<p>Not to freak anybody out but.....</p>
<p>toneranger, I could get this far that quickly. <a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/search.php?searchid=11284856%5B/url%5D">http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/search.php?searchid=11284856</a></p>
<p>if you search on google and have " college confidential" in quotes, you can pull up posts from the turn of the ( last) millenium!</p>
<p>curmudge - Thanks a bunch. You've now scared me off of cc. Good thing since I waste too much time here anyway. Signing off..</p>
<p>Back on page 9:</p>
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Of course it is far more popular (especially on CC) to take the opposite view. That the hard working middle class should be thankful that they have been able to save a few bucks over the years only to find that they are expected to spend their retirement money on their kids college education, vs. a family that has p*****d away all their earnings on fancy cars, vacations, etc. and are now being rewarded with FA to the "elite" schools that the OP talks about.
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<p>Emphasis mine. This is not correct. If you have money in a retirement vehicle -- 403B, 401K, Roth or regular IRA, Keogh, etc. -- it is NOT considered an asset; it is sheltered. I have some money in a Roth, some in a regular IRA, some in a 401K.</p>
<p>I have some money in a mutual fund that is not sheltered. If I want to protect it from being considered as an asset, I could, in the next couple of years before my "base year" for financial aid, move that money to a Roth IRA.</p>
<p>So retirement funds don't play into this. </p>
<p>H and I could have $300K in retirement funds, but that is sheltered from consideration for financial aid for FAFSA, and, IIRA, Profile schools, too.</p>
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curmudge - Thanks a bunch. You've now scared me off of cc. Good thing since I waste too much time here anyway. Signing off..
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<p>oops. :(</p>
<p>I certainly hope that wasn't a serious exit line as that was dang sure NOT my intended result. Double oops.</p>
<p>and people can tell when your signed on because your little "cc" thingy in the bottom left hand corner is yellow....</p>
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curmudge - Thanks a bunch. You've now scared me off of cc. Good thing since I waste too much time here anyway. Signing off..
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<p>Lol! That is funny!</p>
<p>You can go back even further on the CC Classic discussions</p>
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and people can tell when your on because your little thingy is yellow....
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<p>::ignoring the joke possibilities of that line, but struggling to do so::</p>
<p>You can turn off your "on line status" in your profile.</p>
<p>There are a number of schools that consider how much is "sheltered" in retirement funds in assessing financial aid. They consider everything.</p>
<p>^^did adding " left hand" make it any better?</p>
<p>P.S. "You can turn off your on line status" in your profile"....good to know.</p>
<p>sybbie, I tried that but I couldn't get in any toneranger posts to pop up immediately. I ain't going to try now. :(</p>
<p>No, Shrinkrap, no; that didn't help!</p>
<p>Back to the financial aid discussion, I know that one thing I struggle with is whether to spend the money now to give the child advantages now, or to save it so we'll have more college money later. We would be able to come up with the money for the wildly expensive, competitive summer music camp now -- but it would mean less money a few years from now for college -- but perhaps by spending the money on the wildly expensive summer music camp, the child would be more likely to get into the college later. Our kids have qualified for CTY but we've never sent them because it's too expensive for three kids and yet we haven't gotten financial aid for that either. I don't mind doing without the expensive car, the pool, buying all my clothes at Target -- but I wonder if it's better to spend the money on the expensive math tutor now and then plead poverty when applying to college, or whether I should continue trying to tutor the child in math myself in order to save for college. Are there people here who can actually afford the incredibly expensive summer language school and college -- or is there some other calculation that I'm not aware of.</p>
<p>Momzie, I was having a very similar discussion with D1, a high school freshman. We've sent our kids to camp, gone on family vacations throughout the US, encouraged them to play instruments and take private music lessons, paid for youth group experiences, etc etc etc. If we'd banked that money, the college fund would be large enough to pay for any undergrad dream school, rather than covering state flagship. D1 pointed out that all of those various experiences have made her the person she is today, and she wouldn't choose to give up those K-12 extras. She may have different feelings about this come senior year, of course.</p>
