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Planning for college is a major task for every student and family, but if you’re in one of 11 key categories, it gets more complicated.

If you’re in one of these categories, you’ll need to start your planning sooner, do more research, and complete more tasks. It also means college financial planning and financial aid eligibility could be quite different for your family.

In this article, we’ll take a look at the eleven categories of families and students where college planning gets more completed. These include:

• Divorced and Blended Families
• Multiple Students, Twins and Triplets
• Business Owners
• Real Estate Investors
• Homeschooled Students
• Students with Special Needs
• High-Achieving Students
• Applying to Elite Colleges
• Athletes
• Inheritance
• Military and ROTC

I’ll show you how the college planning process differs for families and students in each of these situations, the challenges and added complexity you’ll face, and the opportunities to use your status as an advantage, especially financially.

If you know what to expect, start early, and plan accordingly, you’ll save yourself a lot of time, stress and potentially a lot of money. So let’s take a look at the situations where college gets more complicated and what you need to know.

Divorced and Blended Families

If you’re a divorced parent or part of a blended family, you’ll need to tackle some unique challenges when it comes to college planning, but sometimes you can qualify for more financial aid. Let’s take a look at the challenges and opportunities for divorced and blended families.

Challenges

First, there is always the question of whether two divorced parents can get along and how much they’re willing to cooperate to make college happen. Since there are two divorced parents and two households involved, things can get complicated, and it can be a big detriment if you’re not cooperating.

If you’re able to cooperate and work together amicably, you may be able to agree on how you’ll divide college expenses, how you’ll work together and make decisions, and how you’ll handle tasks such as accompanying your student on campus visits. If you’re not able to cooperate, then things are going to be a lot harder, and your student’s college future could suffer as a result.

Additionally, you’ll need to learn about financial aid, which works differently for divorced and blended families than it does for others. There are two different households and potentially two different tax returns that might be considered for financial aid, and this can change how much aid you might qualify to receive and how different colleges view your financial situation.

Opportunities

The good news is that students with divorced parents can sometimes qualify for more need-based financial aid. It depends on the income and assets involved, and it may not compensate for all the financial disadvantages in the case of a divorce. But it’s a silver lining for some students.

A couple of years ago, I was working with a family that was divorcing, and fortunately it was very amicable. We ran the numbers both ways and decided that mom was the parent who should be on the FAFSA form because her income was lower. On the FAFSA form, the non-custodial parent’s income doesn’t have to be reported. But we kept some of the assets that would have caused a problem in dad’s name, so they didn’t have to report them. This allowed them to qualify for substantial amounts of need-based aid.

Additionally, now that the FAFSA rules for child support have changed, and child support income is now treated as an asset and not as income, many students of divorced parents will now qualify for more financial aid.

To learn more about financial aid for divorced and blended families, feel free to contact me with any questions or schedule an online call with me to discuss your situation and determine the next steps that would be best for you.

Multiple Students, Twins and Triplets

If you have multiple students who will be going off to college soon, college planning is definitely more complicated, and your time and resources will be stretched more thinly. But having a larger family or multiple students heading to college could also provide some financial benefits, depending on your situation.

Challenges

Having to pay for multiple students to attend college is almost always a challenge because of the high cost, especially when you have other bills to pay. Moreover, when you have to plan for college for multiple students at the same time, there is a lot more work that you’ll need to do in a condensed amount of time. This places a lot more burden on parents and students, so you need to start earlier and budget for more time and effort because everything will need to be done in duplicate, triplicate or more.

Also, new changes to the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) may create increased financial burden for families with multiple students who will be enrolled in college at the same time.

Families in this category used to receive a significant benefit when calculating their Student Aid Index, which is a measure of their financial need that most colleges use in awarding financial aid. But now that benefit has been eliminated, and families with multiple students enrolled in college could end up paying thousands more per year for college.

As I write this, I’m about to have a meeting with parents who have two sets of twins who are all in high school. That’s a total of four students, with the two pairs separated by just one year. In the past, the family would receive a multi-student discount on the FAFSA, but that is going away.

Opportunities

Even though the multi-student discount has been eliminated in the new FAFSA rules, it may continue to be a factor at some colleges, who always have the option to award need-based aid based on their own criteria. The Student Aid Index that is calculated as part of the FAFSA process is just a guideline, and they can choose to follow it or ignore it.

