As it should be. He is the one going to college and you said he fell in love with Loyola NOLA from the start. Great for him!!
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In our experience it isnāt always clear which is which. My son was given the maximum merit at some schools that then, when I appealed on FA basis, resulted in more money that the schools are considering merit aid. But the appeal was based on FA.
If the schools are small enough, the offices talk to each other anyway. Some of the schools specifically said if we had questions about aid to contact FA or our admissions officer.
I think it is useful to find out what, if anything, could change from year-to-year. We were assured that nothing would decrease going forward(though of course merit awards donāt increase when tuition does). To me asking about what could change, and what strings might be attached in terms of progress/GPA etc., is just good due diligence. Weāve also been asking about what happens financially if the student goes abroad for conservatory exchange. Thatās harder to determine as it somewhat varies based on program, even if the studentās aid follows them.
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Absolutely. Thatās the trouble with a school that is 100% need based and recalculates need every year. We looked up historical variations in the need based portion of loyola packages and felt good about what we found.
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Well, we are at the end of this phase! I thought it might be helpful to recap. My kid ended up with four real optionsāwhich was plenty, because the perfect one was in there. Whew! The one we expected to be a fifth option (USC) didnāt work out that way.
- U of Memphis, 24.4 (0 scholarships, 0 aid); * Loyola, 25.8 (30k scholarships, plus aid), * State U, 28 (5k scholarship), * CU Denver, 31.4 (1k scholarship)
Others, too expensive:
- Columbia-Chicago: 37.8 (17k scholarship), * UArts: 44.7 (25k scholarship)
- Berklee: 51 (20k scholarship), * U of Miami/Frost: 54 (23.2k scholarships, 5500 aid), * The New School 70 (7k scholarship), * USC: 80 (3750 scholarship, 3500 aid)
Remember, we knew very little going in, so these lessons may be obvious to others:
Some schools have typical scholarship amounts they give. Several kids we know got 16k from Columbia Chicago. If weād known that, we could have skipped it.
Each school has some version of an amorphous Facutly Award or a Presidential Scholarship that could be anywhere from xyz to a full ride, so itās tempting to shoot for the moon, but just make sure to manage expectations. While the Presidentās Scholarship does exist, a good scholarship for guitar at Berklee might be 25k? (I donāt know.)
We knew CSS calculations would be different from EFC, but didnāt know how vast that gulf would be. Aid packages from a few top-choice schools kept coming in as impossible to afford, and I was naively not prepared for that. 
If this is because of our house value, itās ridiculous. If you could see how modest our home is! LOL?
The one school that surpised me was USC. I wrote about it above, so the only additional thing Iāll say is, if you want to appeal and can afford it, hire a consultant. In just one hour, the woman we worked with identified what I believe was the problem.
S doesnāt want to pursue an appeal, because he loves Loyola and has moved on to fun stuff like roommates, and his dad and I agree it is the best school for him!
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but you do 
We need to know!!! ha.
Best of luck at Loyolaā¦itās awesome that you got him to where he wants to be - and at a price you can afford.
Win win!!!
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Congratulations @BeverlyWest clearly you and your son know when itās time to move on. Looking to the future and being happy with your outcome is completely what matters.
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I have to admit, itās hard to let go! Iām really curious about what would happen with USC. But thereās no purpose except curiosity, and thatās not enough of a reason to drag things out for my kiddo. Now, Iām writing emails to various housing departments, canceling contracts I had at three schools. I feel like weāre breaking up. 
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Hello, everyone!
Weāre at the stage of figuring out how to take money out of the 529, and I feel like we probably donāt know something(s) that would be beneficial to know. In particular, Iām wondering about how this interacts with IRAs, if it has any relationship to my sonās trust, and if thereās any reason to (or not to) spend more of the 529 in freshman and sophomore year.
I know most of you are not professionals, but can anyone give advice and/or point me somewhere? Thank you!!!
@BeverlyWest this is a great question and is addressed often on the financial aid forum.
@BelknapPoint really is an excellent source of info on this. There are others as well.
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Excellent! Iāll go search for the forum. Thank you.
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Not sure I understand the relation to IRA - but Iād say this.
Iām going to have over half the 529 left. Thatās part my fault - I could have taken out $35K last year but only took out $3500 - I was thinking the market would end up and not down.
So I made the mistake - and will have over half left when all is said and done.
So donāt know how much youāve funded - but in the end, if you can deplete your 529, then do so.
If you have it in a fixed market, then it wonāt go down. I have mine out 5 years (2027) even though the kids are in school now so I gambled a bit.
As long as you can get your money out over the four years, it shouldnāt matter - but if you can get it out sooner and cash flow the last two years, then thatās ok too.
Iām a full pay family - not sure if you are (I forget).
There is going to be a Roth conversion available to me starting in 2024 so Iāll likely pull money then - and thereās grad school But I should have pulled more out last year - at least in one of my two kidās 529s that is in a fixed plan.
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I was literally researching this topic this morning! I also called directly Friday with some specific questions and found the rep MOST helpful and willing to stay on the phone forever! Found out some stuff I didnāt know.
Edit to include for those (like us) who will have a significant amount of money left over: Research the new Secure 2.0 Act
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Dumb question: Are you talking about the rep from the 529 program?
yes. And there are no dumb questions!!! I have so many!
With the 529, there are timing issues, and also the money must be used for QEE as defined by 529 plans. Also, there is something timing wise if you qualify for the AOTC.
Iām hoping @BelknapPoint will pop in and give a very short summary.
Remember too. Unused money during undergrad in a 529 can be used for grad schoolā¦or a different childā¦or saved for grandchildren.
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We do, and one of our main questions is about how to do this in the current year. I can do what @Shellg did and call them.
Maybe @kelsmom or @twoinanddone can explain what to do this year.
It is best practice to pull money out of the 529 in the same calendar year that you spend it. You can have disbursements made straight to the school ā that tends to be easiest.
Also, make sure to reserve $4,000 of expenses that you donāt pay for with the 529, in order to be able to take the AOTC for that year. (You canāt have the same expenses qualify for both 529 and AOTC). I think AOTC can only be used for tuition and fees, while 529 can also be used for room and board.
I believe that if your son pays for some expenses with a federal loan, that can be used for the 4k of expenses that are being reserved for the AOTC. But I am not 100% sure.
If you only have a certain amount of savings, it may make sense to deplete them earlier so as not to be hit with the 5.6 assessment on parent assets the following year. If your son has his own money that is earmarked for college, use that first, as student assets are hit with a 20% assessment each year on whatever is remaining. You probably need to confirm that if your son uses his own assets to pay for tuition, how does that affect your AOTC qualification.
And note that while income has a two-year lookback, assets are assessed as of the day you file FAFSA and/or CSS Profile. So pay tuition (and other bills) before you file! (But donāt spend it on frivolous things that you wouldnāt need otherwise!)
paging @belknappoint to add details, or to correct me if I have this incorrect.
Edited to add some clarifications.
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Keep your own detailed records on what you spend money on, and the dates. The 1098T you receive from the college is more advisory than accurate, sometimes. Soā¦keep your own records.