<p>Mom2college, they have started to contact the second student’s college, I know. Friends and acquaintances have told me that much. What specific info they get from the college, I don’t know. It used to be it was a set amount by schedule, but I don’t know if it was a standard one used by many colleges or one each college concocts itself.</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.” *</p>
<p>That could be all over the place. If the family declines student loans and/or work-study for Child #1, is Child #2’s school supposed to give more aid because the family is opting to pay out more?</p>
<p>It doesn’t matter what a family declines, that the schools use. There is a maximum assumed figure which is assumed. But some colleges are honing in further, looking to see what the actual costs are and using the lesser of the two. The max figure would have a built in reduction for what a college would ideally do to reduce the costs for a second child. The reduced figure would take into account whether the school costs less than the categorized average number, if that sibling has outside scholarships, ROTC or merit aid, rather than using a standard figure for everyone. Some colleges are asking for consent to get info from the other college, I know. How closely they inquire, I don’t know, and I think it varies from school to school.</p>
<p>Good to hear that some schools do not do anything with the fact that FAFSA school may offer scholarships. We will still apply to our full list and see where she gets in and what is offered.</p>
<p>^^^I agree that the CSS Profile question could result in many interpretations. My interpretation at the time, based on the wording, which I am sure I do not have correct in the my previous post, was that they wanted to know how much the parents were responsible for. To me this meant how much were we (the parents) paying out of pocket or had taken out in loans (again, the parents not the student).</p>