<p>I don't want to hijack the thread, but my parents will be getting divorced in the fall around the same time that I'll be applying to college. What happens if your parents get divorced quite literally in the middle of the admissions process? For purposes of financial aid, will they count as married or divorced?</p>
<p>Doesn't really matter. They will submit 2005 income tax forms. They can file married or divorced and it won't really change the assets that are available or the income that is available. It might have a small effect on FAFSA, but not much considering it is all predicated on last year's tax returns.</p>
<p>cameliasinensis,
I actually think it does matter. But it depends whether you pick schools that require just FAFSA or if they also require PROFILE. Schools that require PROFILE look at income & assets of both custodial and non-custodial parents. Schools that look at only FAFSA consider just the income and assets of your custodial parent (who you live with most). It seems to me if your parents are divorced in the fall then they file income taxes separately and you apply to FAFSA only schools, those schools would only look at the income of your custodial parent. But I'm not a tax attorney nor am I a financial aid officer so I don't really know for sure. & I believe that if you're applying to college in the fall of 2006 then when you do your financial aid forms in January, you'll need income tax info for 2006 (not 2005).</p>
<p>If the divorce causes your family finances to change for the worse, it may be possible to get your financial aid office to amend your aid package.</p>