How does a full ride affect sibling aid?

I have a full ride to UMD (full Banneker Key), but I was wondering if me not paying anything for college would result in her financial aid not getting a sibling discount (she already was getting no financial aid to begin with). If that isn’t the case, I’ll just go to another school and we’ll probably pay half and half at each school which will add up to the full sticker price of one school.

Please clarify…if she is getting no financial aid to begin with…what is your concern? She can’t get less than zero?

Will she be attending a school that meets full need? Does the NPC show her receiving aid with two in school?

TBH I am a little confused by your post.

When you say “sibling discount” do you mean a prorated amount at the exact same school for siblings?

Or…

Is this a situation where, for the purposes of parental or cultural pride, your sibling has to also receive a scholarship/not pay full freight?

“Discount”, and forms of merit and need-based aid are different things. If you’re asking if, at UMD, they offer discounted tuition to families based on the number of siblings enrolled, that should be easy enough to find on their website, or with a quick call to admissions.

IF you’re asking about the impact of EFC for need-based aid for collegebound siblings if another sibling has a full-ride at any college, that’s a far more complex question, and the answer is, “it depends…,” on the specifics of your award, and the tax implications.

IF you’re a full-pay family, and this is about pride or cultural expectations, that’s a beast that isn’t addressed by admissions and financial aid departments at colleges and universities. For practical purposes, it shouldn’t matter (for a full pay family) if one sibling gets “a discount” and another doesn’t. The family is still coming out ahead by not having to pay for the one sibling who got a full-ride. The other sibling(s) start at ground zero for what the family can afford, and where they can be accepted. Colleges/Universities aren’t going to say, “Jennifer isn’t going to get a scholarship, because big brother Ben got one.” Jennifer will be weighed on her own merits. It definitely doesn’t make sense to walk away from a full-ride just to save face for a sibling who may or may not get merit awards (aka “discounts”).

It varies from school to school as to how awards at a siblings college affects financial aid. Some schools don’t even bother to ask, others just ask for the name of the sibling’s college; some ask for specifics. They take action across the spectrum from nothing at all to taking full account.

Why on earth do you think that by having both of you in college, each of you would automatically get enough aid to lower your costs to the point that your family is only paying for one? Has your sister already received her aid package for next year based on the information that you will be in college somewhere? Have you already received a bunch of admissions offers and aid packages indicating that you would only need to pay about half of the costs?

Take the offer from UMD, and don’t look back. Best case: your sister gets more aid next year because your family has two in college. Worst case: your sister’s aid doesn’t change - but even then your family only has to pay for one kid.

Your post is very confusing. Can you answer these questions?
–Is your sister already at University of Maryland, or is she planning to go there in the future? IOW, older sister or younger sister?
–If she is already a student there, is she full pay (no financial aid at all)?
–Why do you think that if you go to another school that you and your sister would only pay half the cost of attendance at each school? It’s not (necessarily) true.
–Even IF it would be the case ( and that’s a very big IF) that you each pay half the COA at two different schools, how are you figuring that that would be less expensive than you BOTH attending UMD? You would go to UMD for free + your sister would be full pay = one full COA for two students.

Hi guys, sorry for the big confusion. So my sister goes to CMU, and we do qualify for aid. The thing is that CMU just didn’t give her any. We are definitely not a full-pay family, and we will not be able to afford two full-pays, we barely are living with one. The reason I was thinking half is because looking at my other financial aid offers for other schools I’ve have to pay around 40k on average, and because my sister has friends at CMU that are paying around half because they have a sibling in college. Also, my sister has not received her financial aid from CMU yet.

Ok let me restate this so that I understand. I also have a few questions.

Your sister attends CMU (I assume Carnegie Mellon) and you may attend UMD on a full b/k scholarship.

Your sibling qualifies for FA but CMU did not give her any…is that correct? You go on to state that she has not received her FA yet.

Which one is it? Did she not receive it yet…or…are they not giving her any? I am confused.

