what counts as extensive assets?

Paying for College
1

<p>$500,000; $750,000; 1 millon?</p>

2

<p>Don’t confuse assets with income.</p>

<p>‘Extensive’ is a relative term, with no firm meaning in the financial aid world.</p>

<p>In terms of income, the median household income in the US is around $46,000. You can draw your own conclusions about other incomes from that. </p>

<p>In terms of assets-- under FAFSA each family has an asset protection allowance. Liquid assets (checking, savings, cash, stocks, non-retirement mutual funds, etc) under that amount don’t get counted into the formula. It varies depending on number in the family and age of the older parent, but typically about 45,000 in liquid assets gets sheltered, and a portion of assets above the allowance count toward your EFC.</p>

<p>A family with $500,000 or more in liquid assets can expect to pay the full cost of college-- there won’t be any need-based aid available. If the $500,000 asset is in the form of home equity, that doesn’t count under the FAFSA Federal Methodology, and it won’t hurt your chances of need-based aid. Institutional Methodology does count home equity, in various ways.</p>

3

<p>that makes a lot of sense, unfair but now I understand the EFC of $82,000</p>