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I'm a new member here but wanted to share what we learned during our appeals process last year. One thing that really helped us was creating a detailed comparison chart showing not just the financial aid amounts, but also the net cost of attendance for each school. We included room/board differences, fees, and estimated personal expenses to show the true financial gap. Also, timing matters! We submitted our appeal about 2 weeks after receiving all our financial aid offers, which gave us time to be thorough but still left plenty of time before the May 1st deadline. The financial aid office appreciated that we weren't rushing them at the last minute. Best of luck with Boston College - they have a reputation for being reasonable with appeals when you present a solid case with comparable institutions!
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ok so im gonna go against wht everyone else said... keep the money where it is!!! colleges look at ur kids combined profiles and if u start moving money around they notice. my sister tried moving stuff to 529s and the financial aid office literally asked for 3 years of bank statements during verification!!! they saw all the transfers and counted it anyway. waste of time.
That's concerning to hear, but it's important to note that this would be extremely unusual for regular federal aid through FAFSA. Was your sister applying to highly selective private schools that use the CSS Profile? Those schools often conduct a much deeper financial analysis and may have their own institutional methodologies. The standard federal methodology for FAFSA doesn't include any formal mechanism to track asset movements or request years of bank statements. However, if selected for verification, some schools might request additional documentation, especially if large sums are involved or if there are discrepancies in the application.
This is such a timely question! I'm dealing with something similar with my kids who are 3 years apart. One thing I learned from our financial advisor is to also consider the timing of when you make these changes. Since your younger child is still in 7th grade, you have several years before their assets would impact your older child's aid eligibility. The 529 strategy mentioned by Diego is solid, but also remember that FAFSA looks at assets as of the date you file, not when you earned or saved the money. So if you do move to a parent-owned 529, you might want to time it strategically around when you'll be filing your older child's FAFSA renewals. Also worth noting - some states offer tax deductions for 529 contributions, which could provide an additional benefit beyond just the FAFSA treatment. Definitely check what your state offers since that could make the decision even more worthwhile. Has your older child's school been helpful with explaining their specific aid policies? Some schools are more generous with aid renewals than others, which might influence how aggressively you want to pursue these strategies.
This is really helpful advice about timing! I hadn't thought about coordinating the 529 transfer with when I file FAFSA renewals. Since my older child will need to renew aid for the next 3 years, that gives me some flexibility to be strategic about when exactly we make the move. Our state (didn't mention which one in my original post, but we're in Virginia) does offer a tax deduction for 529 contributions, so that's definitely another plus. As for the school being helpful - honestly, they've been pretty vague about their renewal policies. They just say to "maintain good academic standing" but haven't given specifics about whether our aid package might change year to year based on asset changes. I should probably push them for more concrete information about that.
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I just wanted to update everyone - I spoke with my financial aid office today and they confirmed what most of you said. My current year's aid package won't be affected by my new job or the taxes I'm about to file. Such a relief! Thanks to everyone who helped clarify this!
Glad you got it sorted out! Make sure you mark your calendar for the 2025-2026 FAFSA application - it's always good to apply as early as possible to maximize your aid eligibility.
That's awesome that you got confirmation from your financial aid office! It's always best to go straight to the source when you're unsure about these things. For anyone else reading this thread who might be in a similar situation - the key takeaway is that as long as you reported your tax information accurately for the correct tax year on your FAFSA, mid-year income changes won't affect your current aid package. The prior-prior year model is designed to provide stability throughout the academic year. Good luck with your studies!
This is such helpful information! As someone who's new to navigating FAFSA, I was wondering about this exact scenario. It's reassuring to know that the prior-prior year system provides that stability. I'm curious though - when should we typically start preparing for the next year's FAFSA application? Is there an optimal time to submit it to ensure we don't miss out on any aid opportunities?
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Thanks everyone for the helpful advice! I feel much more confident now about finishing our FAFSA. To summarize what I've learned: - NO to reporting 401k/retirement accounts - NO to reporting our primary home - YES to reporting checking/savings accounts - YES to reporting our rental property (net value) - YES to reporting investments outside retirement accounts - Consider timing of submission if large purchases are planned - CSS Profile for private schools is different and more detailed I'm going to get this wrapped up this weekend! Thanks again!
Great summary! Good luck with the process, and remember there's always the option to appeal your aid offer if your financial situation changes or if you believe there are special circumstances not captured by the standard formula.
Just wanted to add one more thing that helped me when I was going through this last year - make sure you double-check your state's deadline too! Some states have earlier FAFSA deadlines than the federal one for state aid eligibility. I almost missed out on $2,000 in state grants because I didn't realize my state's deadline was March 1st while the federal deadline was much later. Each state is different, so definitely look up your specific state's requirements. Good luck with everything!
Oh wow, I had no idea about state deadlines being different! That's really important to know. We're in California - do you happen to know what our deadline is? I definitely don't want to miss out on state aid on top of everything else. This whole process has so many moving parts it's overwhelming!
Astrid Bergström
I'm going through the exact same thing right now! My daughter and I submitted our FAFSA two weeks ago and it's been stuck "In Review" ever since. I've been checking the portal obsessively every day hoping for an update. Reading through these responses is both helpful and terrifying - the idea that it could take 6-10 weeks is making me panic about missing deadlines too. Has anyone found that calling FSA multiple times gets you different answers? I'm wondering if some agents are more helpful than others, or if they're all just giving the same standard "wait and see" response. Also, for those who eventually got through processing - did you get an email notification when your status changed, or did you have to keep checking the portal manually?
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Austin Leonard
•I'm in the exact same boat! Just started this process and feeling overwhelmed by all the different timelines people are sharing. From what I'm gathering from everyone's experiences, it seems like calling FSA multiple times might get you different responses depending on the agent, but most are probably working with the same limited information. I'm definitely going to take the advice about contacting the schools directly with my confirmation email - that seems like the smartest proactive step. Also planning to double-check that all our email addresses are verified in the portal like @Malik Johnson mentioned. Has anyone else noticed if checking the portal obsessively actually helps, or should we just check weekly to avoid driving ourselves crazy?
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Anastasia Popov
I'm a newcomer here dealing with the same exact situation! My son just signed his portion last week and we're also stuck at "In Review" status. Reading through everyone's experiences here has been both reassuring and nerve-wracking - it's good to know we're not alone, but those 6-10 week timelines are scary with deadlines approaching. I really appreciate all the practical advice everyone has shared. I'm definitely going to: 1. Contact each of his schools with our confirmation email 2. Double-check that both our email addresses are verified in the portal 3. Mark my calendar to follow up with FSA if we hit the 4-week mark One question for those who've been through this - when you contacted the schools directly, did you call or email? And did they ask for any specific documentation beyond the confirmation email? I want to make sure I approach them the right way since this is all new territory for our family. Thanks to everyone for sharing your experiences - this community has been incredibly helpful for a stressed parent trying to navigate this process!
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