Financial Aid for Upper-Middle Class

mlaffitte
Fri, 16 Nov 2012 16:35:28 +0000

I’m new here… single mom with upper-middle-class salary, have one son who’s just been accepted ED to Lawrence University. He has been offered a $7k merit scholarship, and I have set aside almost $100k in a 529 plan, so we have a good start. I’ve not even looked at FAFSA yet, so forgive me if my questions are completely idiotic. Question 1: I am only 6 years from retirement, and haven’t saved as much as I should have, and so am stashing away as much as I can now in my 401k… Do they take this kind of situation into consideration for older parents? Second question: Something I read in another thread left the impression that we would have to use up the 529 savings before qualifying for any aid… Is that right? Also is there any rule of thumb about the proportion of grants vs. loans vs. work-study in a typical aid package? Thank you.