If you want to get more college financial aid for your child, the timing and strategy matter more than most families realize.

Join us as we dive deep into college planning, including how to pick your perfect college, reduce how much it costs, and maximize the financial aid available to you with college planning expert Jack Wang.

Uncover the insider strategies that can dramatically reduce what you pay for your child’s college education with Jack’s unique insights from his meetings with college admissions and financial aid directors across the country.

Get More College Financial Aid: Know How to Maximize Aid vs. Optimize How You Pay for College

Jack Wang joins us to explain how and why every institution approaches aid differently — and how knowing that can help your family gain more leverage over the college selection and funding process.

In this episode, Eric and Jack walk you through:

• The importance of starting college planning in freshman year of high school (not junior year!), as starting sooner can open up significantly more financial opportunities
• The critical difference between maximizing aid and optimizing how you pay for college
• Why flexible savings strategies often outperform traditional 529 plans

Jack also shares advanced tax strategies including leveraging appreciated stock, accessing the American Opportunity Tax Credit, and why aligning your child’s extracurriculars with their intended major matters more than you think.

Whether you’re a high-income earner wondering if you’ll qualify for any aid at all, or a parent just beginning to think about college costs, this episode provides actionable strategies to help you play the college financial aid game and come out on top.

Key Takeaways for High Earners Who Want to Get More College Financial Aid

1. Start planning to get more college financial aid earlier than you think.

Begin college financial planning by freshman year of high school to maximize aid opportunities, not junior or senior year when most families think they should start touring schools or looking into scholarships and aid options. Remember that college choice has big implications in this process, too!

2. Know that every college handles aid differently.

There’s no universal formula that all universities follow. Each institution has its own approach to financial aid and scholarships based on their values and objectives. Families and students should seek to understand the approach to aid and scholarships of the particular schools they are considering.

3. Keep savings dollars earmarked for college flexible; you don’t have to put it all in a 529.

529 plans offer tax benefits, but money withdrawn for non-education expenses faces taxes and possible penalties. Keeping some savings in flexible accounts lets that money serve other goals too.

4. Know the two distinct, critical, questions for parents and students to answer on college costs.

As part of your planning strategy, you’ll want to understand:

• How to maximize aid to bring down costs
• What’s the best way to actually pay for college (including advanced tax strategies)

College planning is like buying a car, in that there are different pieces of the puzzle to navigate and the order in which you do that matters. First, you’ll want to negotiate the best price (maximize aid). That will help you then determine the optimal payment method.

5. To get more college financial aid, align your child’s extracurriculars with an intended major if you can.

For top-tier schools, your child’s activities should demonstrate genuine interest in their planned field of study, starting as early as middle school.

Even families with significant income can reduce college costs through strategic use of appreciated stock, timing, and tax credit optimization.

Frequently Asked Questions About How to Get More College Financial Aid

How can I get more college financial aid?

Start planning early, apply to schools whose aid policies fit your family, and always file the FAFSA (plus the CSS Profile where it’s required). Most aid comes from colleges themselves, and each school sets its own rules for awarding it. Getting more college financial aid is less about finding a universal formula and more about understanding how the specific schools on your list make their decisions.

Can high-income families get financial aid for college?

Often, yes. Federal and state aid follow strict eligibility rules, but most aid is institutional, meaning it’s the college’s own money. Schools use financial aid forms as a guideline, not a rule, and merit aid and need-based aid frequently overlap. Don’t assume your income rules you out before you know how each school on your list awards aid.

Should I fill out the FAFSA if I don’t think we’ll qualify for aid?

Yes. Jack tells even his millionaire clients to file it. The FAFSA makes your student eligible for federal student loans, which carry low fixed rates and no parent co-signer. Skipping it signals to colleges that you’re willing to pay full price. Some schools also require the FAFSA before awarding merit scholarships, so a student with top grades can miss out just because the form wasn’t filed.

When should parents start planning for college financial aid?

By freshman year of high school, if not sooner. Most families don’t think about the money until junior or senior year because they’re focused on admissions, test prep, and course selection. Starting earlier gives you time to put aid and tax strategies in place that aren’t available once your student is close to applying.

Why do colleges offer such different financial aid packages?

Aid comes from three sources: the federal government, your state, and the college itself. Federal and state aid are black and white: you qualify or you don’t. Institutional aid makes up the bulk of the money, and each college decides how to award it based on its own goals. The most selective schools receive most applications and often have many families paying full price. Many other strong schools compete more on price, which means discounts are common.

How can I estimate what a college will actually cost my family?

Every college is required to have a net price calculator on its website. It’s a test run of the financial aid forms that gives you an estimated cost based on your numbers. You can also look up a school’s average net price by income range on the Department of Education’s College Scorecard. The average for families earning over $110,000 is often much higher than the headline average a school promotes.

What does “full need met” mean?

A full-need-met college covers the gap between its cost and what the school calculates your family can afford. If a college costs $90,000 a year and it determines you can afford $40,000, it covers the remaining $50,000. You’re still responsible for your share, though, and the school decides what “afford” means. Full need met doesn’t always mean generous.

How much can students and parents borrow in federal student loans?

Undergraduate students can borrow $5,500 freshman year, $6,500 sophomore year, and $7,500 each for junior and senior years, for a total of $27,000. Under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, parent loans are now capped at $20,000 per year and $65,000 total per student. Graduate students are limited to $20,500 a year ($100,000 lifetime), and professional students in fields like law and medicine to $50,000 a year ($200,000 lifetime).

Should I save for college in a 529 plan or a regular investment account?

It depends on how much flexibility you need. A 529 offers tax benefits, but withdrawals for non-education expenses are taxed on the earnings and may be penalized. A regular investment or savings account doesn’t have those limits. College savings often need to serve double duty for goals like a car, a home, or retirement, so splitting your savings between a 529 and more flexible accounts is a reasonable approach.

How can gifting appreciated stock help pay for college?

If you plan to sell appreciated investments to pay for college, you’ll likely pay tax at your higher rate. One strategy is to gift those investments to your child in annual amounts so the gains are eventually taxed at their lower rate. Because of the kiddie tax, families often borrow during college and have the child sell the shares after graduation to pay off the loans. Done right, this can also help recover part of the American Opportunity Tax Credit through your student. Talk with a tax professional before using this approach.

Do extracurricular activities affect college financial aid?

They can, especially at the most selective schools. Colleges want to see that a student’s activities match their intended major. A student planning to study engineering should show engineering-related interests outside of class. The more aligned your student is, the more seriously schools take them, and that can influence aid. This alignment often needs to start in middle school or early high school.

How does choosing the right college affect the total cost?

Many students transfer because a school turns out to be the wrong fit, whether it’s the size, location, climate, or even the food. Transferring can mean credits that don’t carry over and classes that have to be retaken, which stretches a four-year degree to five or six years. Visiting a few local colleges early, even ones your student won’t attend, helps them figure out what they actually want before you commit.

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