<p>My brother is currently a sophomore in college and I'm in the application pool for the fall of 2013. Since he is in college, would I receive better financial aid from the colleges that I'm admitted to or would it not effect anything?</p>
<p>Only if you QUALIFY for aid AND the schools give aid.</p>
<p>My sister has 2 boys in college…both at elite schools that meet need. They don’t get ANY aid.</p>
<p>In another thread, you say that your parents are willing to pay for your college. If they’re willing to pay for 2 kids in college, then likely you don’t qualify for aid…or not much aid. At NYU, you wouldn’t get anything.</p>
<p>At FAFSA school your EFC will be basically cut in half. However, that may not translate to much more aid. When our family went from one in college to two this year, all that happened was my older D was offered some of her loan money in subsidized form instead of all unsubsidized. Our other D was eligible for a small merit/need grant from the state.</p>
<p>My family does need aid, but if they need to pay, they will. That’s what I meant. My parents income combined is about $70,000 but both my brother and I have had serious medical issues within the past year so they’ve had to spend a lot of money on that. </p>
<p>I don’t know if that helps or not, or if colleges don’t consider things like that.</p>
<p>@Debbie7452, what do you mean my EFC will be cut in half? Is that a good thing? And what does subsidized vs. unsubsidized mean?</p>
<p>I think you need to ask your parents how much they CAN pay.</p>
<p>Generally, people who earn $70k per year cannot pay for a private college. The idea that “if they have to pay they will” is not likely going to happen. They can’t pay $60k to NYU, and only have $10k left for themselves and your brother.</p>
<p>Yes I know that. But they are hoping that I would get some type of financial aid. Obviously if I don’t get anything from NYU I’m not going to go there. That being said, does that qualify me for need based scholarships? </p>
<p>I believe they said they CAN pay $25-$30 k.</p>
<p>I am not qualified to teach Financial Aid 101. Can you get some parental assistance in your research? I think that might be helpful in getting the basics down about how the process works. Good Luck to you.</p>
<p>
Did your brother go through the financial aid process in his first two years of college? You should talk to him.</p>
<p>Yes I did, but as he is in college, he is not available right now to help. Also, when my parents went through the entire process with him, they were clueless (i’m not trying to make them sound stupid, but “clueless” is the exact word that my parents used to described what they knew about the financial aid process.) They did not go to college in the US, and my brother was the first to go through the US College process. </p>
<p>I’m also applying to the same college that my brother is currently attending, will I get a substantial amount due to that? </p>
<p>Thanks for everyone’s help so far</p>
<p>
You should run the NPC at your brother’s school. It will give you an estimate of your FA.</p>
<p>Your merit scholarships, if any, is base on how you do at your high school.
Your need-based financial aid should be the same as your brother’s NEXT YEAR need-based financial aid. Could off by $2000.</p>
<p>I believe they said they CAN pay $25-$30 k.</p>
<p>Something isn’t adding up. If they can pay that much for you and ALSO pay that much for your brother, then they have a LOT of assets.</p>
<p>Please ask your parents how much they can pay EACH YEAR for EACH CHILD. If they make $70k per year, then they can’t pay that much PER kid unless they have a lot of savings.</p>
<p>Maybe they meant that they can pay that much TOTAL for all 4 years.</p>
<p>Find out what your brother’s FAFSA EFC is?</p>
<p>How much does his school cost (tuition, fees, room, board, etc).</p>
<p>Hi! I have two in college, both at CSS profile schools that meet 100% of need and have no-loan policies.</p>
<p>I talked to financial aid counselors at two LACs about this topic before either of my kids started college. The LACs were CSS profile schools that met 100% of need but included loans in their packages. The counselors said that they would expect the family contribution to be split between two in college, so if family paid X for one in college, family would pay X total for two in college. This turned out to be inaccurate, however.</p>
<p>In practice, our total family contribution for both is about 1.5x as much for one. Also, each of my kids is expected to pay the full typical student contribution (summer earnings, work study); that is not affected by a sibling in college.</p>
<p>Sdgirl, could that be because the schools compute their EFCs differently?</p>
<p>Deleted my msg because I now wonder- sdgirl, are you saying that the total you pay is actually less than the combined Fafsa EFCs for both?</p>
<p>If your brother attends a state school, you should run NPC’s for the private schools you would like to apply.</p>
<p>In practice, our total family contribution for both is about 1.5x as much for one. Also, each of my kids is expected to pay the full typical student contribution (summer earnings, work study); that is not affected by a sibling in college.</p>
<p>Actually, that is likely more correct. CSS schools don’t generally split family contribution 50/50 when two are in school. They generally split it 60/60. </p>
<p>There is an expectation that families SHOULD pay out more when 2+ are in college than they did when they only had one in college.</p>
<p>With two in college, the family should have a decrease in “at home” expenses…food, utilities, etc.</p>
<p>Mom2, I agree- even when only the first was in college, our nut was higher for her than the Fafsa EFC. For each girl, no loans are written into their offers, but the Stafford and PPlus are there for the taking. I can’t tell if sdgirl is saying her split was lower, from the wording. </p>
<p>OP, it’s important for families to realize the Fafsa EFC may be split by the number in college (plus or minus, if one earned more or has larger personal assets,) but the colleges will run the numbers through their own formulas. The CSS Profile is going to show more about finaincial strength vs expenses. Then, aid depends on what funding the school has, in the first place.</p>
<p>You do need to run the NPC for each college. If you need to get your bearings, see what info College Board offers, about the process, or go to finaid.org. Winging this isn’t usually a fruitful idea. Good luck.</p>