Besides losing out on financial aid?
Just to be safe is it OK to estimate investments higher?
Do colleges check or ask proof for every number?
Besides 1040 and W2s what else gets uploaded?
What about overseas investments and property, how should a parent estimate “fair market value” of those?
Thanks in advance for the inputs
Invest accounts and bank accounts you shouldn’t have to estimate. Online account balances should be available to the penny 24/7. Unless there was a recent sale, real estate values will probably be estimates. Just use your best judgment.
Thanks…
If you overestimate, you cannot change it later. You report balances as of the day you first submit FAFSA.
Why would you be estimating assets at all? As noted…you can get an up to the day value online 24/7
You can file CSS Profile as of a different date than the FAFSA - and the values you use should be correct as of the date you submit each. FAFSA does not ask for some items that some schools care about for the CSS Profile (while other schools ask many more supplemental questions than others. My favorite example is that some Profile schools ask about when you purchased your family vehicles, and for how much, while other schools don’t ask at all. Some schools care about how much your parents saved in 401K plan, and will tap that as available income, while some schools exclude it from their calculations of your family need.
Whether it makes a difference to your final FA determination depends on how much of difference there is, how material it is compared to the rest of your profile, what is the school’s FA calculation policy, your own family circumstances, etc.
And to answer “do colleges check or demand proof of every number” - the answer is sadly YMMV, it depends. Mostly on the school, but I believe some schools must audit a small fraction of FA applications - so it is best to be able to support every number you put down. Whether you use an older number from last quarter, or if say you calculate the value of bonds based on purchase date records, or if your last statement said you had x shares, and you look in the newspaper to determine the recent share price , there is usually a method to document your calculation.
Thumper some “will” be estimating… in cases of overseas assets… property specifically
Not sure what colleges believe are the most legitimate sources of current market value of overseas assets so yeah…
Also there could be situations where the family could be going through the paperwork for some inherited assets and until the process is complete one never knows what the true amount is
They usually dont disclose it.
Some colleges have a Nov 1 deadline for submission of FA forms so I wondered
Anything related to stocks and bonds, I agree I can look it all up online
Thanks for the responses
Once you get it from the estate, you know what the value is, right? If you haven’t gotten it from the estate yet, it isn’t your property, and therefore it’s not reported as a current asset on FAFSA or Profile.
November 1 deadline would only be for early applicants, not regular decision. If financial aid is a significant consideration…applying early might now be the best choice.
And even with overseas property…why would you be over estimating the value.
Thumper I meant EA not ED. For EA for a certain college FA deadline is Nov 1
I figured…but early is early. If you can’t have the info accurate to submit, and financial aid is critical…OVER estimating is not going to be to yoir advantage,