<p>About your specific questions.</p>
<p>While it is good to put money into retirement accounts, be aware that the year that they were invested, pretax dollars put into retirement vehicles are added back to income for FA purposes.</p>
<p>There are some Profile schools that ask about the vehicle(s) of the parents, but I’ve never seen it asked for as a student asset. It generally is a good idea to first spend down student savings on a necessary car, laptop, etc., as their assets are assessed at a higher rate than parents.</p>