I am completely illiterate when it comes to financial aid and the schools that have accepted me are asking that I fill out the FAFSA and Profile. I was doing some reading online and people recommend that I shelter assets before completing the form but I am not sure why this is necessary or what changes this would make. The threads that have been made on this topic are rather old and I understand there have been some recent changes.
My situation: I currently have over $150k sitting in my savings account. Out of this money I still need to pay about $30k in taxes next year and I also don’t have a car still and am thinking about budgeting another $25k for one. I also need to have a surgery done and I have a high deductible insurance plan so that’s another $10k I have to pay there. My parents make over $100k.
My concern is that some of the schools offer non need based scholarships but they are on a rolling basis. So delaying my application may hurt my chances of getting accepted for these scholarships. Do you guys think I should just submit now with everything I have? Should I buy a car right now and then submit even though I don’t really need a car at this exact moment? Should I wait till next year once I have completed all these expenditures?
Thank you!
