Will my FAFSA application affect my daughter's financial aid eligibility?
I'm planning to go back for my master's degree next fall and will need to fill out my own FAFSA. My daughter is currently a sophomore in college with her own financial aid package. I'm worried that if I apply for financial aid for myself, it might somehow impact her current aid situation. Does anyone know if there's any connection between parent and child FAFSA applications when we're both in school? Will my returning to school affect her expected family contribution or SAI score? She's considered a dependent on my taxes if that matters.
20 comments
Join the conversation
Alicia Stern
I was in a similar situation last year! Your FAFSA application won't directly impact your daughter's financial aid eligibility. Since you're both filing separate FAFSA applications, the system treats you as independent applicants. However, if your income changes because you're reducing work hours to attend school, that COULD impact her aid next year when she reapplies.
0 coins
Alexander Zeus
•Thank you! That's a relief to hear. I am planning to cut back to part-time at work, so our household income will drop by about 40%. Would that actually help her aid package for next year then?
0 coins
Gabriel Graham
my sister n me were both in college at same time with our mom. each fafsa is seperate but ur income matters for ur daughters fafsa since shes ur dependent. ur school status doesnt matter for her aid but ur income does
0 coins
Alexander Zeus
•So even though I'll be in school, they'll still count my full income toward her EFC/SAI calculation? That seems unfair if I'm also paying for my own education...
0 coins
Drake
There are a few important technical points to clarify here: 1. Your FAFSA application and your daughter's are completely separate 2. Your status as a student does NOT automatically lower your daughter's SAI (Student Aid Index, formerly EFC) 3. HOWEVER, your changed financial circumstances (reduced income from working part-time) WILL be reflected in her next FAFSA 4. For the current aid year, your daughter's package is already set and won't change unless you submit an income appeal 5. For next year's FAFSA, your reduced income would potentially qualify her for more aid One important thing: If your daughter is listed as your dependent on taxes, but you're also a student, neither of you can claim the other as a dependent on your FAFSA forms.
0 coins
Alexander Zeus
•Thank you for the detailed explanation! That makes perfect sense. I was confused about whether being a student myself would automatically change her status. Good to know about the dependent situation too - I'll make sure we both fill out that section correctly.
0 coins
Sarah Jones
DONT BELIEVE WHAT PPL ARE SAYING HERE!!! When I went back to school with my son in college they TOTALLY changed his financial aid package mid-year!! The financial aid office said it was because they had to "redistribute family resources" or some garbage. We LOST almost $3000 of his grant money!!
0 coins
Drake
•That's not typically how the system works. If your son's aid was adjusted mid-year, there were likely other factors involved. The standard FAFSA process doesn't automatically adjust aid when a parent becomes a student. There may have been other changes to your household finances or an error in the original application that was discovered.
0 coins
Sebastian Scott
Just wanted to add - I've been trying to reach someone at FSA about a similar situation for THREE WEEKS. Kept getting disconnected or waiting 2+ hours. Finally used Claimyr (claimyr.com) and got through to an agent in 20 minutes who confirmed that parent education status doesn't directly impact dependent student aid. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ. Saved me so much frustration!
0 coins
Alexander Zeus
•Thanks for the tip! I've been trying to call FSA directly too but kept getting disconnected. I'll check this out - need to get some definite answers before I make any decisions about school.
0 coins
Emily Sanjay
This is actually a common question. Your student status doesn't directly affect your daughter's FAFSA. However, there's an important consideration: if your return to school will affect your Adjusted Gross Income (AGI), that will impact your daughter's next FAFSA calculation. The current year's FAFSA is already processed and won't change. Also, if you're receiving any education tax credits like the American Opportunity Credit or Lifetime Learning Credit, those don't impact the FAFSA calculations either.
0 coins
Jordan Walker
•Wait I'm confused... so if both parent and child are in school at the same time, does that mean the parent's expected contribution is lower? My mom is thinking about going back to school and I'm wondering if that would help my financial aid situation for next year.
0 coins
Emily Sanjay
•No, your parent being a student doesn't automatically lower their expected contribution. What matters is household income. If your mom reduces work hours to attend school and earns less, THAT would potentially increase your aid. Her student status itself isn't a factor in your SAI calculation.
0 coins
Jordan Walker
soooo wait does this mean OP could potentially qualify for more aid themselves bc they have a dependent in college?? the FAFSA has that question about how many people in your household are in college right?
0 coins
Drake
•That's a great point! Yes, when OP completes their own FAFSA, they'll be asked how many people in their household are attending college. Having a dependent also in college could potentially increase OP's own aid eligibility. However, OP's daughter cannot count OP in her number of family members in college because FAFSA specifically excludes parents from that count on a dependent student's application.
0 coins
Alicia Stern
Don't forget to check with your school's financial aid office about education benefits through your employer if you're working! My company had tuition assistance that didn't affect my son's FAFSA at all. Many employers offer education benefits that aren't reported as income on your taxes, which means they won't impact your daughter's aid calculations either.
0 coins
Alexander Zeus
•That's a great suggestion! My company does have a tuition reimbursement program that covers about $5,250 per year. I'll double-check how that's reported for tax and FAFSA purposes. Would be great if that doesn't count as income!
0 coins
Jordan Walker
i thought there was some kind of special form for when both parent and kid are in school? my cousins filled something out for this exact situation last year. something about family members in college? anybody know what im talking about??
0 coins
Drake
•There's no special form specifically for this situation. What you're thinking of is probably just the standard FAFSA question about the number of family members in college. On a dependent student's FAFSA, parents aren't counted in this number. On a parent's FAFSA (like OP's), they can count their college-attending dependents. Some schools may have their own institutional forms that gather additional information, but there's no standard federal form specifically for parent-child concurrent enrollment.
0 coins
Emily Parker
Just to add some reassurance - I went through this exact situation two years ago when I started my MBA while my daughter was a junior in college. The key thing that helped us was timing our FAFSA applications strategically. Since your income reduction from going part-time won't show up on tax returns until next year, you might want to contact your daughter's financial aid office about a "special circumstances" or "professional judgment" review for her current aid year if the income change is significant. They can sometimes adjust aid mid-year based on documented changes in family financial situation. Also, keep detailed records of your school expenses - while they don't directly reduce your daughter's SAI, they can sometimes be considered in appeals processes.
0 coins