FAFSA - Federal Student Aid Application

As the father of 3 college age daughters, I know the two biggest financial hurdles parents face are how to pay for college and how to pay for the weddings.  In honor of my three daughters, here are my thoughts on the college financial aid process.

1.  What matters is not the sticker price but the discounted price after scholarships.  Colleges, like car dealers, start with one price. But the price you actually pay is after scholarships.  You won’t know the true price until you submit a college application and a FAFSA form.  State schools have the lowest sticker price and the smallest discounts. 

2.  The simplest way to increase the scholarship pool for your children is to take any liquid assets like mutual funds and pay down the mortgage in your house.  The equity in your home is not an ASSET for FAFSA purposes but savings account, mutual funds, stocks and bonds are assets for FAFSA purposes.

3.  The FAFSA form does not treat foreign wages as income if you took the Foreign Earned Income Exclusion.  Every school determines their financial aid formula differently.  Schools with many TCKs or Third Culture Kids are likely to add back the Foreign Exclusion but in my opinion state schools or small private schools are less likely to add back the Foreign Earned Income Exclusion.

In making your student’s college decision, begin with the end in mind:

  • What are they looking for? 
  • What are their gifts and abilities? 
  • How will this educational setting help them reach that goal?

We will provide a FAFSA worksheet for our clients with their return.  For more information about FAFSA please schedule an appointment with our office. 

This video will help explain how the FAFSA process works for Clergy or Americans living abroad. 

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