Friday, February 10, 2012

What Affects Your Kid's Financial Aid Money?


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It can be quite a task to navigate the financial aid process. It’s difficult to keep up with what is and what isn’t counted toward the expected family contribution (EFC) amount when deciding how to pay for college. It may stun some of you to know that the parent’s assets are not weighed as much as the student’s in calculating financial aid awards. That’s right, the formula used assesses a family's need and EFC is based on 5.64% of parents’ assets and 20% of assets in a child's name or custodial account.

For instance Coverdell ESA’s and 529 Plans are not considered the child’s asset, but a parent’s, and thus included in the 5.64% parent calculation mentioned above. Custodial accounts... (More)

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