Thinking about the FAFSA for School Year 2019-2020

We have 3 kids. Oldest will graduate either in Summer 2019 or Fall 2019, not sure yet. Middle kid will be a junior. Youngest kid will be starting college 2019.

So I’m thinking when I fill out the fafsa it will be for all 3 kids even though oldest is going to graduate sometime that year. What if she graduates in the summer? I believe I need to fill the FAFSA out for her if she would require loans?

I was just thinking youngest is going to be at an advantage having 3 in school but I’ll need to keep in mind that he might not qualify for all he does after the 1st year. Our EFC is 12,000, or has been up to now, I don’t see it changing drastically.

But I guess I’m wondering how it would be handled if oldest could graduate in Summer 19? I can still list her on FAFSA?

I believe the colleges want to know how many will be in college at the same time.

SO if your one kid graduates summer 2019 and the other starts college fall 2019, they will not overlap in school.

@kelsmom how would,this parent complete the fafsa for these kids if the summer 2019 is part of the 2019-2020 school year…but the older kid will be done before the younger one starts?

The thing is I’m not sure I’ll know in Oct 18 if oldest can graduate summer 19 or fall 19. I’ll have to wait until she schedules for spring to see if she can get in all her classes.

You don’t have to do the FAFSA in October, unless the school or state aid deadline requires it.
You could file it after Dec, when the oldest would have to register intent to graduate in the spring.

If your income in 2017 will be similar to your income in 2015, then with 3 in college your EFC might go down to $8,000, if it is $12,000 now with 2 in college.

But you are right, when you look at net price calculators, keep in mind that the first year aid the youngest gets if 3 are in college will be less in subsequent years, when there are only 2 or 1 in college. But of course you will also pay less overall because the other siblings will have graduated.

Oops EFC is a little over 6k for each child. When I only had one it was 12k. I usually do file in Oct because some grants are first come first serve.

What state are you in? Do your other two kids get any federal or state grants now with an EFC of $6,000?

Pell and SEOG are only for EFC below $5,000 I believe. But Pell eligibility is not first come first served.

I’m in Ohio and my one gets grants from her college (nothing from the state) that are first come first serve, so I do the FAFSA as soon as it opens.

How “usually” did you file FAFSA in October? It just started last year to have it available in October. Even grant money is limited, it is not going to make difference as admission notice is not even out until much later than October.

@billcsho

There are certain types of need based aid that have limited funding per college campus…and are awarded on a first come/first served basis. These include federal work study, SEOG, and Perkins loans. Some colleges also have limited funding of their own…and award on a first come, first served basis.

Because the financial aid forms use prior prior year now…if a family really needs these funds…it’s best to file as close to October 1 as possible.

For these awards…the early bird catches the worm!

You file with the information you have at the time. As of October 2017, does your oldest plan on being in school in Fall of 2018? If so, file for three. I’m fairly sure you’ll be selected for verification. If things change in Fall 2018, let the schools of those kids still in school know, but I don’t think they’ll make a change. Siblings drop out of school all the time, sometimes before the school year starts, sometimes after.

@twoinanddone I agree…siblings drop out all,the time. BUT if this kid receives something like a Pell Grant…and one sibling is no longer in college…it’s very likely that that will be reduced. And if it is already disbursed…will need to be repaid.

Some colleges DO ask for documentation that siblings ARE enrolled. If that documentation is not forthcoming…this student could lose some federally funded aid.

If OP’s EFC is 12k now, when all 3 kids are in college the EFC will be 8k, making them ineligible for PELL/SEOG, so federally funded need based aid will not be an issue.

When you are down to 2 in college, your EFC will probably go back to 12k if your income remains pretty stable. When middle kid graduates when your youngest is a junior, and being in college by his/herself, your EFC will be 24k provided that your income remains stable.

Again, if your income/assets remain stable, minimally you will still be paying out the approximately same 24k EFC regardless of the number of kids you have in college.

To the OP…

Will ALL of your kids attend schools that promise to meet full need for all? Because if they don’t…your EFC for any one of them who doesn’t will be the minimum you will be exoected to pay. AND your need based financial,aid might not increase…a dime…for the others.

https://www.ohiohighered.org/ocog

If your EFC with 3 in college would drop to $4,000 each student, then they would qualify for less than $2,000 Pell and according to link above, no OCOG.

What each school will give, will depend on their aid policies. Private LACs might give institutional grants, as well as merit.

You can run net price calculators on college websites. They should give you an idea of aid they might give for different EFCs. If they require CSS profile too, then the aid won’t be based on FAFSA EFC alone, and home equity might be considered too.

But you have lots of excellent options in Ohio. Publics and LACs.

Testing for understanding;

Is your middle child currently a high school junior or a college junior?

@thumper1 no not full meets schools. @sybbie719 middle child is a college sophomore now but will be a Senior when kid 3 starts college Fall 19. Middle child is the one who gets grants at her school for housing. It’s first come first serve. And ya I did FAFSA Jan 1 her 1st year and then when it switched to Oct, I did it the 1st then because I know we have to get that done to be eligible for her grant.

It was just something I was thinking about that night because not sure if Kid 1 would graduate on time because of co-ops and sometimes classes are only offered certain times of the year. I just didn’t know how it would all play out if we thought Kid 1 would be in school when Kid 3 started and how all that works. Just trying to educate myself.

When 1st kid was only in college our EFC was 12k, when the middle joined each kid has a 6k EFC, so that got me thinking when last kid started the EFC I “thought?” might go down again and I’d need to keep in mind that kid 3 wouldn’t qualify for all he did first year for subsequent years and we’ll have to make sure we keep that in mind.

And wondering how the process worked if you did the FAFSA for 3 in school when/if one graduates that summer.

I’m thinking I should edit to say the Middle child who gets the housing grants, they can be used at certain “off Campus” housing units. Thought someone might comment that a senior might not be living in campus housing.

Thanks for the clarification.

Right now with 2 students in college, your EFC is 12k. I stand by my response in post # 11. When all three of your children are in college together, your EFC will minimally be 8k. When your youngest is the only one in college and your family income and assets remain stable, your EFC will minimally be 24k.

@Sybbie719 why will my efc go to 24k when youngest is alone in school? When it was only my oldest our efc was 12k don’t understand why it would double for just him instead of going back to 12k??

@seekingknowledge

Your post is missing pertinent information. we can only provide answers based on what you have written.

Your wrote:

On face it is not clear if you have 2 kids in high school and one in college or one in high school or 2 in college. This is why we asked for clarification.

You filed the fafsa with 2 in college. Even if you have to pay your EFC for one of your kids and are getting enough aid so that you may not be paying the full EFC for your other child (perhaps because of merit $$ or other funding, it still does not negate the fact that your EFC of 12k when for 2 in college still comes out to `12k per kid.

When you have all three kids in college your federal EFC will be divided by 3 ~ 8k per kid

When your 2 older children have graduated and you only have one kid in college, your total EFC will not be split amongst any kids so you last child when he is in college by himself your EFC will be 24k

Try running the net price calculator with one kid in college, with 2 kids in college and with 3 kids in college and you will get a better idea as what your EFC is looking like.

If we are looking at your situation erroneously, please clarify your situation, so that we can give you our best advice.

Sorry yes I see it is not written clear. I have 2 in college now and one in high school NOW. High schooler will start college in 2019.

When my first child was in college alone2014-15) our efc for her was 12k. When our middle d’s joined her in college(16-17) our efc per child was 6k (maybe not 6k exactly forget the exact# per kid).

Anyway thanks all for your replies. I was just confused on filling out FAFSA for 3 if my oldest would graduate in summer.