<p>I am the father of an incoming 11th grade daughter living in Virginia (I also have a 14-year old son and a 3-year old son with my second wife). </p>
<p>I have joint custody of the two older children with my ex-wife. We have a one-week on, one-week off visitation arrangement and she claims my daughter on her taxes and I claim my son.</p>
<p>When my father left a small inheritance in 2002, I pre-paid a Virginia 529 account for both kids, which covers tuition, fees and books, but not room and board. My ex and I are equally responsible for that. </p>
<p>My daughter is a 4.2 gpa student and, as a doting parent, I'm hoping that she's able to get into the university of her choice. I believe she's leaning toward UVA.</p>
<p>Like a lot of people, my financial situation has changed and I'm beginning to fret about being able to be able to pay for room and board as well as college for the newest child. Whatever years are left over from the 529 contract belonging to the older children can be transferred to the youngest.</p>
<p>My adjusted gross income is less than $30k (for 4 people). I'll be filling out the FAFSA. </p>
<p>Here (finally) are my questions:</p>
<p>How likely is it that my daughter will be eligible for any federal aid?
Does it cover room and board?
Does it matter that she's claimed on my ex's taxes?
Is the 529 considered in calculating financial aid?</p>
<p>I've got a year before we have to start the process of the college thing and I'd like to be as informed as possible. I worked my way through college so any help on this score would be most appreciated.</p>
<p>Be kind - this is my first post.</p>
<ul>
<li>Mitch</li>
</ul>
<p>Welcome!</p>
<p>For a state-funded institution, UVA is pretty generous with need-based aid, and limits how much lower-income families have to borrow. Since your daughter sounds like a high achiever, she might want to look into merit aid at some private schools. For instance, the University of Richmond has an extensive merit scholarship program described on their website. I believe the VA prepaid plan can be used at any school in or out of state, though it does not necessarily then cover tuition.</p>
<p>Sometimes private schools, although the sticker price is high, end up being cheaper for families with modest income and assets because they give more need-based aid (their “discount rate” is higher).</p>
<p>The fact that you have a prepaid tuition plan will be considered in assessing your D’s need.</p>
<p>Remember that while you’ll be paying your D’s room and board, you won’t be paying for her expenses at home any more. When my S went off to school, for instance, our grocery bill dropped noticeably–of course, not enough to cover UVA’s meal plan, but it was something. Also, at UVA many students live off campus after the first year and can save money by cooking for themselves. Many have work-study or part-time jobs as well.</p>
<p>There are online tools that have you fill out the FAFSA and roughly estimate how much aid you’ll be eligible for. However, just because you’re eligible doesn’t mean a particular school will actually grant you the money–each institution uses its own method of calculating need.</p>
<p>There is a helpful “financial aid” forum on College Confidential which has some detailed discussion of various divorce-and-remarriage scenarios.</p>
<p>The FAFSA requires financial information of the custodial parent (and his/ her spouse if remarried). In the case of the FAFSA the custodial parent is defined as the parent that the child spent the most time with. If the time has been spent equally between the two parents, then the custodial parent is the one who provided more financial support. </p>
<p>So, no it doesn’t matter for the purpose of the FAFSA which parent claimed the child. There are FAFSA estimators online. </p>
<p>Room and board are considered part of the cost of attendance, but there is no guarantee that living on campus will be financially feasible. </p>
<p>Most grants ($$ that doesn’t have to be paid back) come not from the federal government, but from state governments and universities, themselves. Therefore, you should be concerned about eligibility for state and institutional aid as well. For instance, UVA expects the non custodial parent to contribute ([U.Va</a>. Financial Aid - Determining Need](<a href=“http://www.virginia.edu/financialaid/determine.php]U.Va”>http://www.virginia.edu/financialaid/determine.php)). </p>
<p>If your daughter has high SAT/ ACT scores, then she can also look for colleges that offer large merit scholarships.</p>
<p>Federal aid is not much. </p>
<p>If you qualify for the most (which I don’t know will happen because of the 529), it is a $5550 grant and a 5500 student loan. That grant is for an EFC 0. </p>
<p>I don’t know how 529s are counted. </p>
<p>If your D has good stats…not just good GPA, but also high test scores.…then you really should look into some schools that will give her large merit scholarships. If she could get a free tuition scholarship, then other aid or some money from the 529 could pay for the rest. </p>
<p>I can understand your concern to make sure that there are funds there for child #3.</p>
<p>BTW…does your wife work? If so, her income counts as well for FAFSA and CSS Profile schools</p>
<p>From what I know about need based aid in VA, if you’re looking at one of the public va schools, your daughter will also be eligible for one of the two state grants, which range anywhere between $2000 to $8000 (depending on the school and other factors). Just thought I’d throw my two cents in here! Good luck!</p>