No income + Big assets = no financial aid?

Paying for College
41

Make sure you are doing what is considered smart and prudent from a wealth management perspective, regardless of the impact on your financial aid. I see people doing stupid stuff to get an extra 10K in aid (over four years- so total of 40K in “free money”) which ends up costing them 250K over the long run because they were thinking “maximize my aid” vs. “maximize my wealth”.

Since you don’t have the wolf of “gotta pay the utility bill” breathing down your back, first make sure you are making the right move for your portfolio and overall financial health. Then worry about aid.

I have a friend who is a widow who has made every mistake in the book vis-a-vis financial planning. But her kid is getting aid- a very bittersweet outcome. Don’t try to cram down your income and time the market for the sake of an extra 10 grand (which is what my friend did.) You have to think long term, as tempting as it is to see the low hanging fruit of need based aid dangling in front of you… an asset is an asset- so for schools which will consider not just your income but also your assets, your planner needs to consider that liquidating stock which ends up sitting in your money market account, you haven’t altered your financial picture all that much.

42

An asset is an asset, but capital gains will hit the income equation at many schools. But if ex’s finances are taken into account, is need based aid even possible? Do you know his income?

43

“FAFSA would rely on the previous year’s filing, in this case 2016, correct?”
Correct.
But just remember that IF your DD gets FA as a Freshman, and you want it to continue, you have to resubmit the FAFSA or Profile every year she is in college.
It’s not a one-and-done.
So that needs to be taken into account.

44

"As is USC "
Make SURE she “shows the love” to USC.
Visit, interview, tell her to explore their website in depth and familiarize herself with all the programs USC offers, have her meet the admissions reps if they participate in a College road show in your area, and most of all- she needs to let them why she wants to go to USC.
USC receives tens of thousands of applications from hi stat NMSF’s each year who apply because of the scholarships and have the mistaken idea that they would be a “shoe in” there because of their stats.
That is no longer the case.