Last week, our son graduated from high school. He will start high school in a few months. Wow, where has time gone? It feels like he just started preschool years ago! RB40JR is now a teenager and he is taller than me. That's a lunatic. Parents, enjoy children when they are young. Before you know it, they will go to college.
When it comes to college, it’s time to investigate FAFSA. We plan to help colleges pay, but some financial aid will be great. Estimated fees for 2029, including tuition, fees, rooms and board of directors, for four years, including$140,000.Yowza! We saved for college on the 529 program, but we didn't have that much.
Today, I'm using Google AI to help figure out FAFSA. After reworking in 2024, the formula is more complicated than ever. I found the Student Aid Index (SAI) and the Pell Grant Qualification Guide online. It has all the details but is 60 pages long. If you want to check out the inside of FAFSA, you can take a look. However, it is much easier to use AI to figure out your personal situation. Finally, I was deeply impressed by AI. As parents, AI is better than the internet for this job. I've browsed many websites, but they didn't help. FAFSA is difficult to summarize because there are many cases and exceptions. When I narrow down our financial situation, the AI can answer. This is very helpful. As a blogger, what can I say? That's why blogs are outdated. The only thing I can add is the human element. OK, let's sort it out quickly.
FAFSA
FAFSA representatives apply for federal student aid for free. Students use this form to apply for financial aid to help colleges or vocational schools pay. If you haven't watched FAFSA for a few years, you'll be surprised now.
First, I went to sudentaid.gov to fill out the federal student aid estimator. Very good, but there is no detailed information on how to get results or what I can do to maximize student financial aid. The important number I came back was Sai. SAI is probably 0 For RB40JR. Obviously, 0 is very good. This is unexpected, I want to know why. This is where AI comes in handy.
SAI (Student Aid Index)
SAI is an index number used by financial aid professionals when creating aid quotes. This is one of the changes made in 2024. SAI is similar to the old EFC (Expected Family Contribution), but not exactly. It ranges from -1,500 to 999999. Negative SAI indicates the highest level of financial demand. Zero indicates a great opportunity to receive financial aid for students.
formula: Cost of Attendance (COA) – Student Aid Index (SAI) = Financial Requirements
Since the RB40JR has a SAI of $0, his financial needs will equal the school's full attendance cost.
AI is very helpful
I went to Google Gemini and asked about FAFSA. This is my question. Every time I type something, the AI will give a detailed answer. I will put a small summary at the end. We got there soon.
>I'm working on FAFSA
>I have $1,000,000 in a taxable account. Can I get student aid?
>My agi is about $25,000
>Taxable accounts are parents' assets. The family size is 3.
>Married parents. Live in Oregon
Summary of answers
for Married parents' family size is 3use the 2023 poverty level (applicable to 2025-2026 FAFSA):
- AGI Threshold Maximum Pell Grant (So, $0 and asset exclusion SAI is $43,505 (175% of the 2023 federal poverty level for 3 families in 2023).
Your AGI is about $25,000 well below this threshold.
Therefore, for federal financial aid (Pell Grant, Federal Supplementary Education Opportunity Grant (FSEOG), Direct Subsidized Loan, Federal Staff), your parents’ $1,000,000 taxable account should no Influencing your eligibility, you should assign SAI to $0. This is good news for aid based on federal needs.
The key part of the answer is the AGI threshold. Now that Mrs. RB40 is retired, we can fine-tune our AGI during college. FAFSA ignores assets if your AGI is below 175% of the poverty level. This is why the SAI of RB40JR is 0.
What if our AGI is $45,000, slightly above 175% of the poverty level? In this case, AI said it is expected that we will contribute approximately $65,000 to the university based on the assets. The AGI thresholds vary greatly.
Mrs. RB40 should remain retired
In short, Mrs. RB40 should remain retired while our son is in college. We can control our AGI to get it below the critical 175% level. To prepare for college, we should transfer some investments to those years to make money to minimize capital gains. That's it. AI is very helpful here. If you are looking at FAFSA and trying to figure out a different solution, try Google AI. This is a good use case.
Have you tried AI? This is the first time I have proved myself. That's why many entry-level white-collar jobs are disappearing. Good luck, young man. I'm sure you'll be better at adapting to the new world than our elderly.
Image source: AI overlord.
Posts using AI to help college payments first retire at the age of 40.
