<p>We will have 4 kids in college (Fall 2011)....EFC 50K. I assume that the 50K will be divided into 12.5K per kid? What kind of need based aid can realistically be expected? Subsidized loans....work study? Probably will stay in state (Ohio)....Thanks!</p>
<p>Will they all be undergrads? I don’t think grad students will count.</p>
<p>A lot will depend on whether their schools meet need or not. </p>
<p>Most schools don’t meet need, so since their EFCs will exceed the limits of free federal aid, then they may not get much except loans and work-study. Most schools don’t have much/any institutional aid to give.</p>
<p>What is your situation now? How many will be in school this fall? </p>
<p>What schools will your kids likely be going to in Ohio? Private? Publics? Would any of these schools give your children merit scholarships?</p>
<p>There’s more to this than just EFC and number of kids. More info is needed.</p>
<p>What are your kids’ stats?</p>
<p>1 in college this Fall (Jr)…triplets who will be Seniors in HS this year.</p>
<p>Triplets are in the “info gathering” stage right now, so I’m not sure what specific (publics vs privates) colleges they will choose…although more than likely they will stay in Ohio. One will probably major in Architecture so is looking at Ohio State, Miami, Cincinnati or Kent State.</p>
<h1>1 – ACT 32…GPA 4.0/4.0…good EC</h1>
<h1>2 – ACT 29…GPA 4.0/4.0…good EC</h1>
<h1>3 – ACT 26…GPA 4.0/4.0…good EC</h1>
<p>I kind of figured that loans and work-study would be the majority of what we are offered…</p>
<p>The student with the ACT 32 has the best chance for a merit scholarship at the schools that offer them. This student also that the best chance at a school that offers the best aid.</p>
<p>The problem is that the schools that offer the best aid usually require the best stats.</p>
<p>I would look at schools that will offer the ACT 29 and ACT 32 scholarships that would reduce COA to a more affordable amount.</p>
<p>Miami does seem to have some assured scholarships for instate students…</p>
<p>[University</a> Merit Scholarships](<a href=“http://www.miami.muohio.edu/admission/finaid/high-school/scholarships/miami-scholarships/merit.html]University”>Costs, Scholarships, and Financial Aid | Miami University)</p>
<p>Have your kids test again. Also have them take the SAT…some do better on that.</p>
<p>Here’s some other schools that offer assured scholarships…</p>
<p>ASSURED SCHOLARSHIPS…$$$ CC Important links to Merit Scholarships given for stats… </p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/848226-important-links-automatic-guaranteed-merit-scholarships.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/848226-important-links-automatic-guaranteed-merit-scholarships.html</a></p>
<p>Also, look at private schools with good need based aid. You might find that a 50K/year school will give you a grant making up the difference between the cost of attending and your EFC. Look at some of the Ivy’s and elite LACs. Of course, those schools are reaches, but one of your kids may be admitted.</p>
<p>Yes, the student with the ACT 32 has the best chance at a school that meets need. Is this student a boy or girl?</p>
<p>If the kids retest and score higher, then all might have other options.</p>
<p>What kind of schools do your kids want? Big, small, quiet, rah rah big sports to watch, ???</p>
<p>What kind of school does your oldest child attend?</p>
<p>Yo will doo much better at private schools that meet need than at your public colleges. I’d say the 2 with above 29 have good shots at a meet need school.</p>
<p>^^^</p>
<p>This family needs to apply to both types of schools…those that meet need without big loans and those that will give big merit for stats. </p>
<p>For the two with better ACTs, MiamiU could be a financial safety since the merit scholarship combined with EFC would cover most/all of costs. </p>
<p>Be wary of schools that say that they “meet need,” but do so with a big Plus loan. That is a phony way to meet need and a school that does this is being disingenuous.</p>
<p>Wow…thanks for all the info.</p>
<p>Our oldest will be a junior at Miami U. The 32 ACT score is a boy…29 a girl…and 26 a boy. The 26 is interested in architecture and is sure he wants a big school (good thing since the schools with arch programs are all big). Our daughter wants a “middle-sized” school (approx 5000 students). The 32 doesn’t really know what he wants yet.</p>
<p>They will all retake the ACT in September…sounds like we should consider the SAT…especially for the boy with the 26. Thanks again to everyone!</p>
<p>Start looking for what is affordable WITHOUT financial aid and merit money and work outwards. You can ask Miami U’s fin aid office what you can expect for them. If this is the Miami in Ohio, it may not be very responsive, being a state school that really does not meet need. Your EFC would be divided in 5, but whether the schools will meet it is the problem. </p>
<p>If the school is Miami in FL, make sure you file a FAFS/PROFILE this year if they have any rules about having a wait period of fin aid. Some private schools have this situation if you have not filed for financial aid when the student was a freshman. REgardless, talk to the school, and get the fin aid office ready to help next year when the onslaught begins.</p>
