Well then…his financial aid would be reduced if he is not attending full time.
I’m wondering if then the college determined that you had only ONE student attending full time and adjusted the aid DOWN for kid two based on that.
@kelsmom your thoughts?
So confused. If your older kid graduates or goes part time, your tuition goes down as well. Leaving MORE money for the younger student not less.
Either way, why not just even things out? In many families the older kids help the younger ones with tuition…
Can you make an appointment to talk with one of the college’s financial aid counselors? Not the person who answers the phone, but someone higher up? Hopefully they will be able to answer your questions for you.
Has your income increased between the two CSS Profiles you submitted? Income usually accounts for the biggest component of need=based financial aid.
Does the college give any merit money?
If child two is deemed the only student in college…then the aid he receives would be less than half of what his sibling received.
When your older student filled out the Profile, were there any other siblings in college? Or was he/she the only child of yours in college then?
In general, I think trying to make things fairly even with parental contribution between siblings is a good idea. However, I don’t think older siblings should have to get involved in paying for a younger sibling’s college. Of course, unless they want to.
If the parents were counting on the younger sib getting the same aid as the older sib- and that has turned out not to be the case, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with the parents explaining an “adjustment” to the older sibling.
But I don’t exactly understand the math here. Of course if the older sib graduates or goes part time, the aid will drop. But their tuition payments drop as well.
But the OP said the older child is getting more aid than the younger one, which doesn’t make sense for a reduced schedule.
I’m confused!
I thought about it once at back of my mind, since I cannot be convinced at all by the responses so far, so I came here to see any other family has ever had similar situation. Thank you all for the advice offered here.
I strongly encourage you to speak with a financial aid officer to make sure you understand exactly what the deal is with your kids’ aid. The aid officer is the only one who can explain what the situation is for your kids - I was a financial aid director, but without all the information that the school has, including its own policies, I can’t possibly know the specifics of your situation. Please talk to the school. They will be happy to help you understand.
We have had to update the CSS Profile each year. Are there really schools where it’s once and done?
Yes. One of my kid’s schools requires CSS Profile for applicants and FAFSA thereafter.
My kids didn’t get need based aid. They had to do the Profile freshman year and not after that. But they also did the FAFSA every year to access the Direct Loan.
Except for primary home equity, really, there is a LOT on the FAFSA in terms of financial info.