• Welcome to OGBoards 10.0, keep in mind that we will be making LOTS of changes to smooth out the experience here and make it as close as possible functionally to the old software, but feel free to drop suggestions or requests in the Tech Support subforum!

College Savings (529 Plans) Analysis: Wake not in the picture

wfudkn said:
I actually regret it in a lot of ways, and looking back I should have gone there. I probably would have if there wasn't a decent amount of turmoil going on in my life at the time. And my dad made the same deal with me regarding th Porsche, but I still didn't take it.
Click to expand...

I came off sounding judgmental-not my intent. Few decisions are as momentous and stressful as college and looking back, I can't believe we expect people at that age to make such a decision regardless of the help and guidance we give them. Coming from a military family, I knew there was zero chance of me having the personal discipline and willingness to submit to military rigors so that was that. Went to Wake and as much as it's a part of my life, my kids don't have to follow.
 
94Deac said:
I came off sounding judgmental-not my intent. Few decisions are as momentous and stressful as college and looking back, I can't believe we expect people at that age to make such a decision regardless of the help and guidance we give them. Coming from a military family, I knew there was zero chance of me having the personal discipline and willingness to submit to military rigors so that was that. Went to Wake and as much as it's a part of my life, my kids don't have to follow.
Click to expand...

I came from a military family also, with a very rigorous and humorless household atmosphere. My Dad was connected back in the day and wanted me to seek an appointment to the USNA, and I had great grades, athletics and leadership criteria, but I wanted to bust loose, at least somewhat...be in a fraternity, get drunk as hell on a Thursday night, chase girls, not have to worry about ironing and starching uniforms, etc. I didn't want to the total anarchy of UF, but the military was just too rigid at 18. Now I do wish I had done JAG corps after law school instead of going BigLaw, which I hated.
 
Brangus said:
I came from a military family also, with a very rigorous and humorless household atmosphere. My Dad was connected back in the day and wanted me to seek an appointment to the USNA, and I had great grades, athletics and leadership criteria, but I wanted to bust loose, at least somewhat...be in a fraternity, get drunk as hell on a Thursday night, chase girls, not have to worry about ironing and starching uniforms, etc. I didn't want to the total anarchy of UF, but the military was just too rigid at 18. Now I do wish I had done JAG corps after law school instead of going BigLaw, which I hated.
Click to expand...

This post is so full of #humblebrag I'm surprised it fit through the intertubes.
 
DistrictDeacon said:
This post is so full of #humblebrag I'm surprised it fit through the intertubes.
Click to expand...


Not humblebragging. Bragging. I had a great resume in high school. All conference sports, class president, homecoming king, 4+ GPA (juco classes). Built houses for Habitat like a BOSS. Big ol pickup truck with 33 inch mudders and KC lights (that's just gravy). Glory days baby. Average at Wake...some fratty good times but the slide was beginning. Average law student; I was surprised BigLaw hired me. I quit 3 years in, hated it. Life since law school...meh. No bragging since then other than I'm proud of my kids.
 
Last edited:
faxmachineanthem said:
This thread scared me into doing some research on savings strategies. It sounds like you should do things in this order:
1) max out 401k contribution to IRS limits
2) max out Roth IRA contribution (this can be used for college savings w/o an early withdrawal penalty)
3) potentially pay down your mortgage (note: some colleges do look at home equity... for those this may not help)
4) if you still have some money after doing the above (congrats), put it into a 529

The incentive to do #2 before #4 depends on how much of a state income tax break you're get for contributing to a 529. The positives for going Roth before 529 are 1) the Roth doesn't count as an asset for financial aid purposes and 2) if your kid doesn't go to college, or you don't need all of the money for college, you can keep it in the Roth for retirement. For the 529 you'd have to pay a penalty for not using it towards college. If you're getting a significant state tax break and your kid is certain to go to college, it would make sense to go 529 before Roth I think.

Also, my quick reading into the grandparent 529 idea suggests that's a good idea, but the grandparents should only pay for the last year of college. Otherwise that money counts as income on the next year's financial aid calculation. Apparently a lot of these rules change from year to year so it may not make sense to micro-manage the strategy to this degree.
Click to expand...

So I havent done any independent research on this, but Im a bit confused. You guys are saying that if your kid has a bunch of money in a 529 it hurts their aid eligibility, what specific aid are you talking about, some sort of free federal money? Not student loans though right?

My impression has always been that if a kid comes from a household with an annual income of more than $100K, they arent going to be eligible for any sort of need based grants or aid. Am I wrong?
 
Last edited:
I dunno, Wake forest finds a way to give grants or scholarships to like half the student body, and possibly more, so y'all are worrying too much.

#Godeacs
 
TheTwinAndreBen said:
So I havent done any independent research on this, but Im a bit confused. You guys are saying that if your kid has a bunch of money in a 529 it hurts their aid eligibility, what specific aid are you talking about, some sort of free federal money? Not student loans though right?

My impression has always been that if a kid comes from a household with an income of more than $100K, they arent going to be eligible for any sort of need based grants or aid. Am I wrong?
Click to expand...

Certainly at 100K you're probably out of free Federal money, but this is really about the behind the scenes discounting that goes on at private schools. I believe a family can make well north of $100K and still pay less than sticker price at WFU and many other privates. but if you make north of $100K and you have $250K in a 529, WFU (or any other private) is going to be less excited about discounting. I haven't done a lot of research either but that's my understanding of how it works.
 
TheTwinAndreBen said:
So I havent done any independent research on this, but Im a bit confused. You guys are saying that if your kid has a bunch of money in a 529 it hurts their aid eligibility, what specific aid are you talking about, some sort of free federal money? Not student loans though right?

My impression has always been that if a kid comes from a household with an income of more than $100K, they arent going to be eligible for any sort of need based grants or aid. Am I wrong?
Click to expand...
Apparently the aid is often just loans. I'm not sure at what income level the grants typically cut off. But to a large degree, the combination of grants/scholarships versus loans depends on how badly the school wants the student.
 
Right, I get that the more you make the less need based aid you get, but having a full 529 is way better than loans.

I dont have any kids, but agree that the bubble has to burst.
 
I'm sure the income level where grants/aid cuts off will adjust up at some point
But the sentiment is totally correct. Private schools are looking for stellar kids who they'll give significant discounts/scholarships to and "good" (but maybe not great) rich kids to pay full price and subsidize everyone else.
 
TheTwinAndreBen said:
Right, I get that the more you make the less need based aid you get, but having a full 529 is way better than loans.

I dont have any kids, but agree that the bubble has to burst.
Click to expand...

I don't have kids either but have a 529 for one niece and a custodial IRA set up for another niece since 529's weren't around back then. My question is does my help in funding my niece's college education in any way going to hurt their financial aid chances?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top