Since the new rules will no doubt cause a lot of concern for families and potentially create confusion for families who were already getting the benefits of the old rules, colleges may decide to apply their own rule or judgment in awarding aid to families with multiple students in college.

Additionally, having a large family is also beneficial because the more dependents you have, the easier it is to qualify for need-based financial aid, and the more likely you are to receive maximum and minimum Pell Grants and a higher overall aid award.

To get an accurate estimate of your federal financial aid eligibility, start with my free Student Aid Index Calculator and then schedule an online call with me. We can discuss your results and find out if there are strategies that could help you increase your aid eligibility and your reward.

Business Owners

Business owners have some unique college planning challenges and opportunities, and things have changed with new federal financial aid rules that will now be in effect beginning with aid applications for the 2024-25 college year.

Challenges

The big challenge is that you now have to report the value of your business as an asset for the purposes of financial aid, and, since many business owners are quite successful financially, you might not qualify for need-based aid. If you do, you might not qualify for as much as other families.

The good news is that being a business owner also creates unique opportunities to make financial adjustments and create financial benefits for college. But these require more work than the typical family will need to do in planning and saving for college.

Opportunities

Some business owners have good college planning opportunities because they have more control over their income, bonuses, retirement plans and expenses. Depending on your situation, if you plan ahead, you can use strategies within your business to help pay for college, such as adjusting your finances, investments and expenses; setting up tuition reimbursement plans; using tax strategies that can free up more money to pay for college; and hiring children into the business as a way to help them pay for college.

For example, I’ve advised a number of my clients who are business owners to hire their students into their businesses and pay them a salary, and their student was able to earn up to $9,000 and not have any negative impact on their financial aid qualifications. That $9,000 also allowed the business-owner parent to lower their reported business income, which put them into a better bracket for substantial tax savings.

Additionally, helped business owners change their retirement plan from a wimpy one to one that allows substantial contributions. They’ve going from $10,000 to $12,000 per year to $40,000 or $50,000 per year in contributions, which is money they’ll potentially able to grow for a more comfortable retirement, but it also substantially lowers their adjusted gross income for both tax and financial aid purposes .This will potentially save them thousands of dollars per year in taxes and college costs.

To assess your situation and determine if there are good financial aid opportunities or ways to use your business ownership as an advantage, make sure to work with a good financial advisor and preferably one that also specializes in college planning. As a financial advisor and college planning specialist, I’ve worked with business owners for over 20 years to help them plan and pay for college, so you can always contact me with questions or schedule an online call to discuss your situation.

Real Estate Investors

Real estate investors face some unique challenges and have their own opportunities when it comes to college planning.

Challenges

If you own real estate, you must report the net value of your holdings on college financial aid forms. That can potentially lower your qualification for need-based aid. Additionally, while your student is in high school and college, it may be crucial to avoid any real estate transactions that could drastically lower your aid qualifications or award. You also need to make sure you value your properties correctly and net out their value based on mortgage costs, sales costs, repairs, closing costs and other factors.

Opportunities

Real estate owners can potentially improve their financial aid qualifications and their overall college financial situation by properly valuing their properties, making transactions at the right time, and making adjustments to their income, assets, investments and tax strategies. You can also hire your student to get some of the same tax savings that business owners are able to achieve. Similar to business owners, you have more control over your finances and more opportunities to make adjustments than some other families may have.

For example, I’ve strategized with some of my clients to sell properties or schedule major renovations at better times, so they can lower and control their adjusted gross income (AGI) and expenses for tax purposes, deductions, and financial aid qualification.

Also, much like business owners, real estate investors can hire their students to work for their business and make other changes to their income, assets and investments, so they can qualify for more tax savings and financial aid.

In the end, being a real estate investor could be a big positive or a big negative for your students’ college future. Making the right moves at the right times can turn it into a positive and potentially add up to thousands of dollars in potential savings.

To explore your options, contact me to learn more about college planning strategies for real estate investors, or schedule an online call with me to help you plan your next steps.

Homeschooled Students

When homeschooled students get into the high school curriculum, there they have to start focusing on college and their future career and not just on academics. That means they have to start planning and preparing for college, and this creates a mix of both challenges and opportunities.

Challenges

In a typical high school, there is support and there are resources to help students with college planning, but homeschooled students and their parents don’t have these advantages. Homeschooled students don’t have a guidance counselor or a school transcript, so it’s typically the parent’s job to fill that role create some sort of transcript based on the homeschool curriculum.

