<p>I am a high school senior who will be attending college next year. I am a triplet, so I have two other brothers attending school next year also. Additionally, I have an older brother who is a freshman in college right now. The thing is my parents make $180,000 a year before taxes. I know this is a lot compared to others who apply for aid. The thing is, with four kids in college, their income will not last very long, especially if we attend private institutions. Will I be able to get need-based aid even though my parents have a higher income?</p>
<p>in addition to income, fin aid also depends on assets.</p>
<p>The FAFSA takes into account how many are in college so you should have a chance. You'll have to plug the info the online calculators to see what they forecast.</p>
<p>As Simba says, assets play a role as well as income. There are a number of other factors. It is possible that your family get aid depending on the colleges involved and how the your whole financial picture is. You do have to run those numbers through the calculators to see where you stand.<br>
I have friends with 3 in college -twins and a singleton a year older. They did get good aid with income in that range. But I do remember one of the colleges involved was very stingy with aid--it was just in their nature. All of you should apply for financial aid if you want/need the money because it is very possible that you get something.</p>
<p>With 4 in college, your family should qualify for financial aid. I did a rough calculation - assuming $200K in assets in addition to the income, and came up with a FAFSA EFC of around $13K. (that's equivalent to about $52K for only one in college). </p>
<p>I would suggest that you play around with the calculators at <a href="http://www.finaid.org%5B/url%5D">www.finaid.org</a> to get a sense of what you might be looking at.</p>
<p>Calmom has it right. I did the same thing with some "guestimates" of what a relatively successful couple might have in assets etc. and came up with an EFC of $16.5K. So much of this will depend on the schools you and your sibling choose as well. Good Luck</p>