FAFSA household size confusion - include graduate student siblings or not?

i had the same problem last year with my sister. we ended up counting her in household size but NOT as a college student (since she was in grad school). worked fine for us, no verification or anything.

This is a common point of confusion. The household size question and the number in college question have different rules. For household size, you should include siblings who receive more than half their support from your parents, regardless of whether they're undergraduate or graduate students. For the number in college, you only count undergraduate students. So in your case, you SHOULD count your brother in household size if your parents provide more than half his support, but you should NOT count him in the number in college question since he's a graduate student.

Actually, the determination for household size isn't based on tax dependency status - it's about financial support. If your parents provide more than 50% of your brother's support, he should be included in household size regardless of whether he's in undergrad or grad school. The "number in college" question is separate - that's where only undergraduate students working on their first degree should be counted.

The FAFSA system is RIDICULOUS!! I made this exact mistake last year and it triggered verification which delayed my aid by MONTHS. I had to send in proof of my brother's expenses and how much my parents contributed and it was a COMPLETE NIGHTMARE. The FA office at my school gave me wrong information too! Honestly I hate this whole process with a burning passion.

I was struggling with this exact issue and kept getting disconnected when calling the FSA helpline. I finally used Claimyr.com to get through to an actual person at Federal Student Aid who confirmed that graduate students DO count in household size if parents provide 50%+ support, but NOT in the number in college section. They have a video demo at https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ that shows how easy it is to get connected. Saved me from making a mistake that could have delayed my aid package.

my cousin works in financial aid at a community college and she says this question causes sooooo many problems every year! she told me there's actually a whole training thing they have to do about household size vs. number in college because people mess it up all the time

To summarize for anyone else who finds this thread: 1. Household size: Include siblings who receive more than 50% support from parents, regardless of education level (including grad students) 2. Number in college: Only count those who will be enrolled at least half-time in an undergraduate program And remember, if you're unsure about whether someone receives more than 50% support, look at their total annual expenses (housing, food, medical, education, etc.) and determine if your parents provide more than half of that total. Documentation of this may be required if selected for verification.

ok but what about siblings who live at home during summer break but are mostly at college during the year? my sister is at school 8 months but home for 4 months and my parents pay for everything during summer but she has financial aid during school year. this whole system is soooo confusing!!!!

pro tip: if ur on the borderline between counting someone or not, usually better to include them in household size. makes ur SAI lower and usually helps u get more aid. just make sure u can back it up if they ask for verification

Thanks everyone for all the helpful information! I'm going to count my brother in household size but not in number in college. My parents definitely provide over 50% of his support when you add up his rent, health insurance, car insurance, and the extra expenses they cover. I feel much more confident about how to answer this now! I really appreciate all the guidance.

I just went through this exact same situation last month! What really helped me was creating a simple spreadsheet to track all the expenses my parents cover for my sister (who's in grad school). I listed things like her rent contribution, health insurance, car payments, groceries when she's home, etc. It made it super clear that they provide way more than 50% of her support. Having that documentation ready also gave me peace of mind in case I got selected for verification. Definitely include your brother in household size if your parents are covering that much - it sounds like you have a solid case for it!

As someone who just completed the FAFSA process, I can confirm what others have said here is correct! The key distinction is that household size and number in college are two separate questions with different rules. I included my older sister (who's in law school) in our household size because my parents pay for her apartment, health insurance, and food expenses - easily over 50% of her total costs. But I didn't count her in the "number in college" section since she's a graduate student. My financial aid counselor actually praised me for getting this right because so many students mix up these two questions. The spreadsheet idea from Fatima is brilliant - I wish I had thought of that! It would have made the verification process much smoother when I had to prove the support amounts.

This thread has been incredibly helpful! I'm a newcomer here and was just about to ask this exact same question. My situation is almost identical - I have a brother in graduate school and my parents weren't sure whether to include him or not. Reading through all these responses, especially the clear explanation from Ryder about the difference between household size and number in college, has saved me so much confusion. I love the spreadsheet idea too - I'm definitely going to track all the expenses my parents cover for my brother to make sure I have documentation ready. It's really reassuring to see that so many people have dealt with this same issue and gotten it sorted out correctly. Thanks everyone for making this so much clearer for those of us just starting the FAFSA process!

Hi everyone! I'm new to this community and this thread has been a lifesaver. I'm facing the exact same dilemma with my twin sister who's in her first year of graduate school. My parents cover her rent, groceries, health insurance, and cell phone bill, which definitely adds up to more than 50% of her expenses. Based on all the advice here, I'm planning to include her in household size but not in the number in college section. The spreadsheet idea is genius - I'm going to create one right now to document everything my parents pay for her. It's so comforting to know that this confusion is common and that there are clear guidelines once you understand the distinction between the two questions. Thanks to everyone who shared their experiences, especially those who went through verification - it helps to know what to expect!

Welcome to the community! As a newcomer, I have to say this thread has been incredibly enlightening. I'm currently filling out my FAFSA and was completely confused about this household size question - my older brother is in his second year of medical school and my parents weren't sure whether to count him or not. After reading through all these responses, it's crystal clear now that since my parents pay for his housing, health insurance, car insurance, and help with living expenses (definitely more than 50% of his total costs), he should be included in household size but NOT in the number in college section since he's a graduate student. The spreadsheet tracking idea is brilliant - I'm going to implement that immediately to document all the support my parents provide. It's really reassuring to see how many people have navigated this successfully and that there are actual FSA agents who can clarify these rules when needed. Thank you all for sharing your experiences and making this process so much less stressful for newcomers like me!

Hi everyone! I'm new to this community and just wanted to say how incredibly helpful this thread has been! I'm in almost the exact same situation - my older sister is in graduate school for social work and my parents weren't sure whether to include her in our household size. After reading through all these detailed explanations, especially the clear breakdown from Ryder and the real-world experiences from people like Chloe and Kayla, I now understand that I should include her in household size since my parents definitely provide more than 50% of her support (they pay her rent, car payment, health insurance, and groceries when she's home), but I should NOT count her in the number attending college section since she's a graduate student. The spreadsheet idea that Fatima suggested is absolutely genius - I'm going to create one right now to track all the expenses my parents cover for my sister so I have everything documented in case of verification. It's such a relief to find a community where people actually explain these confusing FAFSA rules clearly instead of just giving vague advice. Thank you all for making this process so much less overwhelming for newcomers like me!

Hi everyone! I'm completely new to this community and stumbled upon this thread while desperately searching for answers about the household size question on my FAFSA. I can't believe how perfectly this addresses my exact situation! My older brother is in his first year of a Master's program in engineering, and my parents have been going back and forth about whether to include him or not. After reading through all these incredibly detailed responses, I now completely understand the distinction between household size (include him since my parents pay his rent, health insurance, phone bill, and food expenses - definitely over 50% of his total costs) and number in college (don't include him since he's a graduate student). The spreadsheet tracking idea that multiple people have mentioned is absolutely brilliant - I'm creating one right now to document everything my parents contribute toward my brother's expenses. It's such a relief to find a community where people share real experiences and actual solutions rather than just repeating confusing official language. Thank you all for making this intimidating FAFSA process so much more manageable for newcomers like me! This thread should honestly be pinned as a resource for anyone dealing with graduate student siblings.