Parents often have no idea which assets hurt their financial aid chances and which do not.
This is an especially relevant question because parents are now filing for financial aid for the 2017–2018 school year.
Here’s a quick rundown of what assets parents must share when completing the nation’s two main financial aid documents.
The biggest form is the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), which millions of parents complete every year to be eligible for federal and state aid, as well as in-house aid from the vast majority of public and private colleges.
The CSS/Financial Aid PROFILE, which is a creature of the College Board, is used by 229 schools, nearly all of them private, to determine who qualifies for their own institutional money. These schools only rely on the FAFSA to determine which of their students will qualify for state and federal aid.
Lynn O’Shaughnessy | WealthManagement.com