Will my son's new full-time job affect his current FAFSA financial aid mid-semester?

Current semester aid won't be affected since it's already disbursed based on prior-prior year income (2023 taxes for 2025-2026 aid year). However, his income this year will definitely impact next year's FAFSA. If he's still your dependent, your household income matters more than his, but $42k is significant enough to potentially raise his SAI for next year.

That's a relief about this semester at least! Do you know roughly how much his SAI might increase with the new job? He's still my dependent (he's 19).

my daughter started working fulltime during her sophmore year and it DESTROYED her aid package the next year. went from getting almost full coverage to barely anything. tell him to stay part time if he can!!!!

Oh no, that's exactly what I'm afraid of! Was your daughter still considered your dependent when that happened?

yes she was still our dependent. the finaid office said student income is assessed at a higher rate than parent income in the formula or something like that. her 38k job cut her grants by like 70%

This is a tricky situation! The FAFSA uses what's called

Thank you for this detailed explanation! He does have some institutional scholarships, so I'll definitely have him check with the financial aid office about their policies.

my brother had this EXACT same thing happen!! he took a job his freshman year making good money and it totally messed up his FAFSA. he ended up having to take out way more loans for sophomore year. if ur son can wait till summer maybe thats better?

One thing to consider is whether the full-time job will affect his student status. Many schools require a minimum number of credit hours to be considered full-time, which affects aid eligibility. Beyond the income issue, if he drops below full-time status (usually 12 credits), some of his current aid might be prorated or cancelled immediately.\n\nAnother consideration: if the job offers tuition benefits, that might offset some of the potential aid loss in future semesters.

Great point about his enrollment status! I'll check if he can manage both. The job doesn't offer tuition benefits yet, unfortunately. They said those kick in after a year.

Hi there! I work in a college financial aid office, so I can offer some insight. For federal aid (Pell Grants, direct loans, etc.), your son is completely fine for the current academic year - that aid won't be affected by new income. For future years, yes, his higher income will likely increase his SAI.\n\nIf you're really concerned about reaching someone at Federal Student Aid to discuss the specific impact, I had great success using Claimyr (claimyr.com) to get through to a FAFSA agent when I couldn't get through on my own. They have a video demo at https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ that shows how it works. Saved me hours of waiting and getting disconnected. The agent I spoke with was able to run projections on how income changes might affect future aid eligibility.

Thank you for the insider perspective! I hadn't heard of Claimyr before, but I'll check out that video. It would be really helpful to get some projections before he makes a final decision.

For dependent students, the FAFSA formula assesses student income at a 50% rate after an income protection allowance (around $7,600). So if he makes $42,000, minus the allowance, about $17,200 could be added to his SAI calculation. That's a significant hit! On the bright side, he could file as independent sooner with documented self-support, which might help eventually.

wait is this true?? student income is assessed at 50%?? thats so unfair!! no wonder my aid got wrecked when i got my first real job

Yes, it's unfortunately true. Parent income is assessed at a much lower rate (typically 22-47% depending on income level) after much larger allowances. The system basically assumes students should contribute a higher percentage of their discretionary income toward college costs.

Umm I thnk everyones missing something important?? If hes working FULL TIME how is he even going to have time for classes?? My cousin tried this and failed 2 classes right away bc he couldnt keep up. Maybe thats the bigger issue here lol

That's a really good point I hadn't fully considered. I'll need to talk with him about the time management aspect too. Maybe he could negotiate part-time until the semester ends or start with fewer hours.

One more consideration - has your son looked into whether this job qualifies for Federal Work-Study? If he's already been awarded work-study funds in his aid package, using those instead of regular employment could be beneficial since work-study earnings are excluded from future FAFSA calculations (they don't count against him in the income assessment for next year's aid).

I don't think he was awarded work-study funds, but I'll have him double-check his aid package. That would be great if he could qualify for that instead!

After thinking about this more, I'd recommend your son speak directly with his financial aid counselor about running a few different scenarios. The impact varies widely based on your family's overall financial situation. Some schools will even do a \

Thank you! I've scheduled a meeting with his financial aid office for next week. Hoping they can give us some concrete numbers to work with before he makes his decision.

As someone who went through this exact situation with my daughter a few years ago, I'd suggest having your son consider negotiating a delayed start date or part-time schedule until the semester ends. Many employers are understanding about students finishing their current semester commitments. The $42k income will definitely impact his aid next year - we saw about a $8,000 reduction in grants when my daughter's income jumped to similar levels. But if this is truly a great opportunity, the long-term career benefits might outweigh the short-term financial aid loss. Just make sure he can realistically handle both the job and his coursework - academic success should remain the priority!

