<p>Just wondering how much a student can have in checking, savings, etc before it affects financial aid. </p>
<p>Thanks</p>
<p>$0 for the FASFA EFC. Dependent students have no asset protection in FAFSA. 20% of student assets go to the EFC (unless they qualify for the simplified needs test where assets are ignored, or for the automatic 0 EFC).</p>
<p>Don’t know about CSS.</p>
<p>It will vary from school to school. One school my D applied to “inferred” student earnings of several thousand dollars per year. The explanation was something like “we believe students should contribute to the cost of their education.” I guess the EFC wasn’t considered a contribution!</p>
<p>I’m sure if you check through prior CC threads you will find suggestions for using up student funds prior to filling out the FAFSA and/or CSS … car, computer, wardrobe, pre-payments, etc. Bottom line: FA is negatively affected if the student has appreciable liquid assets.</p>
<p>Liquidating that UTMA fund will break my heart - it is in stocks, all very under water.</p>
<p>On the other hand, the FAFSA valuation will be low, so if I can hold off liquidation until the market turns around, we’ll have the best of both… … now to go digging through the couch cushions for this year’s tuition.</p>
<p>Toad - What I did was liquidate the UTMA, and (32 days later) purchase the identical stocks in a taxable account. This worked for us because we knew the college payments would easily exceed the value of the UTMA. YMMV.</p>
<p>And, as usual, the rules for the most selective schools may vary. At Stanford, for example, they only count 5% of student assets per year toward the student’s contribution.</p>
<p>UTMAs are taxable accounts owned for the benefit of the student. Selling a stock and waiting 32 days to repurchase it eliminates the problem of the 30-day wash rule, but doesn’t eliminate the problem of student assets being assessed at 20% for FAFSA.</p>
<p>Best strategy is to take gains or losses in the student’s junior year of high school (prior to the FAFSA base year) and transfer the cash into a student-owned 529. 529s are assessed at the parent rate for FAFSA (5.6%) and so have much less of an effect in the EFC calculation. This strategy has the additional benefit of being more conservative because age-based 529s are typically 75-80% in cash or cash equivalents. Of course, if you believe the market will come roaring back, you can elect a more aggressive 529 mix.</p>
<p>^7.</p>
<p>9/11 happened in DS senior year. Before he made applications. Before I could move from a balance to conservative portfolio. </p>
<p>I imagine many parents were caught in the Sept-Dec 31, 2008 reaction to the mortgage debacle. I imagine that many money managers got caught. I know that Bush, never had a chance, even though he should have known.</p>
<p>OP, if you have to ask, then consider yourself fortunate, to be able to ask. 1 in 10 parents worry if they will have a house to live in because of The Mortgage. 1 in 10 are unemployed.</p>
<p>I was only asking about what my S has in his checking and savings accounts in his name at a bank. He is currently a college freshman. I was curious if when we completed the FAFSA and had to give the amount of money he has on him and in his bank, if that made a difference.</p>
<p>Yes he has to report what he has in the bank and 20% of what he reports will go to his EFC. So do FAFSA after any bills have been paid, not before. If he has $1000 in the bank then his EFC will be 200 higher because of it (unless you qualify for the simplified needs test, then it will have no affect) and aid may be affected by $200 if full need is met. </p>
<p>I must admit I have never thought tp go through our wallets and reported what any of have on us, though technically I suppose I should. We don’t carry a lot of cash so it wouldn’t make a vast difference.</p>