<p>Hello, I am a parent of a first year student and have a few questions. Any replies would be cool.</p>
<p>My daughter lives at home with me, she makes about 3000 a year with a part time job. She has also has $3000 in a savings account from graduation gifts and money from her grandparents. </p>
<p>My question is this: Will the money in her savings account hurt her from receiving the max award dollars she is elgible for for the pell grants next year? </p>
<p>Is there a graph or chart that shows the numbers?</p>
<p>If so, is there a loophole?</p>
<p>I am a single father which makes around 40K a year and needs her to get every dollar possible.</p>
<p>thanks for the replies!</p>
<p>Yes…that money in her acct on the day that you file the next FAFSA can increase her EFC.</p>
<p>The only way to avoid it is to have the money out of there at that point. Does she have any big expenses to pay for before you file the next FAFSA? </p>
<p>If the money is gone by the time you file next FAFSA, then it won’t matter.</p>
<p>The money your daughter has in the bank will be included in the FAFSA formula. It’s not a “loophole” exactly, but it might be wise for her to make any necessary purchases with that money before she fills out the FAFSA – a new laptop, musical instrument, car repairs, etc.</p>
<p>I believe the rate at which student savings are assessed is 20%. Perhaps someone can correct me if I’m wrong.</p>
<p>So in this case the “hurt” would only be about $600, but if she’s near the cut-off for a Pell grant, you wouldn’t want to have $600 kick her out of eligibility. I’m not sure, though, if your income would do that anyway.</p>
<p>Try running your numbers through an online FAFSA calculator. You can run it using different scenarios – like with your daughter having $3000 in savings vs. just $1000, etc.</p>
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