<p>My family's income is too high to qualify for any need-based aid, but when I am in college they will be putting four children through college at once. Do colleges take this into consideration?</p>
<p>Yes they do. FAFSA divides the EFC generated by parent income/assets equally between the # of students in (undergrad) school at the same time. So if the part of the FAFSA EFC generated by parents income/assets is say 20,000 then it would be divided equally between each student - 5,000 for each if there are 4 in school at the same time. Any part of the EFC generated by a student’s own income/assets stays with that student. So if the part of the EFC generated by parents was 20,000 and that by the students income/assets was 1,000 then the student would end up with an EFC of 6,000 (20,000/4 + 1000). Whether this would make the student eligible for aid would of course depend on the EFC and the schools COA and the schools FA policies. And financial aid is recalculated annually so the EFC would only be reduced this way in the years that the students are in school at the same time.</p>
<p>Schools that use CSS/Profile also take it into account but may not divide reduce the institutional EFC to the same extent.</p>
<p>If all of the schools involved don’t meet 100% of need, there is no guarantee as to what you will get.</p>
<p>So, are you saying the first year, your parents will only have you in college. But, then the second year, they will have 2 college. And then the 3rd year, they will have 3 and so forth (or maybe there are twins entering one year)?</p>
<p>Are you asking if your EFC will be affected for your first year because your siblings will soon be entering college? Or, are you asking if your EFC wil be affected in future when the rest enter college?</p>
<p>Also, depending on how high your parents income is, having 4 in college may still require a high EFC for each kid.</p>
<p>Of course another problem can come into play if one or more of your siblings goes to a college that doesn’t meet need.</p>
<p>Thanks for the info, everybody.</p>
<p>@mom2collegekids: I’m saying my first year my parents will have 2 in undergrad and 2 in grad (I am the youngest of four). I guess I’m asking how my EFC will be affected by the fact that I would have multiple siblings in college the first few years. I know later on when I am the only one the EFC would rise. </p>
<p>So, if my siblings are undergrad or grad, does that matter?</p>
<p>Depending on the school, it can matter if your siblings are undergrad or grad. Some schools may not care, others will automatically exclude any that are in grad school.</p>
<p>Yes it matters. A student in Grad school is considered an independent for financial aid purposes. It is a bit of a gray are. Some schools may allow them to be counted as members of household in college if parents can prove that they are providing more than 50% support. Many schools will not allow them to be included as they are considered independent for FAFSA purposes.</p>
<p>Re: grad school students. Even though grad school students ARE independent for financial aid, some schools DO still allow them to be counted as students in college for the younger sibs. You have to ask. DD’s school counted her brother. Yes, he was independent for financial aid purposes, but we provided MUCH greater than 1/2 of his financial support. He was still considered a member of our household and a college student by DD’s undergrad school. BUT I will tell you, we asked that question everywhere she was accepted…it was even steven…1/2 of the schools said they would count him and half said they would not. </p>
<p>You gotta ask. Agreed…it’s not a “given” that the grad school sibs will be counted by your undergrad school.</p>