<p>Once you receive the SAR from FAFSA, how do you estimate what will happen in subsequent years? Typically the advice we've received is that any aid will stay the same as long as your salary and investments are similar. Those two variables should stay relatively equal (although I would hope our investments will go up not down). However, obviously our expenses will not stay equal once the older child graduates. The SAR for this year is half what it would be the following year, given that we will have 2 in college next year, but only one the following year.</p>
<p>How should we look at any aid we receive for 2007/08 for child # 2 ? Do the financial aid offices take this into account, and adjust the first year aid accordingly? What have those of you with two children in college typically experienced when the older child graduates? Can we expect any need-based aid to drop in half? Drop slightly? Disappear entirely?</p>
<p>We plan on discussing any package with the financial aid office before accepting. I just wondered what your experiences have typically been.</p>
<p>Kjofkw- I have a college freshman and a college senior. My understanding, based upon discussions with financial aid is that our EFC will increase when the older son graduates.In the eyes of financial aid older son becomes an adult - and we become a family of 3 rather than 4 and this decreases our overal personal financial needs. Further, with just one is college the EFC for this one child will close to double.</p>
<p>Kjofkw: this is of interest to us, too, since next year we will have two in college, then only one in college the following year. I think you (and I!) should run the financial aid calculator using this year's tax info, but using a three member family and one in college - then we'll get an idea about how much we will be expected to pay after the older kid graduates in 2008. I'm planning on doing just that after I fill out my taxes and financial aid forms next weekend. (Just waiting for those pesky W-2s and bank statements!) For us, it impacts the decision of whether DS should go to a private or public school. Although private and public school costs should be comparable next year with financial aid and two in college, the following year and thereafter private schools will be a lot more expensive than the publics, since our EFC will rise much higher than the COA at the instate public schools. Decisions, decisions...</p>
<p>I have already run the fin.aid calculator both ways. The SAR (and CSS), given our current circumstances (2 in college) was basically half than what it will be when the older graduates. So, supposedly, once the older child graduates, we will then be able to afford double the amount. That's not correct (at least with us). While on paper, our yearly expenses obviously go down, the total amount we have budgeted for college does not change. Most of our college expenses are coming from our savings, not our income and our college savings obviously do not double when the oldest
graduates ;-)</p>
<p>This is all premature, as we have not heard back from colleges yet. However, I want to go into the next phase of evaluating total costs fully informed. We hope to look at what it will cost over 4 years, not just what it will cost next year, and make our decisions accordingly. We definitely do not want any surprises before the youngest's second year of college. I didn't know if colleges take the age of the older child into account (it does ask their age(s) on the forms), and distribute any aid accordingly, or if we should expect that any aid we receive this year will evaporate the following year. </p>
<p>This concern echoes the same dilemma found with merit aid. The ease of keeping the merit aid is a large part of the total picture. Keeping the grade is partially the responsibility of the child, but it would be disastrous to depend on the merit aid, only to find out the second year it is gone. At many schools, the scholarship received freshman year, is basically gone by the fourth year , not because it is no longer granted, but because tuition increases more than the value of the aid. However, with need-based aid, we know upfront that the oldest will be graduating. If we also know up front that the colleges will cut our aid in half when this happens, it will make a huge difference in our decisions.</p>
<p>The nice thing about merit aid is that it is often constant. If you are awarded an $8000 scholarship for 4 years you can at least count on the fact that you will have $8000 each year. But yes, the need based aid will likely decrease dramatically once the older one graduates.</p>