<p>unless there’s a state tax reason to open more than one account (limit on contributions per accout that will give you a state tax deduction, etc) then there really isn’t any difference for FAFSA reporting whether you have one account or 3. All the funds will be considered parent assets. These parent-owned 529s are convenient in that the beneficiary can easilybe changed and you don’t have to worry about overfunding (if you plan for a private at $200k and “only” need to pay for a public at $100k, for ex.) These are parent-owned 529s with a child as beneficiary. There are also child-owned 529s but I assume you aren’t considering those here.</p>