Will my own FAFSA application affect my son's financial aid while living together?

Good news - your FAFSA application won't directly impact your son's SAI calculation. The FAFSA considers each student individually, even if they're from the same household. Your income will still count toward his expected family contribution since you're his parent, but the fact that you're also a student doesn't negatively affect his aid package. In fact, having multiple family members in college can sometimes INCREASE aid eligibility because the expected family contribution gets divided among the number of people in college. Just make sure you both list the correct number of household members attending college on your respective applications.

parents and kids in school at the same time usually means MORE money for everyone! congrats on going back to school btw

This is actually a common situation with potential benefits. When you complete your FAFSA, you'll indicate that your son is in college. On his FAFSA, he should update it (if he hasn't already) to indicate that you'll be in college too. The system assigns each household a calculated contribution amount (SAI), which gets divided by the number of college students in the household. So having two students instead of one could potentially reduce each person's expected contribution, possibly increasing aid eligibility for both of you. Just make sure to report the correct number of household members in college on both applications.

You'll both need to make sure your FAFSAs correctly show the number of people in your household attending college. His SAI won't automatically update when you submit yours - you should contact his school's financial aid office to let them know about the change in your family's circumstances. They can help him submit a correction to his FAFSA or in some cases process a professional judgment review to adjust his aid package accordingly.

i was in the EXACT same situation with my daughter last year!!! we both got more money because of the multiple student thing but then we had to verify EVERYTHING with like 500 forms and tax documents. so annoying but worth it in the end i guess

The financial aid system is designed to PUNISH families trying to better themselves through education. When I went back to school while my son was in college, they made us jump through ENDLESS hoops to prove we weren't lying about both being students. The verification process took MONTHS and my son almost lost his housing because his aid was delayed. They'll probably make you both submit enrollment verification, tax transcripts, and household forms. And even after all that, they'll probably give you LESS than you deserve! The whole FAFSA process is broken!!

If ur struggling to get through to the financial aid office phone lines (I know I was!!), try using Claimyr. It helped me get through to someone at FSA when I needed to update my household info. You can see how it works at https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ and find it at claimyr.com - saved me hours of being on hold!!

To summarize what you need to do: 1. Complete your own FAFSA application 2. Ensure both applications correctly show 2 household members in college 3. Contact both financial aid offices to inform them of the update 4. Prepare for possible verification (collect tax documents, enrollment verification, etc.) 5. Submit any correction forms they require The multiple-in-college adjustment typically benefits both students, as your household's SAI gets divided among the number of students. Keep in mind that the specific impact depends on many factors including your income, dependency status, and the types of aid you're each eligible for.

I'm in a similar situation but reversed - I'm the student and my mom just went back to school. We had to fill out a "Multiple Household Members in College" form for my school's financial aid office. It asked for proof of enrollment for everyone listed as a student in the household. After we submitted it, my SAI was reduced and I qualified for a higher Pell Grant amount! So definitely worth doing, but be prepared with class schedules or enrollment letters for both of you.

just remember u gotta do this EVERY year!! my mom and i both got less money sophomore year cuz we forgot to update the multiple student thing!!

Welcome to the community! As someone who works in financial aid, I can confirm what others have said - having multiple family members in college is generally beneficial for aid eligibility. One tip I'd add is to keep detailed records of all communications with financial aid offices and save copies of every form you submit. Also, if either of you are planning to take classes part-time (less than 6 credit hours), make sure to clarify how that affects the "number in college" calculation, as some schools have specific policies about enrollment status. Best of luck to both of you on this educational journey!