<p>I got accepted to Lehigh for Chem E and the financial aid was pretty good for the first year - enough so that if it continues for all 4 years, I can get by with little debt. What is the typical student's experience with the aid each year? Does it get less each year? Does it stay the same if the financial situation is the same? Does it change a lot from having 2 kids in college to 1 kid in college? The financial aid office said it should stay the same if the financial situation is the same, but I have heard from graduates of 10 or 20 years ago that it got less each year.</p>
<p>Academic Merit stays the same as long as you meet any GPA requirements. Need based aid will stay pretty much the same if you financial situation stays the same but going from 2 in college to one in college definitely changes your need so your aid would probably change. We talked to the FA departments at all the colleges my son considered and asked about 4 year costs given our best guess of our financial situation (ie number in college).</p>
<p>"Does it change a lot from having 2 kids in college to 1 kid in college? " ← almost certainly. Run their Net Price calculator with your current numbers and change from 2 to 1 in college. You will likely be expected to pay about twice as much, after the loans in your package. I think the amount the student is expected to take in loans could increase each year as the federal limits go up, but that’s not a huge difference. </p>
<p>Thanks for the reply. Is this based on your specific experience with having a kid at Lehigh? I’ve talked to the FA office but came here to find out actual student experience.</p>
<p>Mathmomvt- thanks for the response. You confirmed what I have heard that the need number basically gets split evenly between the number of kids currently in college.</p>
<p>@v8sawmill
This is our experience at Lehigh and our other childrens’ colleges. Our S at Lehigh is our third one in college. Make sure you understand the parts of your package. Merit Aid will most likely stay the same throughout the four years. Need based aid is what will fluctuate if your financial situation changes (which includes the number in college). The Federal Loan amount does change each year as the limits increase. That max amount of loan seems to always “come off the top” before other aid is calculated. In lieu of actually meeting with Lehigh FA to discuss your particular situation (we did this during the accepted student day) the Net Price calculator is a good tool. </p>