@blossom. ok, so just trying to understand…so she can pay any amount in tuition w/ no tax reprocussions as long as she pays them directly through her account? And she can also give my D $14k?
She can give your daughter ANY amount. If she gives her more than $14k per year (directly to D) grandmother would have to file a tax form. Just a form. If she pays more than $14k directly to a college, no form needed.
She can pay tuition directly to the college (I believe she can prepay four years worth, but there was some IRS back and forth on that so don’t quote me) AND give your D 14K with no tax implications.
And you didn’t ask- but studying Napoleon is the subject of a one semester senior thesis,not a four year college major. Your D will major in European History and minor in French, or major in political science with a heavy dose of coursework on war and revolution. HS kids think that college majors are like ordering from a menu- if you get the hamburger that means you aren’t eating the chicken. And that’s not true. She will need to learn about Mao and Stalin and the Medici’s and Henry the 8th and Catherine the Great in order to approach French history anyway- the number of classes she will take in a direct subject area of interest is a tiny fraction of her overall college experience. Don’t let her cut the bologna too thin… not necessary.
@cloudysmom Hoping for the best for your daughter! We’ve applied to some of the same schools so I feel Ike I know you and your daughter’s schools and applications 
I too am a real estate agent and am not sure commission sales is where I want to be for the next 4 years as we begin tuition for our 2nd. My income is secondary in our household but needed to pay for college. I’m considering heading back to a salaried position. Thinking (hoping, praying) that may lessen my anxiety! Would a salaried position make things easier on your end?
Read @blossom post 63 again. The majors and minors your daughter chooses are available at A LOT of colleges. A LOT.
In addition, one would,think she would want to take the opportunity to do either a semester or year abroad…which would add to the depth of her program at MANY colleges.
Richmond is a great school. But your daughter won’t be dead in the water without it…even in terms of her interests…now.
Just an aside…I wouldn’t be mentioning to exH that his mom is helping pay for college, that DD is in the will, that he’s out of the will, or really any details that might tick him off and cause other/later troubles.
You do have to be careful with grandparents 529 plans and with grandparents paying tuition directly, because at some schools, that amount will be treated as income for financial aid award calculations. Meaning that if your income for the year is 100,000, but grandparents are paying 15,000 a yr out of a 529, your income for need based aid purposes is now considered to be 115,000.
Unsolicited advice.
History PhD student here. By definition, we study an extremely specific aspect of history but even those of us who go on to get our PhDs often have our interests change- sometimes substantially- while working on our pre-dissertation work.
Focusing on one, maybe two, semesters of Napoleon/Napoleonic history? Cool. Several though? I can easily see burnout happening.
Interests change. I wouldn’t pick a school based on that specific of a subfield. That’s just really short-sighted IMO. Picking a school with a good French program? Not a bad idea. Picking a school with a good European history program and faculty? OK. Something that specific though? Only an added perk, not the deciding factor.
Besides, you only get so many electives as an undergrad. What happens if those courses aren’t offered?
Oh, and you can study abroad through other universities. We had people from a handful of other unis in my study abroad program.
^ Some schools’ French programs are culturally-focused rather than literary-focused. You can also easily combine a business or history major with that - you have some knowledge of the country’s literary history, but instead of covering literary themes and movements, most of your classes involve the country’s history as well as all the areas in the world where it’s spoken, current contemporary culture (ie., economics, political science, but applied to the cultural zone) and how it applies to intercultural communication, etc.
While most foreign language majors involve a degree of the above, not all are structured around this. It may be what OP means.
It’s amazing how much this sounds like my situation. My DS couldn’t apply to many more well-known higher ranked more generous schools because they would include his father on the CSS.
Actually, we just realized that College of Wooster wants the father’s taxes. The only place I saw that was on the CSS after I filled it out. The form they require if you don’t do CSS said we MAY ask for more info on your Non-Custodial. Figured it was a crapshoot. Guess we’ll have to call.
Should we email FA everywhere first? Then call all of the schools when we ask for a professional judgment?
FWIW, my ex is remarrying soon, she’s almost half his age, and having more babies. Good luck to the new one… She has no idea what’s coming…
Also, W-2s and 1099s don’t reveal much when these chefs are getting cash. That’s what hurts. My ex is a chef, too 
Hi everyone, been traveling all weekend, just got back late last night. Really want to respond to some of these posts but a crazy day playing catch up, getting dog at the vets, laundry, you know all the crap that needs to be done when you get back.
Saw Univ of Richmond, wow, very impressive, lotsa hills! She didn’t care but I got a work out! She did the scholarship competition at Roanoke so very glad to finally see that school! Very pretty, students seem close & very approachable. The little town area of Salem you could walk to was tiny, not much there. Small school so not much too do off campus unless you’re into the outdoors but she liked it and they put on a great presentation. She feels better about this as a back up till she figures out transferring if need be. Drove through WF as well. That was my favorite, we all loved that one, wasn’t nearly as preppie a vibe as I had been warned about. She still loves Richmond the most & we explored the city, it was really terrific! The museum is very well curated, impressive & free!
@saany123 Wow! We do sound alike! More later!
@cloudysmom Glad to know your DD feels better about the backup! Looking forward to the updates.
Please remember that any scholarships, that are offered to her as an incoming freshmen, come off of the table if she decides not to attend the school freshman year. She will not have the same financial opportunity as a sophomore. Unless a school meets 100% demonstrated need for freshmen and transfer students, do not expect to get the same financial aid package at Roanoke, should she decide not to attend freshman year.
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She feels better about this as a back up till she figures out transferring if need be.
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Transferring later? Do you realize that aid is often crappy for transfers? And merit is often tiny for transfers.
Every school has its own calculation but after talking to many schools I can say with confidence that at even the most generous schools $200k / 1 kid in college makes it almost impossible.
@sybbie719. @mom2collegekids. I have posted this twice but it’s not showing up, yes, thank you both but yes, I do know this. My D gets no merit aid at Univ of Richmond, just need aid, do transfers not get as generous need aid? I thought it was just merit aid, which we don’t get from them anyway. UR does say they meet 100% demonstrated need.
If she goes to Roanoke she will try to transfer to a few places, not just UR. Of course if the need aid isn’t there then it won’t work. The reason she would transfer later is her non custodial patent made more $ in 2015, the year the FA is looking at now. He had a crappy year in 2016 so we should get some aid for her 2nd yr. Thats all I meant, she should get better aid her 2nd yr. The FA rep at UR told me they know it’s stressful to deal w/ non custodial parents so whatever FA is awarded this year, they let ride as NCP income for all 4 yrs unless, of course, there is a change in income, which there was for him in 2016.
Also, UR says for a deposit of $2500 they will defer her enrollment 1 yr. Does that mean she can enroll as a sophomore & secure admission now (not FA though), or must that deferment still be as a freshman? Am I making sense?
The devil is often in the details. A number of schools that say “we meet 100% of need” really do not for all students. Many won’t meet 100% of need for int’ls, for students who come off waitlist, and/or for transfer students. Many times that 100% claim is really only for incoming freshmen domestic students.