As a parent, you also have to help your student with college prep and help make sure that they stay on track with their college search and whatever college and career goals they have.

Opportunities

One area where you can potentially enjoy the same benefits as a typical high school student is college financial aid. Your aid eligibility is based on your family’s finances, your student’s qualifications, and the quality of student and person you can present to colleges. It’s not dependent on whether your student is homeschooled or attends a high school

You may qualify for financial aid, just like any other family, or, if you have a large income and/or sizable financial assets, you might qualify for less aid or none at all. However, all things being equal, you’re just as qualified for financial aid or scholarships as any other student and family.

Students with Special Needs

If your student has special needs, this is an additional concern when you’re evaluating colleges. But it’s also a great opportunity to find the right fit and the best available accommodation, support, and environment for your student.

Challenges

If you have special needs such as dietary restrictions, learning differences, physical disabilities, or medical concerns, you need to determine whether schools can accommodate these needs and provide the support your student needs. Some schools are better than others when it comes to meeting student’s needs, and some may be well-equipped with resources and support for certain needs, but they may not be as strong in other areas.

For example, I advised a student and family where the student has diabetes, and this was a big factor in his college decision. He needed access to insulin at all times and needed to keep it refrigerated and make sure his prescriptions could be filled. He also had to be within a certain distance of his doctor, so he had to decide whether to attend college close to home and his current physician, or change doctors and choose one near his university.

Accounting for special needs typically adds a fair bit of work to the college selection process, so make sure to start as early as you can and do your research, make campus visits, and try to connect with current students or recent graduates with the same needs. They may be able to provide insights on their experiences at your preferred school.

Opportunities

While your student’s unique needs might create a bit more complexity in your college planning, it’s also a great opportunity to find a school that’s the perfect fit for your educational, financial and special needs requirements. When you find a supportive environment with great resources to help your student thrive and succeed on campus, it can make college a truly positive experience and provide peace of mind for your student and family.

Also, scholarships are occasionally available for students with certain backgrounds or characteristics, so you may be to tap into some potential financial benefits as well.

To get a head start, feel free to contact me or schedule an online call to discuss tips on how to do your research, evaluate colleges that can meet your student’s needs, and explore ways that your student’s needs could boost your chances for admission or scholarships.

High-Achieving Students

High-achieving students have more options to consider when planning for college and evaluating schools, and there are different types of high-achieving students, whether it’s an academics, athletics, the arts, or another talent. Here are some of the challenges and opportunities for students and families in this category.

Challenges

There’s an old saying that, “with great power comes great responsibility.” High-achieving students potentially have a lot of power because they’re highly desirable to many colleges, so it’s typically easier for them to get accepted for admission and qualify for merit and need-based financial aid. They also have opportunities to receive merit scholarships from colleges and outside sources. But all of that power comes with the added responsibility of understanding all your options, evaluating competing schools and opportunities, and potentially doing more work such as submitting scholarship applications, writing essays, or even doing auditions or interviews.

If you have a high-achieving student, start your planning early, to give yourself more time to research, learn everything you need to know, and still have plenty of time to do all the work that might be required.

Opportunities

High achievers are more likely to earn admission to their preferred schools and more likely to receive scholarships from colleges, third-party organizations or other sources. In the end, you may be in an ideal position to choose between multiple offers of admission from multiple great schools, each with an excellent financial package to offer. If you’re not only a high achiever but your family has greater financial need, the benefits can be even greater.

For example, one of my clients is a family whose daughter was recently accepted to Duke University. Since the family qualified for considerable financial aid, Duke ended up being a relatively low-cost option, even though it’s an elite and expensive private college. She is now attending Duke University for a cost that’s similar to what she would have paid at a much less expensive and less prestigious state university.

Many elite colleges and universities meet 100% of financial need, and since their list price is so expensive, they have to offer significant financial aid to most students, even if their families have a lot of income and assets. High-achieving students with high financial need, and even those whose families have fairly high income and assets, can potentially get 100% of the financial aid they need.

Alternatively, high-achieving students can potentially attend a school that’s not quite as elite but might offer them a free tuition or a full-ride scholarship. The important thing is to do your research, learn how generous the schools on your list are, and never assume that a school isn’t affordable or that you won’t qualify for financial aid.

