<p>Hi all,
My eldest just found out she got in her dream grad school (yea!) and will be graduating undergrad a year early. My HS senior will be applying for aid as a freshman. First, I know nothing about grad school aid(it is a very expensive 2 yr med school program). Eldest will be paying for grad school and says she will be filing as independent for aid purposes - (guess there goes that tax deduction as well). Is there even any federal aid available to her? 2nd, when I fill out FAFSA for HS senior, is it legitimate to say I have two in college?
Eldest will be living at home and commuting for grad school(thus we will be supporting her for everything except grad school tuition). Thanks for any help!</p>
<p>If your D1 has graduated from undergrad, she is an independent for FAFSA for grad school, even if she is still on your tax return. If you are providing more than half her support and she is dependent on your tax return, SOME of kid 2’s schools may allow you to have 2 in college. When we were in this situation, I asked the schools to which the younger kid was applying and it was 50-50.</p>
<p>Somemom is correct. Some schools will “count” your grad school daughter in the count IF she is still considered a member of your household. That would mean that you were providing more than half of her support. Some schools wont’ count the grad school student AT ALL regardless. It varies by school.</p>
<p>Our daughter was a freshman when her brother was a college senior. Like Somemom, we asked…it was 50/50 with her too. The school she matriculated to DID count her brother while he was in grad school…didn’t really matter as they didn’t meet full need anyway…but they did count her (which did get her a subsidized vs. unsubsidized Stafford loan).</p>
<p>Re: your grad school daughter. Most funding for grad school is merit funding based on the strength of the application to the program. It comes in the form of scholarships, assistantships, grants, and sometimes work study. Grad students can take out Stafford loans, and the limit is higher than for undergrad (sorry…don’t remember the exact amount). All grad school Stafford loans are now unsubsidized. Congratulations to her for getting into her program…physician assistant perhaps??</p>
<p>Thanks very much for the info! D1 will be attending an Anesthesiologist Assistant program - great earning potential but expensive tuition!</p>
<p>thumper1 - am I remembering correctly - do you have a daughter about the same age - looked at Wake Forest in -'09?</p>
<p>*when I fill out **FAFSA **for HS senior, is it legitimate to say I have two in college?
*</p>
<p>for FAFSA, you will have **one **in college. For FAFSA, only undergrad children are counted for “being in college.”</p>
<p>for CSS Profile schools: THEY might consider the grad student. But, for FAFSA purposes, the grad student will NOT count as being in college. The fed aid system is set up with the idea that parents are to help with undergrad, not grad.</p>
<p>As for aid for your D…she can borrow a larger amount for a federal student loan. But, no fed grants for her. Her school might offer something, but usually med-related programs are paid by the student.</p>
<p>M2CK- my kids attended and applied to FAFSA schools, some counted the grad student, some did not. It is worth asking and worth comparing what the packages would be like in the future before choosing a school for the younger kid. As Thumper said, in some cases it might have simply been the loan classification, but it is good practice to ask how the school would count it and would their package change in the future.</p>
<p>Yes…some SCHOOLS do…</p>
<p>But that wasn’t the question. The OP was asking what she is to put on the FAFSA app. </p>
<p>*when I fill out FAFSA for HS senior, is it legitimate to say I have two in college?
*</p>
<p>Whether a SCHOOL will consider the grad school child is a different story…but that still won’t change the FAFSA EFC. The school may decide to give some extra bucks, but that’s a different issue.</p>
<p>FAFSA will not consider the grad school child when determining EFC. So, she should only say that she has ONE in college. </p>
<p>She can TELL the school, about the grad school child, but she can’t count that child on FAFSA.</p>
<p>I can’t remember if I was told to put it on the fafsa but my daughter’s schools also used the CSS and that I did with explanation. Whether they considered my son was another matter. Some schools didnt, some did and some did partly, meaning they gave some consideration for the family helping him.
It was easier for me to say my son was getting more help from us since he was living home and commuting an hour and only able to work part time.
Any little bit helped but you really had to ask the school, not much was listed on websites.</p>
<p>On the FAFSA there are a couple of questions. The first batch deal with the number of members of your HOUSEHOLD. If you are providing more than 50% support for your grad school kiddo, you can list the grad school child as a member of your household on the FAFSA (assuming she/he meets the requirements for you providing that support). </p>
<p>Then you are asked to list members of your household who are pursuing degrees. Your grad school member of the household can be listed on the undergrad siblings FAFSA ( the younger undergrad sib cannot be listed on the grad school students FAFSA…not a member of their household). </p>
<p>HOWEVER…and this is a big HOWEVER… The colleges can say NO to counting that grad school sibling. Some will count the grad school sib and others will not. You need to ask EACH college what they will do.</p>
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<p>I agree with thumper (until/unless kelsmom chimes in to tell us differently;) ) For FAFSA, grad students can be counted in the # in college as long as they are also counted in the household size. There is nothing in the instructions that automatically excludes them but many parents will not be providing more than 50% of the grad student’s support since support includes educational expenses:</p>
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<p>I know parents that pay for their child’s apartment for grad school, but it’s easier in my case because my son lived home to show expenses. He did take out loans though and work, it just wasn’t over 50%.
He did get an assistantship this year but it didn’t go into effect until November and then they took back his grants and other aid. We will have to see how that plays out tax-wise. For a masters program we were thrilled.</p>
<p>As I recall, we were told to include the grad student on the FAFSA, the school could choose to count them or not.</p>