<p>Can any one help me with any tips on filing out the FAFSA and CSS Profile? I want to know who I need to contact (such as an accountant possibly) to learn about switching bank accounts and things like that so that I can get as much financial aid as possible. Thank you!</p>
<p>Are you talking about a large sum of money that is in accounts in your KID’s names? If not, I’m not sure where you plan to switch money too. Conventional wisdom is that money should be in the parents’ names as the FAFSA assessment on that asset is at about 5.6% but in kiddo’s names…20%. </p>
<p>BUT wait…the FAFSA family contribution (EFC) is primarily based on your income. So you might want to run the numbers on an online calculator to see IF there is a difference. You may find that your family contribution is too high anyway…to qualify you for need based aid.</p>
<p>Your family contribution at Profile schools looks at your income and assets also. No way of knowing if there really is a difference in how Profile schools deal with student vs. parent assets as Profile schools take the info you put on the Profile and use whatever formula they choose to determine your family contribution, and financial aid awards.</p>
<p>I’m not sure an accountant will be much help.</p>
<p>Accountants generally do not know much about FAFSA.
Some of the tax programs like TAXACT automatically fill out cheat sheets to help you fill out FAFSA. PROFILE is a bit more complex but it does have idiot prompts when you finish it online.</p>
<p>What sort of accounts do you have questions about?</p>
<p>Do you know of a professional that specializes in this area?</p>
<p>My biggest concern is whether they will take my retirement fund into account. It is not money that I would take out to pay for college</p>
<p>Business Bound…you can work the online calculators yourself. See if there is any difference if you change accounts to the parents’ names from the student’s.</p>
<p>If you move the money to ANY liquid account in YOUR name, it isn’t going to matter a speck. You could stuff your mattress. You still have to account for the asset on the forms.</p>
<p>Even if you move some of the money (there are amount restrictions) to a retirement account NOW, the amount you contribute NOW will be included as income for the 2011 year.</p>
<p>I really very strongly suggest you use an online financial aid calculator and try your numbers both ways…(whatever way you hope to do…and the way the accounts are now). You will see IF there is a difference. Depending on your income level, all of this thought could be for nothing.</p>
<p>P.S. on other posts you are discussing both Boston University and Indiana. NEITHER of these schools meets full financial need for all accepted students. Really, if your income is such that your EFC per FAFSA is over $5000, you would not be guaranteed to receive any need based aid from either of these schools.</p>
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<p>Is this retirement fund a REAL retirement fund (401K, 403B, IRA, TSA)…or is it in a regular savings account or CD. If it’s a REAL retirement account, the principal of that account is not tapped for financial aid. BUT the amount you contributed TO that account in 2011 WILL be added back in as income if it was pretax dollars. Nothing you can do to change that at all.</p>
<p>Money that was already in your retirement account prior to the tax year does NOT count, however, contributions to your retirement account made during that year DO. So, for the next school year (2012-2013) financial aid is based on the 2011 year. Therefore, any contributions made to retirement in 2011 will be added back into your income for financial aid purposes.</p>
<p>When I mentioned moving accounts I was referring to moving the money in my son’s to one under my name. He has a few K and direct deposit from his job so I didn’t know if it would be beneficial to move that into an account under my name. The money in my retirement fund has not been tampered with for years, I just want to know if it will be considered for the EFC.</p>
<p>It is an IRA annuity and it hasn’t been touched since 2008.</p>
<p>The balance in your retirement account is not used. If you made ANY contributions to this account in 2011…then those will be added in as income for 2011. Otherwise, probably fine. Profile asks the balances of retirement accounts…FAFSA does not.</p>
<p>Re: your son’s accounts. Are you talking a LARGE sum of money or the amount he would likely use for spending money in college? Our kids had about $4000 in their savings accounts when we did the FAFSA/Profile forms. We didn’t think about moving that money at all.</p>
<p>That is approximately what he has in his account</p>
<p>“Profile asks the balances of retirement accounts…FAFSA does not.” </p>
<p>Does this mean that my retirement fund will affect my sons financial aid via the CSS Profile?</p>
<p>The Profile schools ASK the question but there is really no way of knowing if or how they use the information about retirement account balances. Many think it is to see if parents are diverting inordinate amounts of earnings into retirement when really some could have been used for college purposes. BUT that is guessing, and that’s all it is.</p>
<p>Folks have run net price calculators and online calculators and the amounts with/without the retirement accounts really are the same.</p>
<p>BUT back to my original note to you…if you are talking about Boston University and Indiana University, NEITHER school guarantees to meet full need anyway…and they do NOT (speaking from experience as my son is a BU grad).</p>
<p>All we can do as get as much aid as possible, the rest will have to be covered from student loans.</p>
<p>The Stafford loans are the student loans your student can get in their name only. They are in the amounts of $5500 for freshmen, $6500 for sophomores, $7500 for juniors, and $7500 for seniors.</p>
<p>Some students of low income students also qualify for the Perkins loans which are also in the student’s name only. These are typically not more than $3000 a year…often less…and they are for low income students only.</p>
<p>Any additional loans would be ones either (you) the parent would need to take out…OR loans that you would cosign with your student.</p>
<p>Wow, $5,500 is minuscule compared to what we’ll have to pay.</p>
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<p>Most students have at least one affordable school in their application options. This is very important, especially if finances are a big concern.</p>
<p>You will just need to wait and see what the schools offer you. BU is mighty costly (been there, done that). Are you instate for Indiana, because otherwise that will be pretty pricey too.</p>
<p>Business Bound…please clarify. Most of your posts are written as though you are the STUDENT (asking things like "which program would give ME the best chance at a good grad business school)…but on this thread, you are posting as though you are the parent.</p>
<p>Which is it?</p>
<p>*Wow, $5,500 is minuscule compared to what we’ll have to pay. *</p>
<p>That’s because newish grads can’t afford to pay back big loans. If a student graduates with about $28k TOTAL in debt, that’s about all he can afford…and some can’t even afford to pay back that much.</p>
<p>Are you the parent? Will YOU be taking out and paying back the loans?? If so, then that’s different.</p>