<p>When applying for financial aid, income tax returns are requested. The issue is, my dad will be without income for the upcoming year. He has the bare minimum saved up in his bank account (<8,000) to pay for expenses, but my older brother will be helping with whatever he can. He can only do so much, however, because he's still paying off his own student loans.</p>
<p>My question is, do colleges also factor in my brother's income for financial aid? Most colleges I'm looking at only explicitly state that parental income is factored in for expected family contribution. They didn't say anything about sibling contributions, so am I under the wrong impression to presume that colleges only look at my dad's income? I'm not my brother's dependent and he's not my legal guardian.</p>
<p>Also, if my dad's income for the upcoming year is $0, should he still get his taxes done for the sake of submitting it to colleges? I know his current assets will be factored into any aid decision, but there is barely any to drastically increase family contribution. I'm just a little worried because my brother's income is roughly $50,000 after taxes, but that's adjusting for eight years of school debt he's acquired (didn't receive any aid besides federal), housing expenses (mortgage, bills). He's living at home at the moment. I'm looking to attend a universities and colleges that have sticker prices of around $40,000-50,000 annually. Any help is appreciated.</p>
<p>Your brother’s income will not be asked on your FAFSA, so it is essentially invisible, at least for your first year. If your brother gives you money however (for anything; tuition, room & board, to help pay bills or buy food, or if he pays bills on your behalf… anything) you are required to report it on your FAFSA the year following when the money was received, and that can affect your FAFSA EFC for the following year. The FAFSA will treat that as unearned income to the student.</p>
<p>You can get around this by having your brother actually give the money to your father. Your father is not required to report gifts to him as long he is free to spend it as he chooses… which, if it’s a gift to him goes without saying or else it’s not a gift.</p>
<p>If your father chooses to spend that money helping you with your college costs, that money will not show up on your subsequent FAFSAs.</p>
<p>However, whatever schools you are hoping to attend, with your financial situation and your father’s income/assets limitation, you absolutely need to also apply to a school you can afford. That is likely a state university that is in commuting distance.</p>
<p>You may be able to work out the finances at an expensive private if it has excellent financial aid, but if you can’t you definitely need an affordable fall-back option.</p>
<p>Also private colleges often have additional financial aid forms that need to be submitted. Frequently that is the CSS Profile.</p>
<p>Your father’s savings are small enough that they will not be part of your FAFSA calculation.</p>
<p>As to paying to get his taxes done… probably he’d be better off just doing them himself. There are several good tax preparation software programs if he’d feel more comfortable with step-by-step instructions about how to do that. They’ll run in the range of $30, but there are also some free options available online.</p>
<p>Thanks for replying so thoroughly, you have no idea how relieved I am to read what you wrote. And as for the suggestions, I’ll take it to heart, and if anything I’d be more than willing to take out loans to subsidize whatever isn’t covered by college financial aid; at least then I won’t be a financial burden on my family. However, public universities in my state wouldn’t be the best place for the kind of an education I want, and although I know any sort of higher education is a privilege, but I’ve always dreamed big. I don’t want to sound arrogant or entitled, and I certainly don’t want to soar to close to the sun only to fall down into the sea, but at this point in my life, my mind is more concerned with my own ambitions than what is pragmatic.</p>
<p>xscan…</p>
<p>You may end up with a low EFC, but be aware that most schools don’t meet need. So, you could still be gapped at various schools.</p>
<p>EFC 0 just means that you’d get a $5550 grant from Pell…and maybe some student loans and maybe some work-study. An EFC 0 doesn’t mean that a student gets a free ride.</p>
<p>Just remember that your education is more what you make of it than it is where you go to school. You may not feel like being pragmatic now, but very, very many students find that in the end they just cannot make the money work at expensive privates. You may be willing to sock yourself into deep debt (not wise, by the way), but there will also be fixed limits as to how much you’ll even be allowed to borrow. That amount will not likely meet the costs of a 40-50K school, even after any federal aid you receive.</p>
<p>Dream big, but have that affordable fall-back school. Best of luck to you.</p>