College Watch

Thank you to Diane for this question...

Answer:

That's a really good question, and unfortunately it is not one that the financial forms are designed to deal with.

In a case like a Roth conversion, you are forced to report additional, taxable income on your tax returns that you don't actually have.  Because it is taxable income, you must report it on the FAFSA form which will artificially inflate your available income for financial aid purposes.  The remedy for a situation like this is called a "professional judgement".

A "professional judgement" is an appeal directly to the college or university's financial aid office to which your student has applied.  Provide them with detailed information about the conversion, its impact on your taxes, and what your taxes would look like without the conversion.  You need to make a logical, compelling case as to why the numbers filed on your FAFSA form do not accurately reflect your real financial situation. 

College's and universities do not have to agree to your request for a professional judgement.  But the financial aid offices are run by real people; and if you make a compelling argument, in all likelihood, they will see things your way.

If you have any questions you would like answered, please use the question form at eduLuanchpad.com.

Hello to all you aspiring college students out there!

A few months ago, I was in your shoes. I was filling out applications, visiting campuses, inspecting dorms, and desperately trying to answer that age-old question: what do I want to do with my life? (aka What major should I choose?)

I won’t lie, it’s daunting. But after I chose my college, my major, and my dorm, everything fell into place and I was no longer worried, right? Wrong! I worried about my new classes, I worried about meeting my roommates for the first time, I worried about moving away from my parents, etc. In fact, I was probably more scared than I had been when I was just looking for the right college.

But don’t worry. With a whole lot of prayer and the help of some wonderful people, things did eventually work out. And I’m going to do my best to prepare you by telling you about some of the challenges I faced and some of the surprises I did not see coming.

So, aspiring college students, don’t freak out. If the most anti-social, panicky, homesick person in the world (me) can make it in college, you can too.

God bless you all,

Becky

US News has come out with its latest college beauty pageant list... The World's Best Universities. *sigh*

Let me be as frank as I can be, I hate these US News lists with a passion reserved only for those who steal kids' dreams and force grandmothers to eat dog food in a cardboard box in Duluth, MN in January. Aside from being hopelessly flawed methodology, these lists instill false expectations in students. For many students, it means life crushing debt to live up to some unholy expectation of a super-life after graduating from the world's "elite" universities. For others, it means depression and hopelessness when they think their life is over because they couldn't get in to some select school as defined by some secret society in league with hellish allies.

It is not the college that defines the student! It is the student who defines their future. Do not pay attention to the lists. They are garbage!