Anonymous wrote:we shifted 600k of assets into non reportable. mostly paying down our mortgage, but also wrapping up a long list of needs: new roof, added an ADU, did dental work, redid driveway, maxed retirement, updated a bunch of legal work like trusts, etc.

So this is what I don’t understand. If you have enough money laying around to pay down the mortgage, redo the driveway, new roof, and an ADU (!) how can you possibly qualify for financial aid? We don’t qualify for financial aid. We are a donut hole - HHI about $250, $100k in a 529, and we’ll be full pay. We could use a new roof and all sorts of house repairs, but we don’t have that kind of money laying around. If you’ve got that kind of money what is the point of rearranging your finances? You won’t qualify.

Anonymous wrote:we shifted 600k of assets into non reportable. mostly paying down our mortgage, but also wrapping up a long list of needs: new roof, added an ADU, did dental work, redid driveway, maxed retirement, updated a bunch of legal work like trusts, etc.

If you had $600k of assets to "shift", it's an absolute joke to call yourself a donut hole family. You could have paid cash for the most expensive private college in the US and walked away whistling.

Donut hole is not supposed to mean "I don't want to pay for college even though the money is sitting in my accounts" it's supposed to mean "I need financial aid to make college possible but am above the cut-off for recieving financial aid."

Lowest paid parent quits working for four years. Will make a huge difference in the net price calculation!

Anonymous wrote:So paying off things like car and consumer debt is already done. What other financial planning did you think made an actual difference for families that are full pay oos but will really struggle to be full pay.

It will depend on how long you have before college. If the car is paid off, hopefully you have still been saving the $ per month you used for the car payment to go into short term savings for tuition? Same idea, if you were paying X amount per month to pay off credit card debt: pay your savings account the same amount! Food and sports expenses will go down once the kid is in collge--the extra "saved" goes toward tuition. In other words: you need a full budget overhaul: look to see where every dollar has been going each month for the past year and cut, cut, cut the spending and put the difference into savings, even if your kid is not going for a few years: even a few hundred per month will start to add up.
If you are young(40s) you can temporarily trim retirement savings for 3 yrs and just plan on working longer. You can take out a HELOC if the rates are good or a no-interest-for 24 mos credit card if you get desperate.

we shifted 600k of assets into non reportable. mostly paying down our mortgage, but also wrapping up a long list of needs: new roof, added an ADU, did dental work, redid driveway, maxed retirement, updated a bunch of legal work like trusts, etc.

Anonymous wrote:OP here. We are definitely considering in state but there are a handful of "dream" schools that are oos. Not a lot of them but a handful. If DS gets in, we'd like to send him with as little pain as possible.

Your need for branded items is what got you into this spot, don't pass that lesson along.

Community college to in-state. Your kid will be fine, and you desperately need to learn to stop "keeping up appearances."

OP here. We are definitely considering in state but there are a handful of "dream" schools that are oos. Not a lot of them but a handful. If DS gets in, we'd like to send him with as little pain as possible.

Your income is the biggest determinant of what you can pay so playing around the edges to reduce assets won't matter much. And schools that "meet need" often consider home equity too.

The best path for "donut hole" is to find an in-state public that meets your kid's needs or look for a school where their stats are strong enough to give merit aid. That's what we did - one at a VA college and the other at a mid-range LAC with merit for about the same cost.

State school, reduce your expenses and save. You shouldn't have bought an expensive house. Donut hole means you can afford it and choose to spend your money in other ways.

Anonymous wrote:Go in-state or find a school you can afford.

+1

Go instate and commute. There are many options for this in the DMV.

Go in-state or find a school you can afford.

We paid off our mortgage.

So paying off things like car and consumer debt is already done. What other financial planning did you think made an actual difference for families that are full pay oos but will really struggle to be full pay.