Do schools bump their grants if our 529 account is empty before Junior year?

<p>I have saved for my daughters education for many years, but I expected her to go to a UC school. Instead she has chosen Scripps which runs about $25K a year more. My 529 College savings account will be empty by the end of her Sophmore year, so I am wondering if schools take that into account when they set the EFC for the next year? And if so, are they likely to bump her grant up to cover the difference?</p>

<p>Your family contribution is largely based on your income (and assets). I don’t think the school will care much that your college savings has run out IF your income supports a family contribution that is higher than what you hoped to spend. </p>

<p>You might want to just run an EFC calculator with your income…and not including that 529…to see if the amount of your family contribution drops significantly. Use the institutional methodology. Keep in mind that this will ONLY be a GUESTIMATE of your family contribution…and it would also be using this year’s info…not info from the future.</p>

<p>Scripps DOES guarantee to meet full need at this time. So if your family contribution (BY THEIR CALCULATIONS ) goes down…presumably they would increase your aid…I’m not sure if they include loans and work study in their packages but if they do, you might see these added before grants are increased…I’m not sure of their policies.</p>