<p>I was filling out a school’s own finaid app and ran into some problems. My mother doesn’t really know at all either xP</p>
<li><p>Total IRA / SEP / SIMPLE contributions - Mother wants to know if this is total accumulated through her entire work-life or if it is just for 2005. I thought it might be her life total, but then the column that this is under is for the 2005 year.</p></li>
<li><p>Investments (stocks, bonds, money market funds, trusts, college savings plans, etc.). Do not include the value of retirement plans - Mother has included Certificates of Deposit in here. She’s unsure just because it didn’t specifically list C.D. but is probably included in the “etc.”</p></li>
<li><p>Student’s Untaxed Income - I’m getting Social Security benefits, but I stop receiving them when I turn 18. Is this going to count as an asset when they calculate an aid package?</p></li>
<li><p>How much do your parents plan to contribute toward your 2006-07 college expenses? - Mother wants to put a very low number for this because she thinks that the school might actually hold her accountable and make her pay the amount. However, after reading some of the posts here, I thought maybe the college would make offers to kids who are willing to pay more.</p></li>
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<p>Any help is appreciated :D</p>
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<li><p>This is an INCOME question; it's contributions for the year. For financial aid purposes, the funds you put in a retirement account would have been available for college funding. So they add these funds back in, in order to calculate your annual income.</p></li>
<li><p>This is an ASSET question. CD's are included here with savings accounts, etc. Note that it makes a big difference who's name these are in. Better if they are in the parent's name. Worse if in the student's name. </p></li>
<li><p>This is an income question, not an asset question. So put down your income from this source for '04 and '05. In a different portion of the form, they ask about assets, and the source doesn't really matter. If you still have these funds, they will count as assets. If you've spent them (on a car, a trip, books, pretty much anything), they are no longer a liquid asset. If you have some pending expenses, best to pay them before filling out the aid forms, not after, in order to reduce student assets a bit.</p></li>
<li><p>Use the EFC calculator to get an idea what your family contribution will be. Usually, the estimated family contribution is mostly from the parents (unless the student has lots of funds in their name). Suggest you be conservative in answering this question-- if you put a number higher than the EFC, you might just be shooting yourself in the foot, and a college might reduce your aid. Better to err on the low side, rather than the high side.</p></li>
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