We have a family household of 5 members and my daughter will be the only one attending college. The income she will have to turn in on her FAFSA is $40,000-$41,000. She is going to be living on campus. Do you think she will get any financial aid? Any opinions appreciated!

Financial Aid is any financial help from the government while your daughter is going to school. Unless you make hundreds of thousands of dollars then there will always be Financial Aid that your daughter will be approved for (unless she is ever in Default for a student loan). Now the 2 main funds available from the FAFSA are Stafford Loans and Pell Grants. The main difference between the 2 are that the Stafford Loans will have to be repayed 6-8 months after she either graduates or withdraws from school and Pell Grants do not have to be repaid.

According to the situation above, it sounds like your daughter will qualify for both the Pell Grant and Stafford Loans. If she was an only child then she would only qualify for loans given the income amount. Since she is 1 of 5 children, that is taken into account for the amount of income you make. The max Pell grant she can qualify for is $5,550 per year and loans vary significantly. The loan amounts vary by college grade level and whether or not you, as the parent, qualify for a Parent Plus loan.

Hope this helps!

Bruce Azevedo
Financial Aid Officer
San Diego, CA