Top 10 Critical Goofs Made By Parents During The College Planning Process

Mistake #6: Not knowing how to differentiate “included assets” and “unincluded assets” for filling out financial aid.

Reality: Some assets are counted differently than others in financial aid formulas. All included and asked on Federal Financial Aid are; savings accounts, CD’s, and stocks and bonds. The said form does not actually ask about value of annuities or any cash-value insurance.

Mistake #7: It doesn’t matter where you keep your money;it’s all counted in the same way.

Reality: Nothing could be further from the truth. Where you keep your money could mean the difference between you getting $10,000 in financial aid or getting nothing! For example, money in the child’s name is weighted much more heavily than money in the parent’s name.

Not knowing how to put your money into good use for financial aid purposes can costs you to end up losing thousands of dollars in financial aid that you might actually deserve.

Mistake # 8: Thinking that your CPA of tax preparer is actually qualified to fill out financial aid forms for you.

Reality: Unfortunately, CPA’s and tax preparers are experts at tax planning and preparation – not financial aid planning. For example, a CPA or tax preparer might suggest that you put some or all of your assets in your child’s name to save money on taxes. While this advice is well meaning, it will usually kill most or all of your chances of getting financial aid.

CPA’s and tax preparers are not very careful with filling out financial forms. They can sometimes omit some vital information like (i.e., using pen instead of pencil, using correction fluid to cover mistakes, and not including social security numbers, etc.). These mistakes can often lead your financial aid forms to be brought down at the “bottom of the pile”.

If this happens, you will have to re-submit these forms all over again, and you will likely lose thousands in financial aid since it is awarded on a first come, first served basis. The students with properly filled out, “top of the pile” forms will leapfrog your messy paperwork and be considered for aid first!

Mistake #9: The common mistake of waiting until or after January of yr child’s senior year in to start processing on your child’s college financial planning.

Reality: Since financial aid is based on your previous year’s income and assets, it is imperative to start your planning as soon as possible before January of your child’s senior year. If you want to legally set up your income and assets so you can maximize your eligibility for financial aid, you must start working on this, at least, one year in advance – preferably in the beginning of your child’s JUNIOR year of high school.

It’s tougher to set up your financial aid once you wait longer and get closer to your child’s senior year, you create a “red flag” for the college and universities. You can start saving once you know what your “Expected Family Contribution”.

There are schools that would give you the best packages, so you should know which schools to start visiting and apply to them. If you did not do some planning yet, DO IT NOW!

Mistake #10: A cheap way of doing Financial Aid Process is by doing it yourself, because it saves you money.

Reality: If this is true about you, then colleges and Federal Government will have a ll the glory-they will love you! Examples below.

This would have them control instead of you the parent, you must understand how it really works and take control of it. It’s always a fact that we constantly go to a doctor when we get sick, go to a lawyer when we get sued, but then I cannot understand it when we wanted to send our child to college, and would readily spend $10,000-$45,000 per year, we wanted to save money and do it ourselves without any help.

I’m going to give you information on how this is. Because of the complicated system that grew, the combination of federal and government bureaucracy, with involvement of private, for-profit and non-profit enterprises, rules deadlines, regulations and other complications. At the end: it’s not easy knowing how to do things.

you must spend 5-10 years of your life studying and understanding the financial aid process, there is no way for you to know hoe to get the maximum amount of money from each school. You’ll spend hours trying to figure it out, if you try to do it yourself. You have to quit your day time job, If you want it done.

There’s a moral to the story: “Don’t Be Penny Wise And Dollar Foolish!” get help from an expert to help you with the process! The cost of your investment will return multiple folds of profit which you can use for your college financial aid which you could have never obtained as a “do-it-yourself!

To know exactly how I can help you with college financial aid, visit my website about Illinois college tips and get a FREE Report: “How to Pay For College Without Going Broke”