<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>