<p>My W, who has never received an undergraduate degree, is considering returning to college at either the local CC or a (relatively) inexpensive local public university. Would that decision have any effect on the financial aid situation of S, and entering freshman at an expensive private LAC?</p>
<p>It used to be that having a parent in school at least half-time would result in the EFC for the dependent student being halved. Not any more, though-- so I'd expect to see no change in the EFC for the dependent student. The parent's EFC should reflect the fact that there's a dependent in college, though, so there's some benefit there.</p>
<p>You can try using the EFC calculator at FinAid to crunch various numbers.</p>