As a newcomer to this discussion, I'm really grateful for all the detailed information everyone has shared! This is such a complex situation with so many factors to consider. From what I'm reading, it sounds like the key issues are: 1) Current semester aid is safe, 2) Next year's aid will likely be significantly impacted by the 50% assessment rate on student income, 3) Time management between full-time work and studies, and 4) Potential enrollment status changes. One thing I'm curious about - has anyone had experience with appealing financial aid decisions when there are unusual circumstances like this? I wonder if schools have any flexibility for students who take jobs out of necessity rather than choice. Also, are there any tax strategies that might help minimize the impact on next year's FAFSA (like maximizing retirement contributions if he's eligible)? This really highlights how the financial aid system can create some perverse incentives for students - it's tough that working hard can actually hurt your ability to afford college!

As someone new to navigating FAFSA complexities, this thread has been incredibly eye-opening! I'm in a similar situation with my daughter who's considering a significant income increase through a paid internship that could turn into full-time work. One aspect I haven't seen mentioned yet is the timing of when income is reported. Since FAFSA uses "prior-prior year" tax information, if your son starts this job now (2025), it won't impact his FAFSA until the 2027-2028 academic year (his junior year), not next year. The 2025-2026 FAFSA he already filed used 2023 tax data, and next year's 2026-2027 FAFSA will use 2024 tax data. This might actually give you more breathing room than some folks are suggesting! He could potentially work this job for his entire sophomore year before seeing any FAFSA impact. That said, you'll definitely want to start planning and saving for that reduced aid in his junior year. Has anyone else dealt with this timing aspect? I feel like the "prior-prior year" rule gets overlooked sometimes in these discussions, but it can actually work in students' favor when they're just starting higher-paying work.

As a newcomer to this community, I'm really impressed by how thorough and helpful everyone has been in breaking down this complex situation! I'm dealing with a similar dilemma with my own college student, so this discussion has been invaluable. Emily's point about the prior-prior year timing is absolutely crucial and seems like it could completely change the calculus here. If Shelby's son starts working now in 2025, that income won't affect his FAFSA until the 2027-2028 academic year - giving them nearly two full years to prepare rather than immediate impact next semester. That said, I'd strongly recommend confirming a few things with his financial aid office: 1) Whether any of his current aid packages (especially institutional scholarships) use more current income data than the federal prior-prior year rule, 2) How his enrollment status might be affected if he goes full-time with work, and 3) Getting those projections Simon mentioned to understand the real numbers. The 50% assessment rate on student income is definitely harsh, but having almost two years to plan for it - plus the career benefits of this opportunity - might make it much more manageable than initially feared. Sometimes the long-term career advancement can outweigh the temporary financial aid reduction, especially if they can start saving now for those junior/senior year expenses. Best of luck with whatever decision your family makes!

As a newcomer to this community, I'm really grateful for this incredibly detailed discussion! This situation perfectly illustrates how complex FAFSA planning can be, and I'm learning so much from everyone's experiences and expertise. Emily's insight about the prior-prior year timing seems like it could be the most crucial factor here - if the 2025 income won't impact FAFSA until 2027-2028, that's a completely different timeline than what initially seemed like immediate consequences. That gives Shelby's family nearly two full years to prepare financially rather than scrambling for next semester. However, I'd echo the advice about verifying this with the financial aid office, particularly regarding: 1) Any institutional scholarships that might have different income assessment timelines 2) Whether maintaining full-time student status is feasible with a full-time job 3) Getting actual projections on the financial impact for when it does hit The 50% student income assessment rate is definitely steep, but with proper planning time, the long-term career benefits of a $42k opportunity might well outweigh the temporary aid reduction. Plus, if he can save aggressively during those two years of higher earnings, they might be able to partially offset the future aid loss. One additional thought - has anyone explored whether there are any work-study programs at his school that might offer similar income potential but with better FAFSA treatment? It's a long shot, but worth investigating all options before making the final decision.

As a newcomer to this community, I'm really impressed by the depth and quality of advice shared here! This discussion has been incredibly enlightening, especially Emily's crucial point about the prior-prior year timing that seems to have been overlooked initially. If I'm understanding correctly, the 2025 income won't actually impact his FAFSA until the 2027-2028 academic year (junior year), which completely changes the urgency of this decision. That gives Shelby's family almost two full years to prepare financially rather than facing immediate consequences. A few additional considerations I haven't seen mentioned: 1) **Tax withholdings strategy**: If he does take the job, he might want to adjust his tax withholdings to have more taken out upfront, creating a larger refund that could be saved specifically for future college costs. 2) **529 plan contributions**: If the family has a 529 education savings account, some of his earnings could potentially be contributed there (depending on state tax benefits and family dynamics), which might help offset future aid reductions. 3) **Gap year consideration**: With this income timeline, he could even consider taking a gap year after sophomore year to work full-time and build substantial savings before the FAFSA impact hits in junior year. The key seems to be treating this as a longer-term strategic decision rather than an immediate crisis. The career opportunity and networking benefits of starting early in his field could be invaluable for his post-graduation prospects. Definitely echo everyone's advice to get concrete numbers from the financial aid office - but this timing insight makes the decision much less stressful!