<p>GroovyGeek - you should still complete the CSS profile even though the questions do make you want to pull your hair out. Many college financial aid offices revise the numbers based on their own parameters. Even if your student may not quality for financial aid there may be special loan programs available through the university - not federal loans - but their own loan program! </p>
<p>It also helps to have these forms on file in case there is a change in family circumstances. For instance I had a friend with two kids in college and who thought his job might be in jeopardy. I urged him to complete the forms just in case. He ended up losing his job, but had not completed any forms. When they contacted the school's financial aid office they had to scramble to compile all the needed information. This was a family with a six figure income that spent every penny they had - they had no assets except their home in an area where home values had skyrocketed.</p>
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So Warren Buffett's kids, one of the wealthiest men in the world, should be able to attend college on finaid? [His salary is only $100k per year, and his company Berkshire Hathaway does not pay dividends.
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<p>Close, but not quite accurate. I wrote that the EFC should be "based on AGI less certain deductions". AGI includes capital gains, interest income, dividends, etc. So no, Warren Buffet's kids (whose daughter, BTW, is over 40 and runs his foundation) would not be getting FA. You also picked the worst possible example. The man does his taxes himself, by hand, has always stated that he does not mind paying every cent in tax he does, and is one of the main OPPONENTS of repealing the estate tax, that so many moronic republicans seem to be enamored of.</p>
<h1>17. The UTMA that was advised 17 years ago was good advice, because that was only way to fund college without big tax hits. We did UTMA, and now the college fund is still large, even after paying off the loans and after funding college at a $$$$ school.</h1>
<p>We actually made less $ in the Coverdells and 529 than the UTMA, because of the limitations in the type and how these investments were made.</p>
<p>I would still recommend UTMA to people with young children, because of the flexibility and tax benefits.</p>
<p>FWIW, as to #Item SR-160, I generally just enter the FAFSA EFC - I use a FAFSA calculator to enter the amount FAFSA says is my share. I figure I am living in a fantasy world to think that the college is going to absolve me of the FAFSA figures ... so if FAFSA says I ought to pay $5000, then I say I can pay $5000.</p>
<p>thisoldman - Yes, I agree that 17 years ago we had no choice, and the tax shelter has definitely been favorable. I say ill-advised with hindsight. The UTMAs are the child's assets which are assessed at a lot higher factor for financial aid purposes than if it were the parents' assets like the 529. In the end, though, it may not matter for some people whether it was UTMA, 529, CDs, etc. if other factors in their financial situation come into play; that is, their EFC would still be beyond the college costs regardless of the method of saving.</p>
<p>SR-160 is asking for an honest disclosure of what you told your kid when you had "the talk." I.e., how much you said you were willing to pay. Different people have different approaches to questions that ask for answers that no one can verify.</p>
<p>The OP is missing this point, maybe because it is early in the season and the talk hasn't happened yet. If so, now's the time.</p>
<p>Another way to think about Profile is to recall that the CB is a non-profit association whose members are the universities. The Profile is a consensus list of questions the universities want answered before giving you a lot of money from their own funds. Complaining that the questions are too intrusive or hard to answer seems a little ungrateful and insensitive. Biting the hand that feeds you, looking a gift horse in the mouth, [cliche] ... [/cliche].</p>
<p>The goal was to fully fund college. UTMA and EE Bonds were at that time the only vehicles available. Only much later did Coverdells and 529 come in existence. Regardless of the methods used, our goal succeeded beyond our dreams. </p>
<p>The goal of investing for college is to fund college not to get the most aid dollars.</p>
<p>I also happen to think that college savings programs, FAFSA and the federal student loan programs actually discourages investment for education.</p>
<p>Hey, bluebayou, you've made a good suggestion to check what links are in the stickied threads in this forum. I'll read those and confer with the other mods and see if we can go from posting the link a lot to just saying, "Read the FAQ."</p>