"Hidden" Financial Aid Tactics
Let me learn ya a wee bit about how to get the loot you need and deserve from your kids' colleges...
...so that you can easily and comfortably afford to send them to the top schools they deserve to attend, instead of breaking their little hearts.
First, it matters where you apply. Some colleges are extremely generous, some miserly.
It matters WHERE you apply.
The missus (Pearl) and I have been in the college consulting game for more than 20 years, and can tell you, first hand, about dozens of "deserving" low income families who got ZERO -- across the board -- from their colleges...
...and scores of six-figure earning, high income families who received tens of thousands in aid!
One family can play the game the right way, while the other doesn't.
Most of the time, scholarship and financial aid awards come down to which colleges they applied to. You must include 1. generous colleges and 2. colleges that will be generous to YOUR CHILD.
That second part is critical. And OVERLOOKED 99% of the time by parents, guidance counselors, accountants or anyone who fancies themself an "expert." (Hah, he scoffs with a judgy tone.)
Hint: if your son or daughter has to scratch and claw, beg borrow and steal their way into a college, chances are very high that the award will be very low. Or zero.
Tip #2: You can legally "hide" your money from the financial aid office. In financial aid, it's not a matter of HOW MUCH you've saved, but WHERE.
Money saved in your kids' names is THE WORST place to save.
The 529 penalizes you too.
How can you shelter your savings? There are four "loopholes" hiding in plain sight in the directions to the main financial aid form, the FAFSA. One, or more than one, could help you qualify for more aid. "Could" means "might", this email isn't personal advice for you.
If you want personal advice on the loopholes, whether they'll work for you, which colleges will be generous to you and which won't, whether or where to "hide" your money, you've got one more day to bring us on, and the clock is a-ticking...
Here's a quick recap:
Get $500 off our Financial Aid Warrior consulting and forms prep
Use coupon codes:
GREEN – 1-pay option (best deal) EZ-GREEN – 5-pay option
Deadline: Friday, stroke of midnight!
- Andy "Gimme Shelter" Lockwood
P.S. We received this question from three readers: Do you file the financial aid applications for us?
Answer: we (Pearl) PREPARES the financial aid applications, then, after you sign off on them, helps you file them. (This can feel like she does the filing, though :)
P.P.S. Questions about this service and whether it will help you? Reply to this email (before deadline).