The New Times recently published a very helpful article on understanding college savings strategies in their “Your Money” section.
“FAFSA”, “EFC”, “Pell Grant”, and more. Financial aid for college is as much art as it is science.
Determining your family’s Expected Family Contribution is critical, and the EFC formula is intricate. For example, your income matters much more than your savings. The EFC will suggest that you should devote a sliding amount up to 47% of your income to college expenses in any given year, though it will count only up to 5.64% of parents’ assets, like those in a 529 college savings plan.
Click here to read the entire October 23, 2015 New York Times article.