Financial Aid for Upper-Middle Class

notrichenough
Fri, 16 Nov 2012 17:05:16 +0000

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?

The FAFSA form itself doesn’t.

You might be able to get a school to give you a break based on your circumstances, you will have to appeal to each school. I think a FAFSA-only school is unlikely to give you a break.



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?

For FAFSA, 529s count as parent assets and only 5.64% max should be added to your EFC every year.

You may want to use up the 529 as fast as possible to try to increase your aid in future years, but at FAFSA-only schools it is not a requirement.

CSS Profile schools (which Lawrence appears to be) can make up whatever rules they want.