<p>After same stand up negotiation, I’ve managed to convince all the colleges that I have some intention of accepting admission to set my postaid cost within 1k of each other. While this would normally mean that I should make some relative assessment of value for each, I have found out that each has different policies concerning personal savings. Some assume that you have as much money in savings as when you applied so it should make a constant contribution even if you blew it all the first year. Others however seem to be blind of previous years and only expect you to contribute a fraction of what you currently have based on how many years you have left to attend. Does anyone know which category Columbia falls into, because I have a modest (but still not impressive) savings that makes this issue a potential tipping point for decision.</p>
<p>Doesn’t everyone lie about the amount of assets they hold?</p>
<p>I was thinking about that, lol. Do they actually check ur assets? Or couldn’t u just withdraw it all and say u have nothing?</p>
<p>They obviously require your tax returns, but I’ve never heard of a college requesting documentation regarding your assets. It’s not like they can easily find the information. You could even show them that you have a bank account w/ $500 in it and they have no way of knowing about your other account where all the money is.</p>
<p>To clarify, my assets are in mutual funds, NOT in a bank account. This means that they can easily tell that I’m lying because my tax records would include a form detailing every transaction. </p>
<p>Had I known I would get punished like this, I would have withdrawn everything before the 2008 tax year, saving me from listing it (and also saving me from the stock market crash). Hurrah for being screwed twice over.</p>
<p>The other thing you could have done – if you still wanted to invested it – was put that money in an irrevocable trust under the guardianship of some really good family friend or relative. Let this be a lesson to the rest of you.</p>
<p>what MBA students routinely do is purchase American Express travelers checks using their savings. For whatever reason I don’t think they’re counted as true monetary instruments, as they’re only redeemable by one entity (sort of like a gift certificate), so the FAFSA doesn’t ask about them.</p>
<p>of course, the primary concern at the undergraduate level of FA is your parents’ assets, not your own, so that may not be as applicable.</p>
<p>Actually, student funds are considered to be available at a much higher rate than are parents’ funds. If you have $4,000 in your own savings (for instance), you will be expected to contribute $1,000/per year, exhausting your money. Nobody expects parents to do anything comparable. I suggest you call the FA office and ask how your personal savings are considered in the equation. You can do this anonymously (pretend you are applying for next year).</p>
<p>With only a few days left to decide, this issue is even more important than ever. I tried the anonymous caller thing, but the office just told me “it depends.” On what, neither I nor she appears to know. And yes, I know I’m an idiot for being dumb enough to report money to begin with.</p>