What does the NPC for CMU say for two in college…when one sibling has a full ride? Does it ask about the cost for a sibling?

If you have a full ride, why would your family be full pay for two?

If your sister is full pay at $75,000+ per year, and your college is essentially free…how is that any different than your parents paying $40,000 per child if you choose another school?

If you and your sister are being asked to pay $40,000 each based on the NPC at meets full need schools…that means that with one in school you will definitely be a full pay family.

I am still confused, unfortunately.

I’m really not understanding either. Just because you go to a full ride school doesn’t mean you’ll both get to go for half price. I’m not sure why you’re thinking that?

Right now though, it IS like you’re both going for half price if you have a full ride and she’s full pay.

So for the past two years at Carnegie she has not gotten financial aid, and she won’t get her financial aid award for the next year until June. I’ll have to check the NPC, but essentially I’m wondering if UMD will actually save money for our family if my sister would still get no financial aid. Because if the financials are similar both ways, I’ll probably go to another school that I would want to go to a bit more and pay the 40k

CMU total cost of attendance is just under $75,000 a year
UMD full b/k will be essentially free (books, travel?)

Versus…

Two in college when both attend schools that meet need. You indicated that you would pay “around 40k on average.”

What does the NPC say for CMU with two in college and both schools meeting need?

Have your parents called CMU to ask if they offer aid to families if more than one kid is in college? You need to know that for sure before you can commit to a school. What happens with your sister’s friends doesn’t matter. Unless you see their financial aid forms you don’t know how much they received or why they got a specific amount.

Take the full ride! You’re not going to both be able to go for half price if you go to a more expensive school. You really don’t know the financial situation of her friends that are going for half the cost that she is. There’s most likely other factors besides having a sibling in college. And even if by some miracle that happened, your sister only has two years left, so your last two years you’d be back to full pay.

CMU does not guarantee to meet full need. Even as they define it. Run your your parents’ and sister’s financial information through CMU’s NPC on their web site as if you are NOT going to college and see how much financial aid CMU’s calculation would result. You can then see if CMU even considers your sister alone to be ELIGIBLE for financial aid according to their formula. The gap would then show clearly.

Then run the same numbers through CMU’s NPC, adding the information that you, too, are going to be going to college. That should give you what CMU’s formula is for two students in college, ideally. With zero aid.

It is then entirely up to CMU as to whether they will give your sister aid, now that there will be two college students. Knowing what I do about CMU, they may well ask what your college cost is going to be, and adjust your sister’s aid package accordingly. Since they have not given your sister a dime of aid in the past, it is entirely possible that if you get a full ride for college, they continue to offer zero aid to her.

Though you say you are not a Full Pay family , that is exactly what your family has been for the last two years. According to your, they have managed to fully pay for your sister’s college costs somehow.

I didn’t realize that CMU doesn’t guarantee to meet full need.

I would take the full ride to UMD…you don’t realize how lucky you are. It’s an amazing opportunity and makes the most financial sense.

If you attend a school that meets need and pay about $40,000 a year (your report)…your sister may still be full pay at CMU.

Just did the NPC. No siblings = basically full, 1 sibling = around 45k.

CMU - around $45,000
Meets full need school- around $40,000 (your report)
Total- about $85,000 …and costs are not guaranteed

Versus…

CMU- $75,000
UMD- full ride b/k
Total- $75,000 + books/transportation for UMD, CMU cost will likely go up each year (?)

IMO the second option is less risky and b/k is too amazing to pass up.

Take the full ride.

Your sister will be graduating from college before you…right? When she is no longer a student, any college that gives you need based aid…expect your costs to double when your sister is no longer an undergrad student at least half time.

The merit award to UMD is not need based and doesn’t count number of kids in college.

You will get that award all four years assuming you meet the GPA cut off.

Take the full ride and don’t look back.

If your sister happens to get some need based aid for the upcoming year, consider that a gift to your generous parents!

Take the full ride

Your sis will graduate soon and your parents will be relieved that your full ride will continue