The Insider: College Admissions Advice from the Experts

Did you invest in a prepaid tuition plan? Is your child about to go off to college? Congratulations if you answered yes to both of these questions! You probably got a great rate of return and have some of your son’s or daughter’s tuition already paid. And here’s some more good news: all that investment growth you got from paying for college in the past will be tax free to you when you use the Plan to pay for college today. All prepaid tuition plans are 529 plans (except the Massachusetts Prepaid Plan, which derives its tax-free status from another section of the federal tax code) and share all of the tax benefits of 529 savings plans.

College Coach learned today that the Department of Education (DoE) is changing the way the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (the FAFSA) defines a student’s family. Starting with the 2014-2015 FAFSA, which becomes available on January 1, 2014, students will be required to provide information about the adults in their custodial household without regards for marital status or gender. You can read the DoE’s announcement of these pending changes here: http://www.ed.gov/news/press-releases/education-department-announces-changes-fafsa-form-more-accurately-and-fairly-ass.

Applying for financial aid is tough for students who have parents married to one another. It’s even tougher for students whose parents are divorced, remarried, or were never married.

Happy 529 Day — aka Educational Savings Day (5/29, get it?).  A toast to all the savers!