<p>Hi , Both my wife and I have variable/commission based income. Would not applying for aid in the freshman year of our son's college, where our income would be above the maximum requirement for financial aid, negate the possibility of receiving aid in any of his next three years of college if our income were to fall below the upper band? And is an income of $250,000./= with two kids in college a hard and fast rule, as far as applying for aid, or do other factors matter as well, such as assets etc?</p>
<p>Some colleges and universities will not consider applications for aid in future years if no aid was applied for in the first year. Some require all applicants for any scholarship (even merit-based scholarships) to file a financial aid application. You really do need to investigate each institution individually.</p>
<p>Agree that you should check the FA websites of all the colleges your S is interested in. Many here talk about the necessity to apply for FA fr year in order to be considered in future years, but when I started to do some sleuthing, I mainly found colleges would consider FA in future years if there was a change in the financial situation. Again, check websites and give a call if the policy is not apparent.</p>
<p>Yes, assets matter. The most generous schools (which I assume you are talking about as $250k income will mean no possibility of financial aid at the majority of schools) mention an income level and something along the lines of “and normal assets for that income level”.</p>
<p>Apply for the freshman year…play it safe. There are a number of schools that will not award institutional aid in subsequent years if the student doesn’t APPLY in their freshman year…and the most generous schools are amongst those.</p>
<p>Your income AND assets count when the schools compute your family contribution.</p>
<p>Another thing to plan for is that aid may be counter cyclical to your financial situation. Financial aid is based on “last year’s numbers.” It can be difficult when last year’s numbers are “high,” but the current year’s numbers are “low.”</p>