mlktwins Posted November 22, 2017 Share Posted November 22, 2017 My boys are only in 7th grade, but DH and I are older parents and we are talking about finances, retirement, etc. We will be sending twins to college at the same time! Can anyone tell me what FAFSA does? Is there a place that talks about income cutoffs for financial aid, does it include balances in retirement funds, net worth (ie what if you have a house that is paid off)? What all goes into this? I am also starting research on the forums too, but wanted to see if I could find a get a little preliminary information in a nutshell. DH may be retired by the time they start college and not bringing in work income. Thanks so much for any information. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
regentrude Posted November 22, 2017 Share Posted November 22, 2017 The FAFSA does not consider your home an asset. Some colleges require the CSS profile, which may. The FAFSA does not consider savings in retirement accounts as parental assets. The FAFSA heavily considers income, and to a lesser degree non-retirement savings. Here is some good info to start: https://www.forbes.com/sites/financialfinesse/2017/01/12/how-your-income-and-assets-affect-the-fafsa/#753d294a6ee1 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
regentrude Posted November 22, 2017 Share Posted November 22, 2017 One thing to consider: student assets are counted much more heavily than parental assets. You should hold the college investments in your name. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mlktwins Posted November 22, 2017 Author Share Posted November 22, 2017 Regentrude, thanks so much for the info and link to article! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
regentrude Posted November 22, 2017 Share Posted November 22, 2017 you should post on the high school forum for more info; those of us with older students there have experience with the FAFSA. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carol in Cal. Posted November 22, 2017 Share Posted November 22, 2017 FAFSA excludes the value of your primary residence (but not second homes, houseboats, etc.), retirement accounts, and funds in life insurance policies. Some private colleges do include those things to varying extents, depending on other questionnaires for the information, but AFAIK public colleges only use FAFSA. Be aware that you can appeal whatever decision a college makes about financial aid, though, and that it's often easier to get an appeal considered in a small private college that really wants your child. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JanetC Posted November 22, 2017 Share Posted November 22, 2017 Retirement funds in an IRS dedicated account type (IRA, 401k, etc) are not counted. Investments that are in a regular taxable account are considered. The FAFSA formula determines your child's eligibility for the Pell grant, while the school financial aid formulas determine their eligibility for grants controlled by the college. Schools that use a second form, the CSS/Profile, will consider a number of other factors that the FAFSA does not, including your primary home. There is a FAFSA estimator here: https://studentaid.ed.gov/sa/fafsa/estimate And a Profile (IM) estimator here: https://bigfuture.collegeboard.org/pay-for-college/paying-your-share/expected-family-contribution-calculator Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JanetC Posted November 22, 2017 Share Posted November 22, 2017 In general: money gives you options, so save as much as you can. Good grades and high test scores also give you options. An academically strong student may receive merit scholarships or get into a school with a larger financial aid budget, either of which would reduce your costs. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pippen Posted November 22, 2017 Share Posted November 22, 2017 Many of your questions are addressed here. One change since that article was written is that completed tax refunds from the previous year are used. https://thechoice.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/01/14/guidance-office-fafsa-1/?_r=0 We have three in college this year so I feel your pain. All wound up out-of-state for various reasons, including better aid packages. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkT Posted November 24, 2017 Share Posted November 24, 2017 good to plan early - especially 529 - maybe discuss with the grandparents as well the grandparent 529 is usually used for the last year of college to avoid losing other aid lots of FAFSA stuff here: http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/forum/17-the-college-board/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkT Posted November 24, 2017 Share Posted November 24, 2017 you should post on the high school forum for more info; those of us with older students there have experience with the FAFSA. I believe this is discussed more on http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/forum/17-the-college-board/ but never hurts to use both! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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