Need help for roommate

Paying for College
1

<p>Hello all, </p>

<p>My roommate has a few questions as her home situation has recently changed, and she is wondering how it will affect her FAFSA stuff. </p>

<p>Her parents are divorced and she has lived alone with her father for a couple of years. He has been out of work, so she has qualified for auto-0 EFC. However, he now has a temporary 6-month job, but it shouldn't be enough to drastically impact her financial aid. </p>

<p>She also just found out that her 21 year old sister (and her sister's two children) have moved in with her dad. Now, her sister is on food stamps and some other government assistance. Will this play a role in her FAFSA? Also, is her sister considered independent (my roommate's mom is contributing more to raising the children than my roommate's sister is), and does that matter at all for the number of people living in the home? Or would it still be 5 people (her + dad + sister + 2 kids)?</p>

<p>Basically, she just wants to know how her sister moving in changes how she fills out her FAFSA. She does it on her own and just wants to make sure she won't make any mistakes. (Yes, I know she doesn't have to fill out FAFSA until January at least... but me telling her that did not make her any less anxious about filling it out with the new details. She's a bit neurotic like that :)).</p>

<p>I hope this all makes sense.</p>

<p>Thanks everyone!</p>

2

<p>Doesn’t matter if the EFC is auto 0. A million people could live in that house & it will still be a 0 EFC. If the dad is making less than $30k for the year & can file a 1040A or 1040EZ, he’ll still be auto 0. He also might still be considered a dislocated worker - if the job is just a low paying temp job that is simply something he took while he is trying to get a job that pays what he used to earn (assuming he did earn a decent salary before losing his job). Plus, even if he doesn’t meet auto 0 criteria he may still actually have a 0 EFC if his earnings are low enough.</p>

<p>If the sister’s kids are being supported more than 50% by the mom, she probably wouldn’t be considered independent if she’s getting financial aid (but the school might consider her independent, since she is getting public assistance).</p>

3

<p>Good deal. I’ll tell her.</p>

<p>Thanks kels!</p>