFSA instructions. If I were to have one child in grad school who was receiving more than half his/her support from parents, and another child in undergrad who was filing the FAFSA, you can bet that I would take exception if the undergrad school disallowed the graduate school child as a member of the household or another child in college. We can only go by what the instructions say, and in this case, in my opinion, the instructions are clear.</p>
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<p>I agree.</p>
<p>Ok, so no personal anecdotal evidence.</p>
<p>Financial aid offices have varying policies for this. Some are fine with whatever the parents say. Others will request documentation of the fact that the parents are providing at least 50% of the support for the grad student ā¦ and if that grad student is borrowing to pay for school, or if he/she has funding from the school, that will likely mean not being counted as # in college. Again, interpretation is up to the school, and they are technically correct no matter what, as long as they apply their policy consistently. Always good to contact the school to ask!</p>
<p>The expert answers!</p>
<p>I know that my school doesnāt usually require an explanation, so we are fine with what the parents say. At least in the short time I have been here, I havenāt seen any sort of major verification process for # in college. </p>