Yes… auto $0 for this coming year and will be for next year as well. When the base year becomes 2020, that might change.
The intent at inception was not that specific… but that’s a good point you’re making. In any event, he did qualify as an auto $0.
His grandfather was hoping it might get him involved/interested in stocks, but he was quite young and it didn’t gel for several reasons (part of why I overlooked the account). Nonetheless, the money can certainly now be used to help defray college costs. I just want to maximize how we use the funds to stretch them as far as we can (obviously including their tax treatment).
Yes. Not a transfer student, new entering Freshman. Not sure about deadlines at various schools, but obviously if that is/becomes an issue, it might pose a problem with specific schools. This process has been very different for my son vs. my daughter, who only applied to public schools. The CSS/Profile wasn’t an issue for her and, frankly, I wasn’t aware of its use at some the private schools my son has applied to. Hopefully, deadlines will not become a problem.
At the end of the day, I’ll be surprised if any of the private schools will be able to match what he’s already secured at a public school. We live in GA and he was accepted early to a state school where he will pay no tuition, thanks to the Zell Miller scholarship. But he’s also applied to some out-of-state private “reach” schools that understandably hold attraction for him and if he’s accepted to one of those and wants to attend, money will be a key factor. Wish we had been more on the ball about the CSS (FAFSA was done last year), but I guess we live and learn and do the best we can.