Start by entering some basic information about your family and using my Student Aid Index Calculator to get an accurate estimate of your aid eligibility and your potential costs at the schools on your list. Then schedule an online call with me to explore ways to improve your eligibility or start working on a plan that will help you pay the costs that financial aid doesn’t cover.

Applying to Elite and Highly Competitive Colleges

If you’ve got an outstanding student who is considering elite and highly competitive schools, the college planning process gets much more involved, and it can be stressful and challenging if you don’t plan ahead and understand what you need to do. So take some time to understand how the process might differ for applying to these schools and qualifying for financial aid, and get to work as soon as possible.

Challenges

Elite and highly competitive colleges and universities typically require more than a simple application for admissions and a financial aid application.

A student will typically need to write multiple essays, obtain letters of recommendation, and there’s typically an additional financial aid form or application you’ll have to complete. This is in addition to all the actual academic work and performance, testing, extracurricular activities, and experiences that are required to make your student a highly desirable candidate.

Another big consideration is the lack of merit aid opportunities such as academic scholarships. Elite and highly competitive colleges don’t typically offer merit aid because they only accept the absolute best of the best students, so everyone is an academic superstar. It would be awfully tough to determine who deserves merit aid over someone else, so most these schools don’t offer it. If you don’t qualify for any financial need, your family might not get any financial help at all.

Additionally, if your student is looking at an elite or highly competitive college, it’s more likely to be located out of state and a long distance from home, which adds additional travel expenses and scheduling complications to conduct campus visits and research schools.

Opportunities

The good news is that elite and highly competitive colleges are very generous with need-based financial aid. In fact, many of the top schools in the country offer free tuition to students in the lowest income brackets, and all schools offer major financial aid to families of nearly all income brackets, to help cover the significantly greater cost of attending these institutions.

Even families with relatively high incomes will often qualify for need-based aid at these schools, and many are shocked to learn that their student could actually attend one of these top schools for the same or a similar price as a much less prestigious public college or university.

Many elite and highly competitive schools cover 100% of financial aid, so once they’ve determined your need, you’re going to get federal aid, grants and institutional scholarships to cover that entire amount. Others don’t quite cover 100% of need, but it’s pretty close in many cases. So don’t write off any elite college or top school on the basis of the list price. Do your research, plan ahead, and use my free College Money Report to determine what college might actually cost for your family at one of these schools or any other colleges you’re considering.

Athletes

If you have a student-athlete who’s heading off to college and will potentially compete at the collegiate level, this can certainly make college planning a bit more complicated. However, it can also provide significant financial and other benefits, even if your student isn’t going to be a top athlete at a school or doesn’t receive a full-ride scholarship. An athlete of any level and any skill, even if they’re a bench-warmer, can potentially benefit significantly from being a student athlete, as we’ll discuss below.

Challenges

Top athletes can potentially receive full-ride scholarship offers from colleges, and other athletes who are good enough to compete in college can also potentially receive similar benefits or partial scholarships, as long as they’re good enough. But this typically means that you have to be really committed to your sport, and it can make it tough to also focus on academics.

Athletes need to make sure they can succeed in college and get the full academic benefits of college. Otherwise, they could easily end up struggling, failing and dropping out with no college degree and a limited future.

Additionally, student-athletes who are being recruited and those seeking the attention of colleges, coaches and scouts need to be aware that there are strict rules governing athletic recruiting.

There are limits to how much contact schools and athletes can have as part of that process and when this contact can occur. So it’s crucial for students and their families to know the rules and make sure they’re compliant.

You can learn more by visiting the NCAA Eligibility Center and downloading its latest Guide for the College-Bound Student Athlete.

Opportunities

Athletic scholarships can potentially cover all or nearly all your student’s entire college costs, and even a partial scholarship can be beneficial. Also, even if you don’t receive a direct scholarship from athletics, a program or coach may help your student through the admission process and encourage the financial aid office to maximize other forms of aid to make college more affordable and ensure that your student enrolls at the school and competes for their team.

For example, even athletes who are going to compete at the Division II or Division III level, where schools don’t offer formal scholarships, can get accepted to colleges that might not ordinarily consider them, and it can potentially help them receive need-based and merit aid scholarships.

Also, there are many intangible benefits of being a student-athlete, such as having an immediate support group and a sense of belonging, access to academic tutoring, and a chance to develop teamwork, communication skills, and personal responsibility. Many employers hire former student-athletes because of their unique skills and experience in teambuilding, managing multiple responsibilities, leadership, and working toward a common goal.

