<p>Our family cars are a high-mileage 2001 Dodge minivan and a compact 2006 Chevy sedan. We have 15k in the bank for emergencies. If the Dodge should die anytime soon, we would tap the emergency fund for about 10k. The colleges we applied to only use the FAFSA. Should we notify FAO’s separately that one of our cars is very old and may need replaced?
Would it help our aid situation? thanks</p>
<p>$10,000 in assets –> max of $560 added to your EFC.</p>
<p>And depending on what your other assets are and how much asset protection you get, that $10K may have zero effect on your EFC.</p>
<p>Generally speaking, your assets up to about $50,000 (depends on the age of the older parent) don’t count so your emergency fund probably isn’t an issue. Plus schools don’t usually deal with what ifs (that includes upcoming med bills, job layoffs, etc). They say to contact them AFTER the problem occurs.</p>