<p>Not all schools get funding for Perkins loans. They certainly do not receive enough funds to provide a Perkins loan to every student that may need one.</p>
<p>*"I have another kid in college and am already having difficulty paying my EFC for her college. That’s one reason why I’m trying to learn more about the FA process and how it works at different colleges. I’m trying to be a better consumer and get a potentially better deal for college kid number 2. "</p>
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<p>OP, you DO realize that your EFC [ expected FAMILY contribution] will be the TOTAL AMOUNT your family will be expected to pay for college expenses next year, REGARDLESS of whether you have 1 or 2 kids in college at the same time, correct? If you are paying X now [ X being this years EFC ] , you will NOT be expected to pay 2X when the second goes off to college. *</p>
<p>Well, the above info needs some clarification.</p>
<p>If the kids are attending CSS Profile schools, then “family contribution” is not cut in half for each child…it’s about 60/60…so you are paying more.</p>
<p>And…if one or both students are attending FAFSA-only schools then there is a good chance that one or both are attending schools that don’t meet need…so a family has to pay more than EFC for one or both.</p>
<p>If this family is having trouble paying EFC for one child, then paying for 2 will be more difficult. There are unexpected expenses with having a child in college…and those are doubled when you have two in college…especially if they’re at different schools. Just to move both of my boys into college this fall, we spent a small fortune in hotels, transportation costs, restaurants, rental cars, etc. That doesn’t even count the extra trips to Target and Bed, Bath and Beyond.</p>
<p>sybbie719 - agreed. But many schools do offer Perkins as well as Stafford and some colleges may offer that to a student as part of the student loan package. It’s unfortunate too, because the Perkins Loans usually go to the most needy and then they are offered in addition to the Stafford. Off the top of my head - UVA and U of Roch offered that up to my son as part of their packages - bringing the Student Loan portion to $7500+ the first year alone.</p>
<p>^^^^</p>
<p>True…but no one can count on getting those Perkins…especially in the later years. </p>
<p>Some schools only put them in frosh & soph FA packages because those are the years that Stafford loans are lower. </p>
<p>And, again, no guarantees.</p>
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<p>This is a very sad situation :(</p>