Should I take a second job if it pushes us over FAFSA Pell Grant threshold?

I was in this exact situation last year with my daughter. I did the math and found that the loss of Pell Grant ($3,800) and subsidized loans ($5,500) was actually MORE than what I'd earn at a second job after taxes. Look at your Student Aid Index (SAI) from the FAFSA and see exactly how close you are to the cutoff. If you're really close, it's probably better to stay under the threshold. Also, look into work-study for your son - that income doesn't count against your FAFSA eligibility for next year.

omg i hate this stupid system!!! my mom went thru the EXACT same thing and when she took the 2nd job we lost ALL our aid and then she was working herself to DEATH just to break even. the whole fafsa thing is RIGGED against working families!!!

Look at contribtuions to retirement accounts insted. Putting $ into a 401k or IRA reduces ur income for FAFSA purposes but still lets u save money. Thats what we did with my kid. Still worked extra hrs but shelter some of it from FAFSA calculation.

I specialize in financial aid consulting, and this is a common situation. For the 2025-2026 aid year, here are some strategies to consider: 1) Time any income increases strategically - the FAFSA now uses income from two years prior, so extra earnings in 2025 won't affect aid until 2027-2028 2) Maximize retirement contributions as another commenter suggested - these are protected assets 3) Look at schools that meet demonstrated need with institutional grants, not just federal aid 4) Consider Nebraska's state-specific aid programs like the Nebraska Opportunity Grant, which has different thresholds than federal aid Finally, don't forget to appeal your financial aid offers with any special circumstances. Single-parent status and being near the threshold can sometimes lead to successful appeals.

When I was trying to figure this out last year, I spent HOURS trying to get through to someone at Federal Student Aid to ask about this exact scenario. Kept getting disconnected or waiting forever. Finally I found this service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that got me connected to an actual FAFSA agent in under 20 minutes. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ The agent I spoke with actually ran the numbers for our specific situation and confirmed we'd lose more in aid than we'd gain in income. He also gave us some strategies for staying under the threshold that were specific to our situation. Totally worth it because I was making myself crazy trying to figure this out alone.

This is a perfect example of what financial aid professionals call the "financial aid cliff" - where earning slightly more money actually leaves you worse off financially. Some additional strategies to consider: 1) If your employer offers an HSA (Health Savings Account), contributions reduce your AGI for FAFSA purposes 2) Instead of a second W-2 job, consider self-employment with legitimate business expenses that offset income 3) Shift the timing of any bonuses or additional income to years that won't affect your son's financial aid 4) Look at private scholarships that aren't need-based - many local organizations, professional associations, and community foundations offer scholarships based on other criteria One note of caution: While I understand the impulse to plan around FAFSA thresholds, never misrepresent your financial information, as that could create serious legal problems.

when my brother went to school in nebraska couple years ago my parents just had him claim independent on fafsa so their income didn't count at all. he got way more money that way

My daughter just started at UNL this fall!! Welcome to the Nebraska college parent club! We were in exactly the same boat last year, and what worked for us was I asked my employer for some unpaid time off instead of taking a second job. I basically worked 4 days a week instead of 5 for part of the year. It kept our income just under the threshold, and the drop in income was less than what we would have lost in aid. Plus I got to spend more time with my daughter before she left for college, which was priceless!

I'm dealing with this exact same situation right now! My daughter is a high school senior and we're just barely qualifying for some Pell Grant money too. What I've been doing is tracking our month-to-month income really carefully to see exactly where we stand. I created a spreadsheet to calculate the exact point where we'd lose aid versus what I'd gain from extra work. One thing that's helped is picking up occasional gig work (like DoorDash or Instacart) instead of a steady second job, because I can control exactly how much I earn and when. That way if we're getting close to the threshold, I can just stop working those extra hours. It's not ideal, but it gives me more flexibility than a traditional part-time job would. Good luck with everything - this whole process is so stressful!

