<p>Has anyone experienced this situation? My daughter got 50% more than her younger brother from the same school. And any speculation why this may be?</p>
<p>Are they new or returning students? Does the school know they are siblings?</p>
<p>Yes, the school knows. The older is returning, my son is new.</p>
<p>They might’ve changed the way FA is distributed this year. The returning students are usually not affected by the change. I guess you can call the school and ask.</p>
<p>Does the combined amount equal the amount that you thought you would get based on your EFC?</p>
<p>Each child is evaluated separately. Likely the school won’t change the FA for the existing child, but subsequent children will be evaluated against the total pool of students entering and what those needs are.</p>
<p>Most people assume that having a sibling will mean the same package. Looked at from the school’s point of view - they are subsidizing a family at the expense of other candidates who were turned down for admission or for financial aid. The boards are littered this spring with posts from students who are accepted to BS but with no FA - which is almost the same as a “no.”</p>
<p>So the idea may be - despite EFC - if a family wants to have multiple children at a school, the family may be thought to need to share more of that burden rather than the school and it’s donors.</p>
<p>But only the school can give you the answer you seek. Proceed cautiously when asking so it doesn’t accidentally come off as “entitlement” in this bad economy.</p>
<p>Thanks for educating me. I see the school’s point. I almost didn’t apply for ds because dd is getting such a good package. To complicate things, dd is a top athlete and scholar. ds isn’t there yet. But since it’s based on family need, I assumed with acceptance the packages would be the same. Lucky we have a backup.</p>
<p>“backup” is a better offer from a different school?</p>
<p>Acemom,</p>
<p>It’s hard to be a sibling at a school. My sister was entering as I was leaving but she still kind of lived in my “shadow” (even though she was much more well-behaved 
)</p>
<p>But do know that most schools are very cash strapped because of what the economy did to even conservatively managed endowments. So it may just be a case of spreading fewer dollars among incoming students.</p>
<p>I’m with Benley - curious about the backup too.</p>
<p>Backup as in a good school with a lower tuition, even without aid. Not quite the caliber of the first school, but very good, nevertheless. And separating them may be a good idea. I appreciate the input regarding the shadow. That was a concern of mine.</p>
<p>My daughter currently a soph in a top ten BS receiving 90% aid. My son, who applied to same school this year received only 50% aid. We are glad we applied to 6 schools for him–thank god we too have a back up. At this point it appears we will go with the “back up” who came through with 100%. In a tough recession year, we’ll take that! Although I had hoped to keep them together.</p>