FAFSA Online Secret: Transfer Assets

Consider this: assets, savings, and cash in the student's name carries more weight (which means that you get less aid) than assets, savings, and cash in the parents' names. Student contributions are assessed at 20%, while parents' contributions are assessed at not quite 6%.

What does this mean for you?

Saving in the student's name is a bad, bad thing. Save in your name, and use the investment strategies in previous secrets. Any assets the student has at the time of application and college will weigh negatively on them.

One important note for students with jobs: if you're a dependent student and you have a job, you get an exemption for the first $2,440 in income that you make. After that, your wages are assessed at a 50% rate. So keep an eye on your wallet if you're working!

Best Advice

Don't save under a child's name, and be mindful of your pay check.

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FAFSA Online Secret: The devil's in the details, but so is the money.

FAFSA Help Guide: Dependancy Questions