Last week I received a call from an 11th grade mom, someone I had previously met about a year ago. During our first meeting, she had questions about the plausibility of qualifying for Institutional Financial Aid Grants and Merit Scholarships. As in: whether and where she could qualify, how much, and what steps she could take to get much more.
This family is in a similar position to most of my clients — their income is certainly healthy enough to live a comfortable, suburban lifestyle, but when it comes to paying the exorbitant (gross) cost of attendance at private universities, they (like most of us) are going to need help. She was doing the right things: trying to uncover every rock to determine, legally, how she can maximize her daughter’s chances at the big, five-figure institutional level grants.
Her follow up call the other day proved to be fortuitous.
With only 49 days left in the calendar year, the clock for financial aid (including the more generous institutional variety) is ticking for this family and for all families with a student graduating high school in 2026 (yes, you read that year right – not a typo). And so, with this family, like many others with 11th grade children, we have a short window to determine if and how we can improve her daughter’s chances at maximizing financial aid opportunities.
That’s because ALL of the formulas use income information from two years prior to graduation, also known as the base income year. Since this child is in 11th grade and planning to graduate in 2026, the family’s base income year is 2024 (this year). If/when we have an opportunity to evaluate and then make even subtle adjustments to the base year income and investment designations (parent vs. child, for example), we can position the family financially to qualify for better (often much better) discounts from colleges that they are considering.
But like most things, especially when it comes to college admissions, financial aid and merit scholarship qualification, success isn’t achieved by luck; it is achieved by design. Advanced planning is crucial. That’s why it was great to speak with this mom again while we still have the opportunity to act on her behalf.
If you are the parent of a 10th or 11th grader, and you want to ensure that you will receive the right amount of money from the colleges your child is hoping to attend, I highly urge you to get a true college cost analysis prior to your base income year — and that you make any adjustments before that year ends.
Now, perhaps you’re in the 1% of the 1% of folks for whom this may not apply — and that’s fair, but in my 18+ years of unraveling all of the loopholes and landmines in the thousands of pages of Title IV Financial Aid regulations, I know that nearly every family — from every income bracket — could receive a discount at some of their most coveted universities.
There are, of course, other elements of the college admissions process that require advanced planning as well: high school course selection, Testing/Test Prep, College List Development, and more. You can find information about all of these components — including actual award letters/case studies, webinars and ‘how to’ guides — on our website.
Frankly, there is nothing more frustrating, both for me and for the family, when an opportunity is missed because of inaction, procrastination, or simple ignorance of either the Title IV rules (they are NOT the same as the rules governing taxes) or the more subtle rules governing college admissions today. The one sentence I hate to hear, but it’s uttered all to often is, “I wish I had met with you a year ago.” It’s a phrase that’s tinged with regret, a sentiment that is entirely unnecessary if you plan accordingly. I highly urge you to do so.