<p>As for your triplets, what are thinking as affordable for the 3 of them for college, EFC, aside? It doesn’t look like you will qualify for any PELL money, so there really aren’t going to be any automatic scholarships generated from the EFC, unless your state has programs. Your EFC indicates about $16K per student is what you should be able to afford when you have all three in college. That doesn’t leave a lot of alternatives in terms of going away to school without your kids taking out loans, and to even stay within a decent price range, we are talking in state publics. </p>
<p>I just saw that you are Ohio, in state. Friend of mine with 3 kids, oldest a year older than twins had two at Ohio State, one at an OOS public. Got no financial aid other than Staffords and work study. EFC similar to yours, maybe a little higher, and costs were a little lower when hers were in school. It was a tough stretch for them.</p>
<p>When you are looking at private schools for them, look for those that will give close to full need, and run your numbers through their calculators and see if the PROFILE or the school’s own methods yields a similar family contribution figure. Those are the schools that should go on your list. But they will likely be reaches. The schools that tend to meet a large % of need tend to be selective.</p>
<p>Then you want to start looking for schools where your kids are likely to get some merit awards. Get a listing of them. Those again will be reaches in terms of money, but in order for them to be in the running for the scholarships, they should be schools where acceptance is likely.</p>
<p>*Start looking for what is affordable WITHOUT financial aid and merit money and work outwards. You can ask Miami U’s fin aid office what you can expect for them. If this is the Miami in Ohio, it may not be very responsive, being a state school that really does not meet need. Your EFC would be divided in 5, but whether the schools will meet it is the problem. *</p>
<p>I think you mean that the EFC will be divided in 4. But, it will only be that way for 1 year. Then it will divide by 3.</p>
<p>It’s true that Miami U probably won’t be a great source of need-based financial aid, but the kids would qualify for some assured scholarships.</p>
<p>Yes, all the triplets should test again. Take the ACT again, and also take the SAT. For a school like Miami that only looks at the Math + CR score of the SAT, that could mean some more money. There are only schools that only look at M+CR for scholarships. However, some schools only take fall scores for scholarships, so sign up for the fall exams.</p>
<p>There are some special scholarships for twins and triplets. You may want to try them, google them and you may find a few more. Here is one I found</p>
<p>[FinAid</a> | Scholarships | Unusual Scholarships](<a href=“Your Guide for College Financial Aid - Finaid”>Unusual Scholarships - Finaid)</p>
<p>*</p>
<p>Twins</p>
<p>Colleges that currently offer special scholarships or discounts for twins and triplets include:</p>
<pre><code>* Carl Albert State College in Oklahoma (Paula Nieto Twin Scholarship)
- George Washington University in Washington, DC (50% discount for second sibling)
- Lake Erie College in Painesville, Ohio (each twin gets the scholarship in alternate years)
- Morris Brown College in Atlanta, Georgia
- Northeastern Oklahoma A&M College
- Randolph-Macon Women’s College in Lynchburg, VA (15% discount)
- Sterling College in Kansas (50% discount for each twin)
- West Chester University of Pennsylvania (Bonnie Evans Feinberg Scholarship)
</code></pre>
<p>Valparaiso University in Indiana previously had a scholarship for twins, where each twin would get a full ride in alternate years and the other was dependent on whatever aid they otherwise qualified for. This program was funded by an alumni set of twins. However, the alumni stopped funding it in the late 1990s.</p>
<p>The Illinois Organization of Mothers of Twins Clubs, Inc. sponsors a scholarship for four parents of multiples in Illinois who are continuing their education. *</p>
<p>Just to clarify for the OP, Miami U is the original one, in OHIO, not FLA. Some schools in OH would give good scholarships with those scores: most of the local State Us (Wright, Kent, etc), ONU, Wooster.</p>
<p>A 32 yields free tuition at Ohio University in Athens. Visit. You may be pleasantly surprised.</p>
<p>Also - remember Ohio residents receive in-state tuition at Eastern Michigan University near Ann Arbor (in Ypsilanti) - if one of your triplets happens to like EMU, they’d get merit aid as well, making it a real bargain. The campus seems somewhat like the campus of Kent State - but it is out of state. (Three people from three different families independently told me that the EMU campus reminds them of the Kent State campus - I can’t take credit for the observation.)</p>
<p>I just wanted to thank everyone for taking the time to post such wonderful suggestions. It will be an interesting time in our household over the next few months as all the college options begin to take a clear focus!</p>