i don’t know and i don’t think they’d be knocked out of the grants for this year is my best guess. i am married and i filed a joint return so im not in same situation they are regarding pheaa grant eligibility. do you know if they have gotten their financial aid letters from Temple yet? i am curious myself because if i;d like to know if Temple indicated in their financial aid letters whether they expected these students to get a pheaa grant or not. if they have their financial aid letters from temple, they for the most part should be allowed to rely on what Temple told them although there is some variability in the pheaa grants from year to year which is why the pheaa grants are only estimated at this time.
next year could be different if the fafsa captures that the non-custodial parent helped with expenses. i don’t know that it will but they should be aware of that possibility, as it could affect their financial aid eligibility, particularly for the pell and pheaa grants next year or perhaps for their junior year, depending on which semester Dad helps out. by this i mean, if Dad helps them in 2015, it might be reportable on the fafsa filed in early 2016. if he waits until spring 2016 to help out, then if it is reportable, it would be reportable on the fafsa filed in 2017. i would also suggest they get on Temple’s financial aid webpage to see if they have an ethical obligation to report any such assistance to Temple as soon as they receive it. if they have an ethical obliagation to report such help immediately and do not do so, that could backfire on them. it would probably be wise to get on the federal government’s webpage for financial aid to see how they are supposed to handle this situation as well. i imagine the federal govt discusses that scenario somewhere although it may be buried.
Regardless, Temple is a true bargain with the full tuition scholarship so they can likely make things work financially if they go to Temple. congrats to them on the stats to get the full tuition scholarship!