<p>As far as tutoring a kid myself in math, our family already knows by sad experience that it just doesn't work for us. I figure that hiring a math tutor, when needed, will be cheaper than hiring a defense attorney for (totally justifiable!) homicide. ;)</p>
<p>There is a LOT of inaccurate information being posted on this thread - college initiatives, retirement, etc. In the world of FA, nothing is as simple as it first appears. </p>
<p>No matter how hard some of our long time CC friends (like cur) work to get the information out there - most do not want to believe that FA policies are, for many, unfair. No one wants to know that income saved in Category A is excluded, but that saved in Category B is included. That assets A are excluded, but assets B are included. </p>
<p>Too many, on this thread, want to believe that if a family was not awarded FA, then the family must "have" the ability to pay but "choose" to spend their resources in other ways. Cur, and others, have graciously shared their experiences and still people want to believe that if a kid gets accepted to college X, the money will be available. It doesn't always work that way. And, it isn't fair. </p>
<p>Some parents finally "get it" - what these other posters tried to explain - when their child gets accepted but cannot afford to attend. And, it hurts, and to be confronted with the "unfairness" is infuriating. But, every time, instead of learning from such posts, too many try to explain why it isn't so - and begin posting inaccurate information. </p>
<p>Be careful.</p>
<p>Isn't it written somewhere, "life, liberty, and the PURSUIT (not guarantee) of happiness."</p>
<p>For the record, reflectivemom, lots of f.a. candidates/recipients are rejected from "top colleges" for simple Enrollment Management reasons. These are colleges that make no secret that they are EM colleges with not terribly generous inclinations toward aid, and that this affects admissions. (That's aside from the colleges that try to make a 'secret' of it, but where it appears operative.) Many of the "top" colleges on CC's list are included among these. Thus, such f.a. candidates, while on target for such acceptances, given prime assets in the non-financial aspects, are denied "unfairly."</p>
<p>And that is NOT "inaccurate" information, in case anyone wants to challenge that. Has happened to us as well (dream school, dream match), but we're moving on & have no bitterness or blame. D has excellent options, & the best option has already been activated.</p>
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Some parents finally "get it" - what these other posters tried to explain - when their child gets accepted but cannot afford to attend.
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<p>Oh - I get it. This happened to my oldest. She was admitted to a very good school that gave her a very nice academic scholarship when she was accepted in Dec of her senior year - 1/2 off her tuition. What they didn't tell us was - we should not be expecting any more help.
I got over that bitterness along time ago - learned what questions to ask and cross my fingers.
Financial aid is so critical for my kids that we can't begin to choose until the financial aid awards come in.</p>
<p>Too many people on this thread believe that because a family QUALIFIES for financial aid they will get it. We don't get enough. </p>
<p>The facts are: 401K money IS excluded, however, a parent at least has the option of cashing in some of it (not recommended however). Parents with no 401K can't cash in what they don't have.
Home equity - not counted for fafsa - but parents have the option of using it, if they have it.</p>
<p>Someone who had the opportunity to save for their child's college should not whine when they are expected to spend that savings. They should be thankful they have the savings and can provide for their children, if they so choose.</p>
<p>Hmmmmm.... what isn't "fair" about it? I consider myself middle-class, in that I make an okay salary, scrimp and save to pay for expen$ive $ummer camp, college, and retirement, but we have shelter, food, clothes (though I could use some new socks and a pair of shoes!), and a couple of 10-year-old cars. I take public transportation to work -- have to, when gas is over $3/gallon, because I can't afford driving -- and my S goes to public school. </p>
<p>Just because I'm middle-class, I'm supposed to expect my son to be able to go to a pricey college? And if I can't afford to send him there, I'm supposed to think that's unfair?</p>
<p>I feel as though I'm missing something here....</p>
<p>I've done the calculations, and it looks like I'll have saved enough to afford my expected EFC. That doesn't mean ALL of my EFC will come from savings; it means that what I spend on summer camp now, I'll reallocate to college tuition when my S is in college. It means that S will work during the summer/during school to come up with some of the cash. It means that what I'm currently saving for college will be allocated to tuition bills instead of the 529. It means that the child support that I've forsaken through the years so that it can go into another 529 will be available for college tuition. </p>
<p>My high-scoring S doesn't have a right to go to an expensive college, and I don't think it's unfair should he have to forgo that because we can't afford it.</p>
<p>Am I supposed to?</p>