Paying doe college without going broke -have u read?

[lisaross]

I just finished reading this book. Geez so much information.

I know lots of college topics but those of u whom have read how did u implement some of the strategies for upping chances of financial aid - and if u have kids in college did u receive financial aid

My son wis just entering his freshman year of HS in September so I haveacouple of years till his Base year.

The book is interesting and I have lots to do - 1st thing is closing savings custodial accounts. Not that much in them but still I will open a savings account in my name and let them save b-day money etc in that.

What things have u started to do

 

[Marionnette]

I just finished reading this book. Geez so much information.

I know lots of college topics but those of u whom have read how did u implement some of the strategies for upping chances of financial aid - and if u have kids in college did u receive financial aid

My son wis just entering his freshman year of HS in September so I haveacouple of years till his Base year.

The book is interesting and I have lots to do - 1st thing is closing savings custodial accounts. Not that much in them but still I will open a savings account in my name and let them save b-day money etc in that.

What things have u started to do

I've been through the financial aid talks enough times (3 kids, all in higher education at the moment) that I know that "hiding" your kids' tiny savings is not going to increase your free financial aid one little bit. As long as you are claiming your undergraduate student as a dependent on your taxes, your family income and savings will have an impact on both the financial aid distributed privately by the school as well as any federal or state loans and grants.

At my daughter's private university, we had to not only do FAFSA but we also had to provide additional information about our business property and the assets of the business. She qualified for a grant from the school (not the federal or state governments) one year. I think it was because we filed FAFSA early and the grant money was determined very early in the spring, before many of her classmates filed. Otherwise, the only "financial aid" was unsubsidized Stafford Loans and a healthy academic scholarship that was renewed each year.

My best advice is to seek out whatever scholarship money you can find. Even $100 scholarships add up. Just be aware that if you do qualify for any kind of grant money, those private scholarships will most likely be used to reduce your grant.

 

[mcorbo]

Even if you do no claim the student on your taxes, the parents income is considered in the fafsa until the student is 24!

 

[Marionnette]

Even if you do no claim the student on your taxes, the parents income is considered in the fafsa until the student is 24!

Not if they are a graduate student or in a post-secondary professional program. Those students are considered to be independent of their parents even if they are relying on their parents for help. My daughter is in medical school. She won't turn 24 until later this spring. Her FAFSA has been based solely on her income since the year that she enter medical school.

 

[plummer925]

Not if they are a graduate student or in a post-secondary professional program. Those students are considered to be independent of their parents even if they are relying on their parents for help. My daughter is in medical school. She won't turn 24 until later this spring. Her FAFSA has been based solely on her income since the year that she enter medical school.

It is because there is no Pell Grant for grad students. Unfortunately. Hubby is working on his 2nd Master's Degree and has to rely on loans. I wish pell grants were available for grad students...it would certainly help the burden of those expensive classes...double the price of undergrad, sheesh.

There are other reasons that parents income is not counted: If student is in the military, if they were a ward of the state (foster care), if they are married or if they have children themselves. So, yes, you are right - it is NOT always counted!

 

[teller80]

Not if they are a graduate student or in a post-secondary professional program. Those students are considered to be independent of their parents even if they are relying on their parents for help. My daughter is in medical school. She won't turn 24 until later this spring. Her FAFSA has been based solely on her income since the year that she enter medical school.

I don't want to hijack the thread but my daughter has been accepted to medical school for next fall and I have questions about loans. Do you mind pm'ing me?

 

[Marionnette]

I don't want to hijack the thread but my daughter has been accepted to medical school for next fall and I have questions about loans. Do you mind pm'ing me?

I'm sorry, but I really can't help you with information about loans. My daughter applied, and was accepted, for a Navy scholarship. The Navy pays her tuition and books. She gets a monthly stipend. She has no loans but will pay it back with several years of service.

BTW, congrats to your daughter on her acceptance. I'm sure that you're very proud of her!

 

[runwad]

Well OP I'll answer your question. I read that book when my DD18 was in 7th grade and I slowly started closing mutual funds and rolling the money into Roth IRA's so that I wouldn't have any savings to be counted. Because the Roth is retirement money it's not counted in the FASFA formulation. We do however have 529 plans in our names so that money was listed on the FASFA. Our EFC will be a stretch but I think it's a fair assessment of what we can afford. Will it be easy? No! But having the 529 will help to keep her student loan debt down.

