This comment from another thread:
<rant> Financial aid NAZIs really pissed me off yesterday. NOT only do they want to put a microscope up my financial orifice, but wanted signed hard copies of 1040s for last 2 years. Even after I told them we didn't want any of their F---innng financial aid - they still insisted on 1040s etc. Round two today with FA director and up. Yesterday's idiot didn't know IRAs didn't count and tried to convince me there was a chance my son might qualify for a Pell grant. Not a chance in hello.</rant>
sparked me to start a new one on college financial aid...for those of you going thru the process now, or having recently gone thru it, what are the things I can do now, so that 9 years from now I can maximize my opportunities for assistance for the first of 4 I need to put thru college....
What I mean is, based on todays rules anyway, what is the best way to position yourself to look needy....i.e. is money in a retirement account seen differently than a non-retirement account...should you have a big mortgage or not? are their some asset classes/holdings that are factored in more favorably than others etc.
Not knowing how it works, my plan at this point is to have most of my financial assts in a tax-defeered account (i.e. IRA), have a low income (by defering cap gains where possible on non-ira money), possibly take out a big mortgage against my paid of house 2-3 years before applying and either "spend" the money, or somehow tie it up in such a way that it seems less "accessible" (i.e. rental property? another farm? etc).
Of course the rules can change between now and then, but any things to think about are welcomed!
<rant> Financial aid NAZIs really pissed me off yesterday. NOT only do they want to put a microscope up my financial orifice, but wanted signed hard copies of 1040s for last 2 years. Even after I told them we didn't want any of their F---innng financial aid - they still insisted on 1040s etc. Round two today with FA director and up. Yesterday's idiot didn't know IRAs didn't count and tried to convince me there was a chance my son might qualify for a Pell grant. Not a chance in hello.</rant>
sparked me to start a new one on college financial aid...for those of you going thru the process now, or having recently gone thru it, what are the things I can do now, so that 9 years from now I can maximize my opportunities for assistance for the first of 4 I need to put thru college....
What I mean is, based on todays rules anyway, what is the best way to position yourself to look needy....i.e. is money in a retirement account seen differently than a non-retirement account...should you have a big mortgage or not? are their some asset classes/holdings that are factored in more favorably than others etc.
Not knowing how it works, my plan at this point is to have most of my financial assts in a tax-defeered account (i.e. IRA), have a low income (by defering cap gains where possible on non-ira money), possibly take out a big mortgage against my paid of house 2-3 years before applying and either "spend" the money, or somehow tie it up in such a way that it seems less "accessible" (i.e. rental property? another farm? etc).
Of course the rules can change between now and then, but any things to think about are welcomed!