FAFSA question: Do grad students count in 'number in college' section?
I'm filling out the FAFSA for my son who will be a junior next year, and I'm confused about how to count my daughter. She's currently applying to graduate programs and will likely start next fall. When the FAFSA asks for 'number of people in college,' should I include her or does that section only count undergraduate students? I don't want to mess up our SAI calculation by reporting the wrong information. Thanks for any help!
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Aaron Boston
yes u should include her! the fafsa counts both undergrad and grad students in the # of household members in college. my brother is in med school and i'm in my sophomore year and my parents counted both of us
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Sofia Peña
•That's such a relief to hear! I was worried graduate programs might be treated differently. Thanks for letting me know about your situation.
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Sophia Carter
You definitely include her. The FAFSA question about "number in college" includes all family members enrolled at least half-time in a degree or certificate program at an eligible postsecondary institution. This includes both undergraduate AND graduate students. Having more family members in college typically reduces your Student Aid Index (SAI) because the family's resources are considered to be spread among multiple students.
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Chloe Zhang
•wait but does the grad student also need to be on the parents fafsa? my sister is in grad school but she does her own taxes and everything
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Brandon Parker
Actually, I think this changed with the new FAFSA. I remember reading something about how they're calculating family contribution differently now and the "number in college" doesn't reduce the SAI as much as it used to. Anyone know for sure? The whole FAFSA simplification has me confused about everything.
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Adriana Cohn
•You're partially right. With the 2024-2025 FAFSA simplification, the impact of multiple students in college has changed, but you STILL report all undergraduate and graduate students in your household who will be enrolled at least half-time. The formula now divides the Student Aid Index (SAI) by the number of family members in college, rather than making more complex adjustments like the old system did. So it's still beneficial to report all eligible students accurately.
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Jace Caspullo
I tried calling the Federal Student Aid office to get a clear answer on this exact question last month and was stuck on hold FOREVER. Ended up using Claimyr (claimyr.com) to get through - they called and waited on hold for me, then connected me when an agent was ready. They have a demo video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ. The agent confirmed that yes, graduate students DO count in the number in college as long as they're enrolled at least half-time.
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Sofia Peña
•Thanks for the resource! I've been trying to get through to ask questions too and it's been impossible. I'll check out that service if I need more clarification.
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Melody Miles
I almost made this exact same mistake!!! Last year I didn't include my son who was in his first year of law school, and our financial aid officer told me during a review that I should have included him. She said it would have potentially lowered our SAI calculation. So definitely include your daughter if she'll be enrolled at least half-time next year.
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Sofia Peña
•Oh wow, that's good to know. Did they let you correct it after the fact? I wonder how much of a difference it made to your son's aid package.
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Melody Miles
•Yes, we were able to make a correction through our financial aid office! It ended up reducing our SAI by about 3,500 points, which meant an additional $2,000 in grants for my younger daughter. Not life-changing but definitely worth getting right.
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Diego Vargas
Just wanted to add my experience - I work at a college financial aid office and can confirm that graduate students absolutely count! The key requirement is that they're enrolled at least half-time in a degree or certificate program at an eligible institution. This includes master's programs, doctoral programs, professional programs like law or medical school, etc. One thing to keep in mind though - if your daughter is considered a graduate student, she'll likely be filing her own FAFSA as an independent student (grad students are automatically considered independent for federal aid purposes). But for YOUR son's FAFSA, you would still count her in the "number in college" section since she's part of your household and will be enrolled. Hope this helps clarify!
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