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!