FAFSA housing question missing? Can't find where to indicate on-campus vs. off-campus living
I'm filling out the 2025-2026 FAFSA and I remember from last year there was definitely a question asking if I planned to live on campus, off campus, or with parents. I've gone through every section twice and can't find this question anywhere! Has anyone else noticed this? Did they remove it from the new FAFSA? My financial aid package last year was based partly on my housing costs, so I'm worried this will affect my aid amount. Is there somewhere else I'm supposed to indicate my housing plans now?
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Victoria Stark
You're absolutely right to be concerned! The housing question IS still part of the FAFSA process, but with the recent redesign, it's actually moved to a different section. Look under the "School Selection" area - after you select each school, there should be an option to indicate your housing plans for that specific institution. The system now asks for your housing plans on a per-school basis since your living situation might differ depending on which school you attend.
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Hassan Khoury
•Thank you so much! I just checked and you're right - it shows up AFTER I select each school. I completely missed that. So glad I asked!
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Benjamin Kim
same happened 2 me! almost submitted without it lol
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Samantha Howard
I don't think the housing question even matters anymore with the new FAFSA changes. My aid package was EXACTLY THE SAME whether I put on-campus or with parents!!! The whole system is rigged to give less money. They just want to know your housing plans so schools can charge you more for dorms. Don't believe me? Try changing your answer after you get your SAI and watch how it doesn't affect anything!!!
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Megan D'Acosta
•This information is not accurate. Your housing selection absolutely does still matter, but it affects your Cost of Attendance (COA) calculation at the school level, not your Student Aid Index (SAI). The SAI remains the same regardless of housing choice because it's based on your family's financial information, but each school uses your housing selection to determine your total COA, which then affects your final aid package. Living on-campus typically has a higher COA than living with parents, which can result in more aid eligibility.
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Sarah Ali
when i did mine the housing question appeared after i picked my schools too. def confusing since it used to be a main question!
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Ryan Vasquez
I've been trying to call the Federal Student Aid help line for TWO DAYS about this exact issue! Kept getting busy signals or disconnected after waiting for 45+ minutes. Finally used Claimyr (claimyr.com) to get through to someone at FSA. Their service connected me with an agent in under 10 minutes who confirmed the housing question is now school-specific. You can see how it works in their demo video: https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ - saved me so much frustration!
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Benjamin Kim
•does it work for real? hate being on hold forever
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Ryan Vasquez
•Yes! It actually works. Got me through to a live person who explained everything. Apparently a lot of people are confused about the housing question placement.
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Avery Saint
I'm working on my daughter's FAFSA right now and was literally just wondering the same thing! Thanks for asking this - I would have completely missed it too. This is my first time filling out the 'new' FAFSA and everything feels so different. Does anyone know if the housing selection affects the SAI calculation itself or just the final aid package? I want to make sure we're maximizing her aid opportunities.
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Megan D'Acosta
•The housing selection does not affect the SAI calculation. The SAI is purely based on your family's financial information (income, assets, household size, etc.). However, the housing selection is very important because it affects each school's Cost of Attendance (COA) calculation for your daughter. The school subtracts your SAI from their COA to determine need-based aid eligibility. So while changing housing won't change your SAI, it can significantly impact the final aid package at each school.
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Hassan Khoury
Does anyone know if you can change your housing selection later? I put on-campus for all my schools, but I might end up living off-campus for one of them depending on costs.
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Victoria Stark
•Yes, you can definitely change your housing selection later. Once you've been accepted and are working with a specific school's financial aid office, you can notify them of any changes to your housing plans. They'll recalculate your Cost of Attendance and adjust your aid package accordingly. Just be aware that changing from on-campus to off-campus (or especially to living with parents) might decrease your aid eligibility since your calculated expenses would be lower.
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Sarah Ali
my roomate said her finaid advisor told her to always put "on campus" even if ur not sure yet bc it gets u more money and u can change it later lol
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Megan D'Acosta
•I would strongly caution against intentionally providing incorrect information on the FAFSA, even for the housing question. While it's true you can update your housing selection later, deliberately misrepresenting your plans could potentially be considered financial aid fraud. Always provide your most accurate current plans, and then update the school if those plans change legitimately.
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Dominique Adams
This is such a helpful thread! I'm a parent helping my son with his FAFSA and we ran into the exact same issue. The new interface is definitely confusing compared to the old version. One thing I'd add is that if you're applying to multiple schools with different housing costs, it's worth double-checking that you've selected the right housing option for each one. We almost accidentally put "living with parents" for a school that's 500 miles away! The school-specific approach makes sense but it's easy to miss if you're not expecting it.
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