Inheritance

Few people realize that inheriting money can have a hugely negative impact on how much college will cost.

While an inheritance can be a great win in helping you pay for college and realize other financial benefits, it can have a seriously negative impact on your need-based financial aid eligibility. Thus, if you or your student could inherit money in the future or you just inherited it, you need to pay close attention.

Challenges

Depending on how an inheritance is set up and how it’s used once you receive the money, it can cause you to lose financial aid and create a huge increase in the cost of college for your student. Unfortunately, I’ve seen some real horror stories where families came to me after it was too late and they had already been impacted

For example, one grandmother left a large sum of money in a trust for her grandchild, and she didn’t realize that financial assets in the student’s name count more against the student for financial aid eligibility than assets in the parent’s name. The student ended up paying for college using the inheritance, and the cost ended up being far higher because the inheritance wiped out the financial aid award the student would have otherwise received.

If the trust had been set up in a parent’s name instead, the student would have still qualified for financial aid, and some of the trust money would have been left over after college.

Similarly, inheritance can have a big impact on your tax bill and how much money is left after cashing out assets to help pay for college. The potential implications are different depending on whether you’re inheriting money in the bank, investments, a house or other assets. For example, IRAs and annuities arrive with a tax bill, whereas taxes have already been paid on Roth IRAs, so there are no taxes required. If you inherit a house, that can potentially put you in a higher tax bracket, but if you sell it right away, there are typically no taxes to pay.

This is why it’s crucial to make sure an inheritance is set up optimally for college, if that’s part of how it’s intended to be used. And it’s also vital to take inventory of your inheritance as soon as you have it, so you can assess the full financial implications and the impact on college.

Opportunities

If you plan well, you can minimize the negative ramifications of inheritance on financial aid and taxes. You can also preserve more of your inheritance for college and other goals.

If you know an inheritance is coming or you just inherited money, start working with a certified and licensed professional to take inventory of what you’ll have, what types of assets and investments are involved, and then strategize on the best steps for your student and family.

If you need advice or would like to work with a professional who specializes in managing inheritances, retirement plans, and college funding, schedule an online call with me to discuss your situation. I’m always glad to help and work with you to help maximize the financial benefits for your family.

Military and ROTC

There are many ways to combine college and military service, and this can be a great way to help your student pay for college. But it also means you’re dealing with a different situation compared to the typical student, so you need to understand military and ROTC challenges and opportunities and plan ahead.

Challenges

If your student is looking to attend one of the military academies such as the U.S. Naval Academy, U.S. Military Academy, U.S. Air Force Academy, or U.S. Coast Guard Academy, the application process is going to be quite different and more involved. Your student will need to be truly outstanding and will need to conduct interviews and get letters of recommendation, including from a member of the U.S. Congress.

Even if your sights are a bit lower and you’re just looking at ROTC programs at other colleges and universities, you’ll want to understand the G.I. Bill, what it potentially means for your student financially, and service requirements that will need to be fulfilled after college.

Opportunities

Using the G.I. Bill could be a great way to make college more affordable, and enrolling in an ROTC program or getting into one of the elite service academies and succeeding there can put your student on the path to a bright future in the U.S. military.

There are ROTC programs on hundreds of college campuses nationwide, so you are virtually guaranteed to have access to a program nearby or far away, depending on what your student prefers. The G.I. Bill offers a lot of excellent financial benefits as well, although it’s important to understand the full terms and implications, and your student needs to understand what a military commitment will really entail.

Make sure to plan ahead and start learning and studying all of this as early as possible, so your student can determine the best options and opportunities, and make sure they’re making the right decision for the financial future and career. If you have any questions or want to talk about military and ROTC opportunities and what they mean for college planning and paying for college, feel free to contact me with any questions or to schedule an online call at your convenience.

Getting Help with Added College Planning Complexity

Hopefully this article has helped you understand how college planning could more complicated for your family, but the good news is that you can turn it into an advantage if you start early, and you don’t have to do it on your own.

As a college planning specialist and financial planner for over 20 years, I’ve worked with families in all of these categories, and I can provide personalized advice, guidance and services to help you develop the right plan for your situation and potentially save thousands of dollars on college costs in the process.

Contact me now or schedule an online call at your convenience, and we’ll review your situation, your college goals, the best steps you can take right now, and we can explore whether my services might be a good fit for you.