<p>Hey all! I am an international student applying for admission in 2009 and there is something I can't seem to find out anywhere regarding financial aid. Every school seems to divide the expected contribution per number of siblings in college, but does it apply only to siblings that study in the United States?</p>
<p>My sister is also applying to college next fall (she is a rising senior and I am taking a gap year), but in our home country to a public college that charges no tuition , so she will only need money for living and personal expenses. Do colleges still divide the expected contribution by 2 or do they just subtract the lesser amount of money needed for my sister?</p>
<p>Your situation would be handled differently by different colleges.</p>
<p>Some colleges don't give sibling-in-college discounts at all, and it makes sense. Why should a family with twins be able to send their kids to college for half the price that a family with children who are 4 years apart has to pay? Presumably the first family could have saved more money beforehand or take out loans to get both kids through college, and then repay the loans afterwards.</p>
<p>Other colleges reduce your family contribution by a certain percentage for a sibling in college, e.g. 30%, 40% of 50%. Still others want to know how much your sibling is actually paying for college and calculate your financial aid package based on that number.</p>
<p>Your sister starting college at the same time as you might be problematic at a few colleges as well. Colleges generally calculate your family contribution based on your income and expenses in the previous calendar year, in which your sister has not attended college yet. Most colleges will take current changes in family circumstances into account, but some may not and consequently not give you a sibling-in-college discount at all in the first year. </p>
<p>Also be aware that some colleges don't adjust financial aid packages for international students once you are enrolled, which means that your family contribution will remain the same each year regardless of how your financial circumstances change over the course of your college career. This would be especially unfortunate in combination with the no-sibling-discount-in-the-first-year approach.</p>
<p>To answer your initial question: no, it will usually not matter where in the world your sister attends college.</p>