<p>Outside of how federal funds are distributed colleges pretty much can “add” whatever they want to the finaid package unless it’s published discounting for GPA and test scores. Grants and the like can be arbitrary. The “discount” for two in school also applies to the year (or two or whatever) there actually ARE two in school. I just sent a thank you note to my S2s college because he decided at the last minute to take classes this summer and I hadn’t budgeted for it. They gave him a subsidized loan to cover the costs. I don’t think they “had to” subsidize that loan so I thanked them.</p>
<p>*Quote:
The philosophy of CSS schools is that while you have 2 in school, you will get a discount, but the overall amount that you’ll pay WILL be more than when you just have one. The thinking is that parents SHOULD pay more for 2 in school.</p>
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<p>I’ve read differently. What I read is the reason with two kids it comes out something like 60/60 is … 1) the parents portion of the EFC is getting split 50/50 with two kids … but that each student has their own portion of a EFC.</p>
<p>So you might get something like this …
- 1 student … 30k EFC (20k from parents and 10k from the student)
- 2 students … school 1 - 20k EFC (10k from the parents and 10k from the student) … school 2 - 20k EFC (10k from the parents and 10k from the student)</p>
<p>With 1 student the EFC was 30k while with two it is 40K … but the difference is now two kids are putting in their part.*</p>
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<p>It may seem to work out that way for some with certain EFCs, but since “the student contribution” seems to be a LOW fixed amount (no matter how much parents pay), I don’t think that’s the calculation. Student contribution for freshmen is often around $2000 (for instance from a summer job).</p>
<p>Since student loans and W-S are for “meeting need”, I don’t think schools are expecting $10k contributions from students to go towards “family contribution”. You seem to be including loans and work-study. If not, what is the $10k student contribution that isn’t “need based”??? </p>
<p>COA = $55k
Family contribution = $30k (mostly parents contribution, some is student contribution.)
Need = $25k (and includes grants, work-study, and loans).</p>
<p>So, what is the $10k student contribution that is part of the family contribution???</p>
<p>I will have two boys in college next year. My youngest will be attending a UC in northern CA and only received $8000. We thought, that since oldest is at a private school and two were in college, we would see a lot more “free” money…ha, ha. We are both elementary school teachers and do not make a killing… Reality, we have to come up with about $50,000 each year!</p>
<p>Mindy Sue…I know what you mean.</p>
<p>Another mom (both parents school teachers) sent me a PM and was shocked to learn that they wouldn’t get any aid for 2 kids at a UC…so they’ll be paying $60k per year. So, now they’re going to look at merit scholarships universities for the second child…because they can’t pay that much.</p>
<p>I will have two kids in college starting this fall. Both are at meets full need schools and it did work out to about the 60/60 (EFC) as mentioned before. I just thank my lucky stars that they are both at full need schools or I don’t think it would have turned out that way.</p>
<p>M2CK … my numbers were made up … the point of the example was to show the parent portion being split in half.</p>
<p>I understand that was your point, but it only works that way if your EFC is a certain range.</p>
<p>For others, the parent portion won’t split 50/50. Parents of certain EFCs will pay more. If your family contribution for one is $50k, then a 60/60 split will be $30k/$30k…and that’s not because the extra child is paying the $10k increase…he’s not. </p>
<p>When family contribution is $50k for one, then the parent is paying about $48k and the child is paying about $2k. Another $2k from the second child isn’t making up the increase to the new contribution of $60k. the parents are paying $8k more. </p>
<p>And, it goes without saying that if your CSS family contribution is full freight for one, that doesn’t necessarily mean that you’ll get much of a discount for 2 kids.</p>
<p>Mom2collegekids -exactly - our EFC for EACH child was approx. 60% of the prior years EFC.</p>
<p>NewEnglandMother-what other schools are similar to Yale and not ask how much you are actually paying for sibling? I was getting excited a few weeks ago because I had put in all of the tax info into every net price calculator for each school DD is planning to apply in a few months as a senior. I am hoping that my DS will get scholarships this upcoming year and we reduce our cost of payment to state school. In the net price calculator, there is not a question around how much we actually pay for DS school. The only question is if he is in school and his assets. Since I don’t have to complete a Profile for him, I wasn’t aware that the profile asks that questions specifically. Just created a profile for DD for one of her schools and questions were there. No way I can afford my actual EFC. Guess we are going back to merit route for DD. </p>
<p>This is the best site out there for parents. Thank you all for your wise thoughts and experiences.</p>
<p>* No way I can afford my actual EFC. Guess we are going back to merit route for DD. *</p>
<p>That may be a good idea…especially since if she only gets need based aid, her aid will disappear once brother graduates.</p>
<p>You have to call the financial aid office of the specific school, Lacrossemom and ask specifically. THese school guard their formulas more carefully than Coca Cola does, when you try to get the whole thing, but often you can get specific answers to directed questions. Sometimes specific questions are asked, but the info not used. However, colleges are getting more and more exacting in getting such info and adjusting not a penny more but many dollars less.</p>
<p>Looking for the right merit possibilities is always wise. Then, when offers come in, you have that as a back up, in case others are lacking. This is also why it’s so important to find schools where your D is a great fit- not only to you, but to them. A friend’s twins: one is at a Fafsa-only state school that gave him a 2k grant and Stafford freshman year. (No grant expected for soph year, because of budget cuts.) The other is at a private that went to bat to get him with merit awards-- and has assured that the numbers should remain pretty stable. Remember that fit is far more than stats.</p>
