Assets

What are your current assets as of the day you filed the FAFSA?

In order for the Office of Financial Aid to process your financial aid award accurately and efficiently, please make sure you enter student and/or parent asset information accurately as of the date you filed the FAFSA. See below for more detailed information regarding what assets.

KEY TERMS

  • Assets include money in cash, savings, and checking accounts. As well as businesses, investment farms and other investments, such as real estate (other than the home in which you live), UGMA and UTMA accounts for which you are the owner, stocks, bonds, certificates of deposit, etc.
  • Net worth means current value minus debt. If net worth is one million dollars or more, enter $999,999. If net worth is negative, enter 0.
  • Investment value means the current balance or market value of these investments as of today.
  • Investment debt means only those debts that are related to the investments.

ASSETS/INVESTMENTS

Includes:

  • Real estate (do not include the home you live in), trust funds, UGMA and UTMA accounts, money market funds, mutual funds, certificates of deposits, stocks, stock options, bonds, other securities, installment and land sale contracts (including mortgages held), commodities, etc.
  • Qualified educational benefits or education savings accounts such as Coverdell savings accounts, 529 college savings plans and the refund value of 529 prepaid tuition plans.
    • For a student who does not report parental information, the accounts owned by the student (and the student's spouse) are reported as student investments.
    • For a student who must report parental information, the accounts are reported as parental investments, including all accounts owned by the student and all accounts owned by the parents for any member of the household.
 Does NOT include:
  • The home you live in, the value of life insurance, retirement plans (401[k] plans, pension funds, annuities, non-education IRAs, Keogh plans, etc.) or cash, savings and checking accounts already reported.

BUSINESSES

Value includes:

  • The market value of land, buildings, machinery, equipment, inventory, etc. Business and/or investment farm debt means only those debts for which the business or investment farm was used as collateral.

 Value does NOT include:

  • The value of a small business if your family owns and controls more than 50 percent of the business and the business has 100 or fewer full-time or full-time equivalent employees.  For small business value, your family includes (1) persons directly related to you, such as a parent, sister, or cousin, or (2) persons who are or were related to you by marriage, such as a spouse, stepparent, or sister-in-law.

INVESTMENT FARMS

Value does NOT include:

  • The value of a family farm that you (your spouse and/or your parents) live on and operate.

(back to the previous page)