So I don’t have any siblings in college but have a twin who will be entering college at the same time as I am. Will this give me more financial aid and how will I note this on the FAFSA?
This will help you with schools that meet full need. Run the NPCs with 2 in school and see what the numbers look like.
I tried but the only thing it asks me to fill out is the age of my sibling and if she is in college. So the accurate information would be that she’s not in college, right? But this is literally a difference of $10,000, so I don’t know.
She will be in college during the same year as you…fall of 2020…yes? Put that info into the NPCs and see what the cost looks like for various schools.
Yes she will, fall of 2020. But all it asks is if you have siblings currently in college, not siblings that are going to be in college. Of course if it would give me that option I would put it.
When you go to college your parents will have 2 children in school at the same time. Put that in the NPC and see what it says.
There’s no option for that
Just put that you have one sibling in college.
Alright, thanks
Fill out the NPCs with your parents…and put down that you will have one sibling in college. Both you and your sibling will have to fill out a fafsa.
Show the number from the NPC to your parents and ask them if it looks affordable. You indicated that you want the cost to be below $20,000. What does this mean? Does it mean $18,000? $10,000? You need a firm number from your parents stating exactly what they will contribute.
I did NPC calculators and put down what you told me and the results were actually not too bad. Mostly in the $20,000-$30,000 range which is pretty good considering I will potentially have some other smaller scholarships that will bring this down. And I mean that anywhere from $0 to $20,000 is a reasonable cost per year for college.
Will your parents pay for a school that is in the $20,000-30,000 range? You stated earlier in other posts that you wanted the cost to be under $20,000. If a school is $30,000 and you take the $5500 student loan, will they pay the rest? You are giving mixed messages about what they will pay. Your parents earn $100,000 a year and can spend $30,000 a year x two kids in college ($60,000 total per year)?
Do not count on small outside scholarships to pay for college. First of all…
those awards are small. Second…they are only for one year. The best merit comes directly from the school.
They are willing to pay a MAXIMUM of $20,000 a year. So anything over $20,000 is most likely out the window. However, if the NPC result is between $20,000 and $30,000 I am willing to keep it because there is always a chance it can go down. You’re right about the outside scholarships, so I’m banking on merit aid from the school if it is even offered and also willing to negotiate the financial aid packages I receive. At the same time, for colleges above $40,000, it would probably be smart to take them off entirely.
So…your parents will give you $20,000 a year. You can add to this the $5500 student loan and $2500 summer earnings. That gives you a budget of $28,000 a year. I agree with you that schools that come in at $30,000 a year or less on the NPC can be kept on your list. Schools that come in at $40,000 or more should be removed.
College isn’t like buying a car. You don’t negotiate with colleges. You can ask a school to review your aid package if you have a better one from a peer school, but I wouldn’t plan on that closing a huge gap.
Usually merit aid reduces the need-based financial aid offered by a college. So be cautious and don’t assume that you can stack a $10,000/year merit award on top of $30,000/year in need based aid. What’s more likely is that you will get $10,000 in merit (great as long as you keep your GPA up) and the need based aid would drop to $20,000; thus your net price will be the same.
@nickthekid I hope you understand that you are required to report all of those smaller scholarships to your college. Those scholarships will reduce your financial need, and therefore will reduce your need based aid. Self help like work study and loans are typically reduced first…but then grant aid can be reduced also.
These small awards will not be used to reduce your calculated family contribution…which IIRC was more than your parents said they would pay.
Are you looking at colleges that meet full need for all accepted students…because if not, your need probably won’t be met. And having a twin in college might not matter at all.
You filled out the FAFSA for the year 2019/20. You indicated that you will be a freshman and will live on campus I expect. These are all questions about the future. If your twin will attend college during the same year, then you will answer the question with yes. And they will do the same on their FAFSA.
What will happen that the parent portion of the FAFSA EFC will be divided in half.
But that doesn’t always mean that you get more aid.
For SUNYs if your family income qualifies, then you would have tuition covered. Then fees and room and board might add up to $15,000 a year if living on campus.
You can each borrow $5,500 a year.
Can your parents pay about $10,000 a year for each of you?
What is your twin doing about all of this?
You’re being too literal. They mean how many will be in college when you’re in college.
Some schools will NOT give you more aid.
Do you know how much your parents will pay each year for each twin?
Does the $20k each year mean $10k per year per twin? Be sure to check and understand.