<p>Laxmom, if you liked the NPC projections, I don’t think your FA offers will themselves suffer because you already have another in school. It’s not that they will somehow penalize your 2nd child. They’ll offer what they consider the right package, per their policies. The problem is more that they won’t add to grants becase S is at a public that leaves most of the costs to the family or “uses up” most of your resources. </p>
<p>Even under the best curcumstances, most schools don’t offer packages that leave you with your Fafsa EFC as your final costs, not even the “meet full needs.” You do want to go back over your data to ensure you don’t report a single thing wrong on the CSS. Eg, don’t report retirement funds as assets, don’t over-estimate your home’s market value. Etc.</p>
<p>I continue to be a bit unclear about a couple of specific aspects of this issue. </p>
<p>First, when the school currently being attended by my older child recalculates the EFC, based on my second child entering as a freshman at another private liberal arts school, do they (in order of increasing specificity of approach) a.) simply look at the fact that a second child is now at a private college, b.) look at the tuition and expenses of the second school specifically, c.) look at what the EFC of the second school actually is, or could be calculated to be?</p>
<p>Second, if my second child is at a school that meets need but partially with loans, do loans “count” in the same way a grant does, so that my older child’s school will assume, if they get to this level of detail, that the loan component reduces EFC the same way a grant does?</p>
<p>I know this is complicated, but since we are on the edge in being able to fund the EFC of our oldest child, having some sense of where things will be with two at private LACs (the second still to be determined) is critical.</p>
<p>Thanks so much to anyone that can provide a bit of clarification.</p>
<p>I don’t think they look at the school of the second child. When you are filling out your Fafsa and CSS profile for child #1 it would be Feb, Mar - most likely you wouldn’t even know where your child #2 would be going.</p>
<p>I think it’s just a formula - child #2 in college lowers the EFC regardless of the college and cost of the college of Child #2.</p>
<p>It’s not an exact science and each school will handle it differently.</p>
<p>It depends on the school, and schools are changing the ways they are doing this all of the time, so you do have to call the specific schools.</p>
<p>The way it used to be done, and is still done at schools, is that they use a chart for a second child being at college. They do call and verify the enrollment of that child many times. I have known families who have gotten nice windfalls when one child had good merit awards or went to a less expensive school than the chart of the other school used to give “credit” for the other college.</p>
<p>However, I have also heard that colleges are being more picky about this and are digging deeper, asking for releases on info on the other students costs at his/her college. </p>
<p>Though you may not know where the second student will end up, you can certainly call the aid office of the first student and find out precisely how they calculate the need when there is a second child in college.</p>
<p>The challenge is that, as others have said, the schools are incredibly vague about the calculation, and whether they use the actual amount paid at the second school, or just more generic or categorical figures. I am also unclear whether, if they use the actual amount paid, do they count loans the same as grants, and thus loans from the second school could reduce the aid level at the first school, but still have to be paid. My first child’s school gives only grants, and so I am unsure of the effect of loans, and whether they are considered to meet need.</p>
<p>Again, each institution sets its own policy about loans. There is no simple way to predict it.</p>
<p>Start with C1’s college, and find out how they handle things. Then when C2’s aid packages start to come in you will have some kind of criteria to work from.</p>
<p>Maybe others can clarify…a CSS school will verify that the other chid is in college, but they don’t look at what that other child’s FA pkg is.</p>
<p>For instance…if child #1’s school gives a free ride or gives little, that doesn’t change what the school for child #2 will give. (however, I think if child #1 is at a military academy, then that child doesn’t count as being in school.)</p>
<p>Correct me if I’m wrong.</p>
<p>I may be remembering this incorrectly, but I do believe some forms of the CSS will ask “how much are your parents paying towards your sibling’s college education.” The CSS can vary from school school, so not all schools may include this question. My DD is an incoming freshman and I seem to recall that question when doing the CSS for her, but I am not sure which school triggered the question (she applied to 5 CSS schools). My DS is finishing his 1st year and that question did not appear on his CSS profile, so I know his school does not ask for this in the CSS profile.</p>
<p>The reality is that there is no uniform way that this is handled in terms of aid that each institution awards. Other than the situation where you have two kids both going to colleges with very expansive financial aid (say, Stanford & Harvard) – where you would expect the number to come in at about 120% of your current expected contribution for each kid – you really don’t know. And even there, if one school includes some home equity and the other school doesn’t your numbers could vary quite a lot. </p>
<p>If your younger child goes to an OOS public university without merit aid, there’s likely to be little to no financial aid other than loans. So even if the expensive university the older child attends cuts the family contribution by 40%, you might end up paying fully out-of-pocket for the younger child. </p>
<p>Apply widely, and make sure younger child has some good options that your family can afford. (From an equity perspective, you might want to consider if older child should be asked to take on some earnings or loan responsibilities to free up some cash for the younger child’s schooling.)</p>