<p>Any school can do what it pleases in terms of how it wants to view the financials when it come to its own money. There is no “fair” involved here. They decide which student they want and if they want to pay for them to come. </p>
<p>For the FAFSA determination, the rules are set out, but in cases when things are not clear cut, the financial aid directors do make the professional judgement. Kelsmom who has worked FA offices can probably tell you how she has seen income splits for the prior year in situations like this. I have no idea. My feeling would be that since the parties were living together all year, the split should be along 50/50 lines, but that is just my take on it and has no bearing on what the decision will be.</p>
<p>For future years the salary will be mom’s if that who the student is spending the most time with, and any child support would also be reported. There are certain rules that are straightforward but when one gets inot situations that are not frequently seen with truly unique twists, a professional judgement has to be made.</p>