FAFSA 'number in college' question - do concurrent enrollment high schoolers count?

Great question! For the FAFSA's "number in college" question, you should only count students who will be enrolled at least half-time in an eligible college program for the award year. High school students taking a few college classes through concurrent enrollment don't meet this requirement because they're primarily high school students. So for your situation, you should only count the 2 full-time college students. Including the concurrent enrollment students could actually flag your application for verification since it might look unusual.

count the 2 fulltime only. i tried counting my dual enrollment kid last year and got flagged for verification. total nightmare!

my son is in dual enrollment too and our college advisor said only count students who will graduate with a degree during the FAFSA year

Here's the official rule from the Federal Student Aid Handbook: "A student is considered to be enrolled in an eligible program if they're enrolled at least half-time in a degree-seeking program." Your concurrent enrollment high schoolers wouldn't meet this definition since they're not admitted as degree-seeking college students yet. Another way to think about it - who will be receiving a financial aid package? Only your full-time college students, right? The high schoolers in concurrent enrollment usually have their tuition covered by the high school or a special program, not through federal financial aid. So definitely just count the 2 full-time college students. This will give you the most favorable SAI calculation.

I've been trying to call the Federal Student Aid office for days about a similar question (I have a kid who might be taking a gap semester) and kept getting disconnected or waiting for hours. Someone on another thread recommended using Claimyr (claimyr.com) to get through to an actual person at FSA. I tried it yesterday and got connected to someone in 20 minutes instead of waiting for 2+ hours. They have a video showing how it works at https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ if you want to check it out. The agent confirmed that only students enrolled at least half-time in degree programs count for that question.

The FAFSA is SUCH a headache for blended families and non-traditional situations!! I have 6 kids in a blended family and figuring out who counts where almost caused a divorce last year 😂 BTW - did you know the FAFSA actually has a MAXIMUM number of kids they let you count for the household size calculation?? We found that out the hard way. The system wouldn't let us enter more than 10 household members online!

The official FAFSA instructions state: "Count yourself and your children if they will receive more than half of their support from you between July 1, 2025 and June 30, 2026. Include other people only if they live with you, receive more than half their support from you, and will continue to receive that support during the 2025-2026 academic year." For the number in college question specifically: "Enter the number of people in your household who will attend college between July 1, 2025 and June 30, 2026. Include only people who will attend a postsecondary institution at least half-time in a program that leads to a degree or certificate." The key phrase is "at least half-time in a program that leads to a degree or certificate." Your concurrent enrollment students are taking some college classes, but they're not enrolled half-time in a degree program. They're primarily high school students taking some advanced coursework.

As someone new to navigating FAFSA with multiple kids, this thread has been incredibly helpful! I'm in a similar situation with one child doing Running Start (our state's version of concurrent enrollment) and was wondering the same thing. It's really frustrating that the FAFSA instructions aren't clearer about this distinction. The fact that multiple people got flagged for verification just for trying to be thorough shows how confusing the system can be for families. Thanks to everyone who shared their experiences - it's saving me from making the same mistake! One follow-up question: does anyone know if there's a difference between how dual enrollment vs. Running Start vs. concurrent enrollment programs are treated, or are they all considered the same for FAFSA purposes?

This is such a great thread! I'm in my first year dealing with FAFSA and honestly had no idea about this distinction. I have a junior in high school who's planning to do dual enrollment next year, and I was already mentally counting them as a "college student" for future FAFSA purposes. Reading about everyone getting flagged for verification is really eye-opening. It sounds like the system is pretty strict about this half-time enrollment requirement. Does anyone know if there's a specific credit hour threshold that defines "half-time" or does it vary by institution? I want to make sure I understand this correctly before my daughter starts applying to colleges. Also, has anyone found any other resources besides calling FSA directly that help clarify these edge cases? The official FAFSA website seems to assume everyone fits into neat little boxes!

As someone who works in a high school guidance office, I see this confusion ALL the time! The distinction between concurrent enrollment students and actual college students is one of the most misunderstood aspects of FAFSA completion. I always tell parents to think of it this way: if your child is still working toward their high school diploma as their primary educational goal, they don't count as a college student for FAFSA purposes, regardless of how many college credits they're earning on the side. One thing I haven't seen mentioned here yet - make sure you keep good records of which students you counted and why. If you do get selected for verification, having your reasoning documented can speed up the process. Also, some families find it helpful to print out the relevant FAFSA instructions and highlight the key phrases about "half-time" and "degree-seeking" enrollment to refer back to each year. The silver lining is that once those concurrent enrollment students graduate high school and enroll in college full-time, then you'll be able to count them for future FAFSA applications!

This thread has been incredibly enlightening! I'm new to the FAFSA world with my oldest just starting to look at colleges, and I had no idea about this distinction between concurrent enrollment and actual college students. What really strikes me is how many families seem to run into this same confusion - it makes me wonder why the FAFSA instructions aren't more explicit about these common scenarios. The fact that so many people got flagged for verification just for trying to include students who are technically earning college credits seems like a design flaw in the system. I'm bookmarking this thread for future reference, especially @Finley Garrett's advice about documenting your reasoning and @Sofia Rodriguez's exact quote from the official instructions. It's clear that the key phrase "at least half-time in a program that leads to a degree or certificate" is what really matters here, not just whether someone is taking college-level courses. Thanks to everyone for sharing their experiences - you've saved me from what sounds like a verification nightmare down the road!

As a newcomer to this community, I just want to say thank you to everyone who contributed to this thread! I'm starting my FAFSA journey with twins who will be college freshmen next year, plus a younger daughter in dual enrollment, and I was definitely planning to count all three as "college students." Reading through everyone's experiences - especially the verification nightmares - has been a real eye-opener. The distinction between being a high school student taking college classes versus being an actual degree-seeking college student makes perfect sense now, but it's not intuitive at first glance. @Finley Garrett's advice about keeping documentation is gold, and I love @Sofia Rodriguez's approach of quoting the exact FAFSA language. I'm printing that out right now! It's also reassuring to know that services like the one @Ava Thompson mentioned exist for when you need to actually talk to a human at FSA. This community is amazing - thank you all for sharing your hard-earned wisdom and saving future families from making these costly mistakes!

As someone new to this community and just starting the FAFSA process, this entire discussion has been incredibly valuable! I'm dealing with a similar situation - one child in college full-time and another doing dual enrollment through our local community college while finishing high school. What really stands out to me is how the FAFSA system seems to penalize families for being thorough and trying to include all students who are technically taking college courses. The verification horror stories from @Dylan Hughes and @Fatima Al-Sayed are eye-opening - it sounds like the system assumes you're trying to game it rather than just being confused by unclear instructions. The key takeaway for me is @Sofia Rodriguez's point about the official language requiring "at least half-time in a program that leads to a degree or certificate." That makes it crystal clear that dual enrollment students don't qualify since they're primarily high school students, even though they're earning college credits. Thanks to everyone for sharing your experiences and saving newcomers like me from making these mistakes. This thread should honestly be pinned as required reading for anyone with kids in concurrent enrollment programs!