Question on FAFSA for grad school

[Anonymous]

I'm admitting this might be a dumb question, but I've looked and looked and I'm just not feeling clear on the answer to this.
DS is graduating from undergraduate this year. Will be going to graduate school in the fall.
We paid for undergrad, but now with graduate school, kid will be independent.
All info on the FAFSA website confirms that people applying for graduate school--unless there are very specific and unusual circumstances, are automatically considered independent not dependent students. So great, we don't have to jump through any hoops for DS to prove "independent" status.
Here's where I get confused.
They want the 2022 tax info. They ask if he submitted a 2022 IRS 1040. Well, no, he didn't, because he was a dependent on our taxes. So we click "no" and move on through the form.
It now looks like we are getting the end of the form and the "signature" page. Because the application said "no" on the 1040 page, it doesn't seem to be asking for any financial information. I know the new FAFSA was supposed to be easy, but... this easy? Like anyone going from dependent to independent student status just literally doesn't have to put any financial info?

[Anonymous]

Maybe try posting in the College forum.

[Anonymous]

I am not familiar with a FAFSA in grad school.

But I guess if you are taking Federal loans, maybe it is needed.

If your kid is studying science, they should only go places where they are funded (for reasons of merit, not need).

[Anonymous]

I assume that if your kid didn’t file, they made less that $12,900. It’s possible the calculation imputes a value based on income bring less than that.

[Anonymous]

I went to a fully funded grad program, but my impression was that there is no aid for grad school. Only loans.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am not familiar with a FAFSA in grad school.

But I guess if you are taking Federal loans, maybe it is needed.

If your kid is studying science, they should only go places where they are funded (for reasons of merit, not need).

And if your kid is studying Humanities, they should definitely only go places where they are funded!

[Anonymous]

YOu apply for Parent Plus loans or Grad Plus loans. "Can you get federal student loans for grad school?
The U.S. Department of Education makes Direct PLUS Loans to eligible graduate or professional students through schools participating in the Direct Loan Program. (We also offer Parent PLUS loans.) A Direct PLUS Loan is commonly referred to as a grad PLUS loan when made to a graduate or professional student."

[Anonymous]

Your kid should not go to grad school if he has to pay.

Professional school—like law, medicine, business, etc, yes pay for those.

But, if you’re paying for science/humanities grad school you are in trouble bc you’re in a crap program, you’re a bad student, and you’re racking up debt for a dead end.

[Anonymous]

Yes, the new FAFSA is that easy. It is based on his income, not yours. Even if he was a dependent on your taxes, if he made more than the $12,900 cap, he should have filed his own. If he didn't make that much, then you completed the form correctly.

[Anonymous]

When I went to grad school I had full funding, which was like 1,200US a month. My parents used to send me 500 or so a month to keep me afloat. Some parents paid car insurance and kept their kids on their phone plans. There are also side hustles on campus like tutoring for extra money.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I went to a fully funded grad program, but my impression was that there is no aid for grad school. Only loans.

Same.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:When I went to grad school I had full funding, which was like 1,200US a month. My parents used to send me 500 or so a month to keep me afloat. Some parents paid car insurance and kept their kids on their phone plans. There are also side hustles on campus like tutoring for extra money.

Pp here. I realized for people who haven't gone to a grad program might not understand: my PhD program gave me 1,200US a month while I worked on campus 20 hours a week and I got tuition remission. Summer pay was double. My parents helped out by sending me a check each month but if you aren't comfortable doing that, paying car insurance/cell phone/rent or another bill can make all the difference.

[Anonymous]

My STEM grad program came with free tuition and a stipend for acting as a Teaching Assistant (I taught labs for undergrads) and working in a research lab. The stipend was supposed to cover a shared rental and food. In my case, it covered daycare for my kid, my husband paying rent and food.

[Anonymous]

PhD program is a different animal than a graduate only degree. PhDs offer stipends etc. Grad programs do not.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:PhD program is a different animal than a graduate only degree. PhDs offer stipends etc. Grad programs do not.

Not true. At my R1, masters' level students got graduate assistantships which was tuition and a 20 hour work commitment on campus. There are fully funded master's if you go to the right program and right school.