05/15/2026
Raise your hand if you have a kid in the Class of 2028. 🙋
Because what I'm about to share with you is one of the most important financial conversations you're probably not having right now — and the clock is already running.
Here's the part nobody warns high-income families about:
If your household income is on the higher end, the elite schools your kid is dreaming about — Duke, Stanford, Princeton, Notre Dame, Vanderbilt — they are not handing out scholarships and grants based on grades, test scores, or how impressive the application looks. At the most competitive private universities in the country, financial aid is determined almost entirely by one thing: your income and your assets.
That's it. Full stop.
So if you've spent years building a business, investing in real estate, and doing the things that high-achievers do… congratulations. The colleges have decided you can afford to write a $90,000 check. Per year. Without blinking.
But here's what most people don't know — and this is the part that changes everything:
2026 is the year that matters.
When your Class of 2028 student fills out the FAFSA and CSS Profile next fall (2027), the financial snapshot the colleges are going to examine is based on your 2026 income and assets. Not 2027. Not what you made last year. This year. Right now. The decisions you make — or don't make — between now and December 31st, 2026 will directly determine how much your family pays for college.
After that date? There's nothing left to do. The window closes.
And it gets more complicated.
There are major changes coming from the Department of Education tied to funding cuts that are going to make college significantly more expensive for higher-income families. On top of that, there are landmines buried inside the new Trump tax legislation — the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) — that most families haven't even heard about yet, but that are going to hit hard if you're not prepared.
If you're a business owner who employs your kids, or you hold rental properties, or you've been doing any kind of income shifting — you need to pay very close attention. Some of the strategies that used to work have changed. And some strategies that you're not using yet could save your family tens of thousands of dollars before your student ever sets foot on a college campus.
I'm not writing this to scare you. I'm writing this because this is literally what I do for a living — and because I have a daughter who is Class of 2028 herself. I feel this pressure the same way you do. I sit across from high-income parents every week — doctors, attorneys, entrepreneurs, investors, real estate professionals — who are shocked when they realize what they didn't know in time to act on it.
The families who come out ahead aren't necessarily the ones who make less money. They're the ones who understood the rules of the game early enough to play it strategically.
Here's the good news: there's still time. But not a lot of it.
Every Wednesday evening, I host a free live virtual workshop where I walk through the core strategies that high-income families need to know right now when it comes to college funding, tax positioning, and making sure you're not leaving money on the table — or worse, handing it over unnecessarily to a university that already has a $50 billion endowment.
We cover:
✅ How the FAFSA and CSS Profile actually calculate your Expected Family Contribution (Student Aid Index) — and where the hidden opportunities are
âś… What the new DOE changes mean for families earning above certain income thresholds
âś… How the OBBBA impacts college funding strategy for business owners and real estate investors
âś… Legal, IRS-compliant strategies to optimize your financial profile before the 2026 window closes
✅ What most financial advisors and CPAs aren't telling you (not because they're hiding it — most just don't specialize in this)
âś… How to approach the college conversation with a plan instead of just a prayer
This is not a sales pitch. It's not a webinar designed to upsell you something at the end. It's real information — the same information I present at high schools and educational workshops across the country — because I'd rather see families walk away informed than blindsided.
If you have a child in the Class of 2028 — or even 2027 — this is for you.
Drop "WEDNESDAY" in the comments below and I'll send you the details to join this week's live session. 👇
You've worked too hard to overpay for something this important. Let's make sure you know what you're working with before the clock runs out.
Share this with any parent you know who has a high school junior or sophomore. This is information that changes outcomes — but only if people hear it in time.
Yours Truly,
Stefan Belhomme
