<p>Despite Barnard’s high sticker price, the college was quite generous with its need-based aid for my daughter and she has been able to get through 2 years with manageable loan amounts. However, we now have a second child entering college, and he, too, has his eyes on pricy colleges. With the FAFSA and Profile, because we’ll have 2 in college, our estimated family contribution for our daughter is roughly half of what it was for her first 2 years. Does anyone know whether Barnard takes the lower EFC into account in its need-based aid (i.e., is it likely Barnard will increase its aid to account for her lower EFC)?</p>
<p>Why not ask Barnard’s Financial Aid Office?</p>
<p>Yes, I think they will. We had the opposite situation: our D’s older bro was in college when she started Barnard and then graduated. So her need-based aid from Barnard went DOWN when we were no longer also responsible for paying for her brother’s tuition. </p>
<p>Why don’t you call the financial aid office and discuss this with them? It might ease your mind a bit…</p>
<p>They are really friendly in the financial aid office. They did tell me that my expected contribution should be cut in half when my daughter’s brother starts college in Fall '14.</p>
<p>When my son started Williams Barnard’s aid did increase significantly, but the two together were still more than each separately at either college.</p>
<p>Based on my experience, Barnard will consider your son’s college expense in calculating aid, but it’s a little bit complicated. If your FAFSA for this year shows 2 kids in college, they will accept the FAFSA EFC for purposes of calculating eligibility for federal aid (subsidized loans, Pell grants)… but your initial Barnard grant will be based on 1 kid in college. </p>
<p>They will increase the grant after receiving verification from your son’s college as to his enrollment and his COA at his own college. I don’t know the formula applied, but in my case it was very fair. </p>
<p>Because Barnard won’t write your daughter’s award until mid-summer, I think the best thing for you to do is talk to the Barnard financial aid office in April after your son has received his financial aid awards, so you can get a ball park idea as to how his expenses will impact the Barnard costs. If your son attends a college that meets full need, you should be fine – and it is very possible that your daughter will have to provide your son’s college with verification of enrollment and COA from the Barnard financial aid office. </p>
<p>I think the problem that you could run into would be if your son attends an expensive college that does not meet need. Whatever formula they use, Barnard probably is not going to subsidize a gap in your son’s financial aid.</p>
<p>Original financial aid was based on our having two in college. That included Barnard grant. They took our word that S was in school in what they billed for 1st semester, then wanted verification of attendance in order not to reduce the grant.</p>
<p>Was your son already in school? My problem was that my son was applying to colleges the same year as my daughter, so the name of the college he would be attending was known at the time the financial aid award was drawn up.</p>
<p>It could have been an issue only because it was my daughter’s first year. Barnard might not have wanted to run into the situation of promising an entering first year student more grant money than they were absolutely sure they could give.</p>
<p>Son was already in college, so it was just a matter of verifying that I guess, which is a little different from verifying that he actually did start school. But they may have changed the procedure. This was for fall 2012. They can always ask for their money back if it turns out sibling isn’t attending college. I don’t know how or whether they use it in determining financial aid grants, but they do ask how much is spent on sibling’s college in the CSS/PROFILE form.</p>
<p>The problem is that when the sibling hasn’t yet started college it is hard to fill out the CSS/Profile accurately. But it could have been a case-specific situation with me – my son was older and had been out of school for several years, did not live at home, was not my dependent, and was applying as a transfer student. The only reason his situation was relevant was that he was age 23 at the time and thus still a “dependent” for FAFSA purposes. </p>
<p>Anyway, the advice for OP is still to check with financial aid, as it may be difficult to tell whether or not the sibling’s situation has been accounted for in the award.</p>