We just got her Award letter from her college, we didn't get the full $5500 in subsidized loans, only $3500 and the other 2k is unsubsidized. I was planning on the full $5500, so was disappointed in that. My plan was for my daughter to take all the subsidized loans she could and we'd use her 529 money to pay them back after she graduated. I hate to have to pay interest so not sure if we'll accept the 2k in unsubsidized loans. Also my DD has academic and athletic scholarship money that is helping tremendously!

Oh I did find out that your EFC has to be 5k or less to qualify for pell grants. (per the FA office at my DD prospective school)

 

[wallskm]

Even if you do no claim the student on your taxes, the parents income is considered in the fafsa until the student is 24!

I experienced this when I went back for a second Bachelor's degree at 23! I was completely supporting myself but had to include my parents' income! My now DH was living at home but in med school and 22 and was considered as an adult!

 

[wallskm]

I don't want to hijack the thread but my daughter has been accepted to medical school for next fall and I have questions about loans. Do you mind pm'ing me?

My DH has just started paying his med school loans back- all federal loans. At the time he was able to borrow something like 38K per year and then was able to defer repayment until after residency. We are just now making payments on them. Depending on what job she takes she could get some repayment with her offer. DH got a good chunk in his offer from his current practice.

 

[4shinystars]

The Federal Loans are never all subsidized. It's always $3500 sub, $2000 unsub for Freshman year
http://studentaid.ed.gov/types/loans/subsidized-unsubsidized#how-much-can-i-borrow

 

[madge]

The Federal Loans are never all subsidized. It's always $3500 sub, $2000 unsub for Freshman year
http://studentaid.ed.gov/types/loans/subsidized-unsubsidized#how-much-can-i-borrow

one thing I learned tonight -- those numbers are not automatic & can vary from school to school. DS has 3 financial aid packages. Of those 3, he has 2 with the $3500 sub/$2000 unsub stafford loan available. The other package has the $5500 loan, all unsubsidized. I always assumed that it was $3500/$2000 because that's the only way I'd ever seen it offered.

learn something new every day.

 

[allison443]

The Federal Loans are never all subsidized. It's always $3500 sub, $2000 unsub for Freshman year
http://studentaid.ed.gov/types/loans/subsidized-unsubsidized#how-much-can-i-borrow

But not everyone is eligible for subsidized loans. You have to show "financial need" however that is determined, otherwise the whole amount is unsubsidized. The student pays all interest, which accrues while the student is in school.

 

[Darcy03231]

Have your child apply for all the scholarships they are eligible for, even the small ones. DS got close to $5000 in scholarships that were $1,000 or less, he just applied for everything he was eligible for. Some kids will only apply for the larger ones thinking it's too much work to apply for the small ones.

 

[runwad]

The Federal Loans are never all subsidized. It's always $3500 sub, $2000 unsub for Freshman year
http://studentaid.ed.gov/types/loans/subsidized-unsubsidized#how-much-can-i-borrow

Wow I did not know that, thank you for that link, very informative.

 

[imsayin]

My plan was for my daughter to take all the subsidized loans she could and we'd use her 529 money to pay them back after she graduated.

FYI - you can't pay student loans with 529 money, so make sure you take the 529 money out to correlate with your tuition payments.

 

[lisaross]

All I know is my head is spinning trying to figure out the best place to keep our college savings

 

[Jeff_G]

All I know is my head is spinning trying to figure out the best place to keep our college savings

It sounds like you have 4 to 5 years before college, I would look at a conservative investment choice inside a 529. If you get a tax deduction for your state's 529 then put it inside there. If not choose one of the top rated 529 plans in the country.

Here is a good web site with lots of info on College and Savings...
http://www.savingforcollege.com

 

[lisaross]

Yes do get a 529 Tax Deduction.

It sounds like you have 4 to 5 years before college, I would look at a conservative investment choice inside a 529. If you get a tax deduction for your state's 529 then put it inside there. If not choose one of the top rated 529 plans in the country.

Here is a good web site with lots of info on College and Savings...
http://www.savingforcollege.com

 

[TLuvsD]

Paying for College without Going Broke is a great resource. It does not advocate anything shady or hiding funds. It has a lot of information on how to fill out forms, etc. It can be especially helpful if you have your own business.

There is a new edition every year, our public library has last year's for borrowing, this year's is in the reference section. The book costs about $16 at Barnes and Noble.