Everyone Should Submit a FAFSA

Last week, I chatted on the phone with a business owner in Carmel, Indiana who makes close to 7 figures.  He wanted to know how to qualify for tuition discounts at the colleges his twins were applying to.  Betcha that seems crazy to you, right? It shouldn’t! If you felt that is crazy, then may I suggest that you are forcing a needlessly limiting belief upon yourself?  (OK, I suggested it. 🙂

There are numerous, various, and sundry reasons why families like this should, and actually do, qualify for hefty, “windfall’ tuition discounts.

Business Owners

Plus, business owners have unique tax advantages that regular non-business owner W-2 folks lack.  However, 99% of the time the business owner’s CPA doesn’t give this advice, mainly because they don’t understand the interrelation between the Department of Treasury IRS tax laws and the Department of Education Title IV rules and regulations.

Case in point: as I was writing this, I recalled a plan we created for a similar, high-income, self-employed family from Carmel, Indiana a few years ago, blessed by their jubilant CPA, that saved them a whopping $103K over the course of their children’s education.  Not too shabby!

So that is one reason why everyone – including high income business owners – should explore any and all ways to cut college costs.  

Especially the legal ones! (Wink, wink, nudge, nudge, you know what I mean?)

Colleges love families that can pay

Here’s another reason. Colleges like – nay, love – families who can pay their tuition bills.  

But what they REALLY LOOOOOVE  are families that pay tuition, then graduate…and THEN turn into LONG TERM DONORS.

(Gasp!  Is Randy really that cynical?)  Yes, I am. (Heard ya! 🙂

Can you blame me?  Most colleges don’t wait until kids graduate to hit up their families for donations. Sometimes the fundraising starts before orientation!

That’s why we always recommend that high-income parents submit their financial aid applications, even if they know, in their heart of hearts, that they cannot qualify: their financials will demonstrate STRENGTH, which might give their kiddos a slight edge in admissions over less-affluent applicants.

Note:  many people who think they can’t qualify actually DO qualify.  But that’s another story.

And, who knows?  An admission office might decide that it’s a good business decision to curry favor and offer a 15K scholarship to an affluent family who could return the favor, many times over, for decades?

Final comment:

You may not like how this works.  And, ironically, I too may not. But none of that matters. This is the way things ARE, whether or not we find it tasteful.  

Don’t look at it as good or bad – it’s just the way it is.  It’s up to you to choose to play by the rules of the game or not.  Either way is fine, because it’s entirely up to YOU.

If you want to explore how to give your child an edge over his/her competitors at the best schools, and/or beat the overpriced, rip-off, mercenary colleges at their own game, you can book a Class 101 Meeting with me or someone on our team – no charge.