This thread has been so helpful - I'm facing a similar situation with my son starting college next year. One thing I wanted to add that hasn't been mentioned yet is looking into your state's 529 education savings plan contributions. In some states, contributions to a 529 can be deducted from your state income taxes, which might help lower your overall tax burden even if it doesn't directly affect your federal FAFSA calculation. Also, if you have any older relatives who might be willing to help with college costs, having them contribute directly to the school (rather than giving you money that would count as income) can be a way to get assistance without it affecting your FAFSA eligibility. I learned this from our high school's college counselor and thought it might be useful for others in this situation. The whole system really does feel like you need a PhD in financial planning just to navigate it!

I'm a single mom going through this exact same thing with my daughter who's starting college in the fall! The FAFSA cliff effect is so real and frustrating. What helped me was using the Federal Student Aid Estimator tool on the FSA website to model different income scenarios before making any job decisions. I plugged in our current income versus what it would be with extra work, and it showed exactly how much aid we'd lose. Turns out I would have been working 15+ extra hours a week just to break even after losing Pell Grant and subsidized loans. Instead, I'm focusing on helping my daughter apply for as many private scholarships as possible - there are tons of smaller local ones that people don't even apply for. The high school guidance counselor gave us a list of like 50+ scholarships just in our area. It's more work upfront but potentially way more beneficial than me killing myself with a second job. Hang in there - this process is overwhelming but you're not alone!

As someone who just went through this exact scenario last year, I can't stress enough how important it is to run the actual numbers before making any decisions! I was in a very similar situation - single parent, son heading to college, right at that painful threshold where we qualified for some aid but not much. What I ended up doing was creating a detailed spreadsheet that showed our current aid package vs. what we'd lose if I earned X amount more. I also factored in the tax implications of additional income. Turns out, between losing Pell Grant eligibility and having to take unsubsidized instead of subsidized loans, plus paying higher taxes on the extra income, I would have needed to earn about $8,000 more just to break even! Instead, I focused on maximizing our current aid eligibility by contributing more to my 401k (which reduces AGI for FAFSA) and helped my son apply for every local scholarship we could find. He ended up getting three small local scholarships ($500-$1500 each) that made way more financial sense than me working extra hours. One last tip - if your son does end up at a Nebraska school, definitely look into their work-study programs. That income won't count against next year's FAFSA, and many of the jobs are really flexible around class schedules. Good luck navigating this - it's such a frustrating system but you'll figure out the best path for your family!

This thread has been incredibly eye-opening! As someone new to the college financial aid world, I had no idea about this "financial aid cliff" effect where earning more money could actually leave you worse off. Reading everyone's experiences and strategies has been so valuable. I'm particularly interested in the retirement account strategy that several people mentioned - using 401k contributions to lower your AGI for FAFSA purposes while still building savings seems like such a smart approach. The idea of timing income strategically around the two-year lookback period is also something I never would have considered. One question I have - for those who chose NOT to take the second job and focused on scholarship applications instead, how much time did you typically spend on scholarship searches and applications? I'm trying to figure out if the time investment in scholarships might be more worthwhile than working extra hours, but I'd love to hear more about the actual time commitment involved. Thanks to everyone for sharing such detailed, practical advice. This community is amazing for breaking down these complex financial aid decisions!

This whole thread has been such a lifesaver! I'm in almost the exact same boat as the original poster - single parent, son heading to college next fall, and sitting right at that frustrating income threshold where we qualify for some federal aid but not much. Reading through everyone's experiences and strategies has given me so much clarity on what I need to do. The idea of calculating the exact break-even point really resonates with me - I think I was getting caught up in the emotional stress of "I need to work more to afford college" without actually running the numbers to see if that would help or hurt us. I'm definitely going to start by using that Federal Student Aid Estimator tool to model different income scenarios, and I love the suggestion about maximizing 401k contributions to reduce our AGI. The gig work idea is brilliant too - having that flexibility to control exactly how much I earn gives me so much more power over staying under the threshold. For those who went the scholarship route instead of extra work - did you find it helpful to set aside specific days/times each week for scholarship applications, or did you approach it more sporadically? I'm trying to figure out the best way to make this a manageable process alongside everything else. Thanks to everyone for sharing such practical, real-world advice!