@mommdc No, not basing on the FAFSA EFC, rather I meant that she had grant award offers that were in line with the FAFSA number. Most are still pending so there could be extra good news coming. We are hoping that our son gets similar offers in 2 years. We will have a better idea by May 1 when the ink is dry.
@cptofthehouse Yes the direct loans will probably be part of the strategy as long as the interest is less than what we can get with a HELOC. In this case the need from HELOC should be much less. We might still repay from our 401k.