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Traditionally, the first day of May is National College Decision Day. At this point, most incoming college freshman had to let their chosen higher education institution know of their acceptance. And that makes now a good time to connect with reconnect with the school’s financial aid office if you would like to request additional monetary support. Now that the school knows how many students will be in their incoming freshmen class, there may be unclaimed funds that can be used to increase financial aid packages. And your account with Ohio's 529 Plan, CollegeAdvantage, is made to work with the financial aid you receive. 

Financial aid letter

First, you need to fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) around the same time as your student was filling out their college application in order to receive financial aid. The school should have sent you a financial aid letter as well as the acceptance letter.

When review your financial aid letter, it should break down the expected attendance costs with five items to help you to understand you'll have to pay. There are:

  1. Total cost of attendance
  2. Grants and scholarships. (sometimes known as gift aid)
  3. Student loans
  4. Parent loans
  5. Estimated net price (or cost) of attendance

It’s this last number that shows attendance at the school will cost. If that number is not readily available, take the total cost of attendance minus grants and scholarships. At this point, do not include loans in the equation. This is how much attending this school will cost your student. Then review your account with Ohio’s 529 Plan, CollegeAdvantage, to see how far your 529 savings will go.

Change in life circumstances

If your family’s circumstances have changed, you can contact the school’s financial aid office to if there is any more aid available now. You can call or send a clear and truthful letter to the office concerning these situational changes in your family’s finances like:

  1. Changes in income
  2. High medical expenses
  3. Private school tuition for a younger sibling
  4. Costs for elder care
  5. Death of a parent
  6. Divorce or separation of the parents
  7. Natural disasters that impacted the family

Make sure to include any information that the financial aid office needs to process your request for additional aid. The staff will review all the requests, which may be quite numerous. As you wait to hear back from the school, there are other avenues to receive additional monetary support.

Scholarships

Have your child continue to fill in applications for any scholarships whose deadlines haven’t passed. Visit Federal Student Aid, an office of the U.S. Department of Education. This is the federal agency for which you should have filled out the FAFSA to determine how much federal financial aid your student will receive. The agency offer guidance on scholarships, including what other sources to tap for more information, including the free scholarship search tool from the U.S. Department of Labor.

There are many free online scholarship sites to do more research like Sallie Mae and FastWeb. On these sites, your child would create a profile with their academic scores, community service and volunteering, athletic and academic activities and they will be matched with scholarship applications for which they are eligible. FinAid.org also created a list for the more unusual scholarships that are available.

Start a local community college

If you don’t receive the aid package you were hoping for, there is another way to save some money. Your child can choose an admission deferment to their chosen school and instead start their higher education at a community college.

Usually lower in cost than a four-year program, your child can take required core classes at a community college that, in many cases, will transfer to other schools, or explore different courses in their search for their dream profession. Your student can earn an associate degree or use the community college as a stepping stone to a traditional four-year university. And your Ohio 529 account can cover qualified high education expenses required to attend either school.

In addition, funds in Ohio’s 529 Plan can be used to pay for those costs that aren’t covered by the Say Yes Cleveland Scholarships, with which Cleveland Metropolitan School District graduates can pay for college tuition to attend college, university, or accredited training program. With The Columbus Promise, Columbus City School District graduates from the Classes of 2022, 2023, and 2024 can take six semesters of classes for free at Columbus State Community College. They will also receive a $500 scholarship per semester. The savings in an Ohio 529 account can cover the other qualified higher education expenses, like room and board; mandatory fees; computers and related technology; book, supplies, and equipment required to classes.

Visit Ohio’s 529 Plan online to start saving today for your child’s future education. An investment in a 529 plan is an investment in your child where every dollar saved today is a dollar that doesn’t have to be borrowed later. A 529 account can be used for whatever school comes after high school. Learn, plan, and start with as little as $25 with Ohio’s 529 Plan today at CollegeAdvantage.

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529 Short Course: New Parents

5 things every new parent needs to know about saving for education

  1. Why Ohio 529?
    529s are specifically created for higher education savings. Unlike a traditional banking account, a 529 account benefits from tax-free earnings and tax-free withdrawals. For Ohio residents, there is also a state income tax deduction for those contributions.
  2. It’s simple to start.
    You can open your 529 account online in minutes with as little as $25. With ready-made portfolio options, you don’t have to be a financial expert to feel confident in your savings plan choices.
  3. Set it and forget it with automatic deposits.
    The sooner you start saving, the longer your account benefits from the Ohio 529 tax advantages as well as compound interest. Many new parents take their 529 contributions off their to-do list by setting up small automatic deposits from either their banking accounts or paycheck. Also, with our ReadySave 529 app, it’s also easy to track and adjust your account right on your mobile device.
  4. Save for college, career training, and more.
    Ohio 529 can be used at over 30,000 schools of all kinds, nationwide, including universities; community colleges; trade, technical, and vocational schools; certificate programs; and apprenticeships. Your Ohio 529 account can also pay for K-12 tuition at a public, private, or religious school. And, if it’s not needed for educational expenses, you can now roll over your 529 to a Roth IRA.
  5. Others can help.
    It’s easy for family and friends to contribute to your child’s account and receive tax benefits for themselves. You can share your account’s unique Ugift number with others to contribute online without creating their own 529 accounts. Those who live in Ohio will also receive a state income tax deduction for their contributions. Also, you can sign up to have reminder emails sent to you and loved ones for the big milestones in your child’s life.

Hoping to find gold at the end of the rainbow? If you are saving with Ohio 529 CollegeAdvantage, you have the benefit of Ugift with your account, which is savings gold.

Ugift makes it easy for others to give to your Ohio 529 account. With Ugift, you generate a unique code which allows loved ones to contribute to your Ohio 529 savings plan without needing the actual account number. Once they have the Ugift code, your friends and family can visit Ugift529.com to make their online gifts directly to your 529.

When friends and family ask for gift ideas, share that you are saving for your child’s future education with Ohio 529. Then invite them to join in with gift contributions to your Ohio 529 account with Ugift. After all, a gift for your child’s education will truly last a lifetime.

The quickest and easiest way to pass along your child’s Ugift code is with the ReadySave 529 app, which you can access as an Ohio 529 CollegeAdvantage account owner. At the bottom of every page is an Ugift icon. Click on the gift symbol to view your Ugift code which you can send immediately as an invitation via texts, emails, and Facebook/Instagram chats from your phone.

Or log into your account online to view your child’s Ugift code to send to family and friends who would like to give the gift of education.

The Ugift code doesn’t expire. Which means whenever there is an occasion to celebrate­ like baby showers, holidays, birthdays, graduations, and special achievements, your family and friends can give to your Ohio 529 account. And they can choose to contribute as much as they want whenever they want. It can be a one-time gift or recurring gift; all they need is that Ugift code. Your loved ones’ contributions - whether big or small – will add up over the years. Added to the power of compound interest, these gifts will power your 529 savings to cover even more college and career training costs.

An added bonus for gift givers who live in Ohio: They are also eligible to receive a state income tax deduction for their Ohio 529 gift contributions, up to $4,000 per year, per beneficiary.

To learn more about all of the gifting options with Ohio 529 and order cards for special occasions, visit  529 Gift Central.

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