Since you don’t know where your D will end up, I think she should take all of the AP exams. Even if she doesn’t get to skip a class, some schools will still give her credit that can count towards advanced standing for things like class registration and housing.
This may be more prevalent with private colleges that want the tuition revenue for at least 8 semesters. Public colleges which have subsidized tuition for most students often want the students to graduate as soon as they can, so they can be generous with credit units for AP scores. Colleges with low four year graduation rates may also want to allow AP scores to give credit units to improve their four year graduation rates.
However, either private or public colleges may be generous or stingy with subject credit and/or advanced placement for AP scores.
Do you or does the school pay for the AP exam? Do you qualify for a fee reduction? If its affordable, its 2-3 hours out of your d’s life. Seems silly not to take it. And, some HS’s require all their students to take the AP exam if they are taking the AP class.
Thanks all for the AP advice - she’ll take all 3 AP tests. What’s another 300 bucks anyway?
So now I’m doing the FAFSA, and I’ve come to the question I’ve been wondering about for a couple months now, and again would like to ask for advice.
But before I get to that, let me sidetrack with a quick question : I assume we should send the FAFSA to every school, even those that we’re going solely for merit aid and won’t rely on financial aid for (i.e., if she doesn’t get significant merit aid and we only get the financial aid offer, then she’s definitely not going to that school)?? I discovered that they limit you to 10 colleges, but provide a work-around to send it to more schools.
So the big FAFSA question is :
“How many people in your parents’ household (as reported above) will be college students between July 1, 2020 and June 30, 2021?”
As I’ve stated before, we also have another daughter who will be graduating our local public high school in 2020 (at age 20). She was born completely blind, which is why it took her two extra years to graduate. At this point we’re not yet sure what the best course of action is for her after high school. It may be (1) to have her enter a special program that runs several years that will teach her independence. Or it may be (2) to stay at home and take a couple community college classes. Or, it may be (3) to attend a university (Cal State Fullerton) at least half time while living at home. She has money in her savings account that belongs to her that would be used to pay for most of the tuition. If we go that route, and it doesn’t work out, then we’ll have to withdraw her and try option 1 or 2 (which would then greatly impact next year’s financial aid award). And of course that also depends on her being admitted to the school, which we won’t know until after we file the FAFSA.
Now, whether I answer “1” or “2” to this question has a significant impact to schools that don’t offer any merit aid (i.e., Princeton). Regardless of the answer, I would need to contact the school and get a cost estimate for the other answer. So should I say “2 in college”, get the lower cost, and then find out what the cost would be if she doesn’t attend college? Or go with “1 in college” and get the higher initial cost?
And, based on previous conversation in this thread, some schools not only care that another student is attending college, but take into account the cost of that college program. Seems like there could be several surprises along this route…
Which do you consider the more likely scenario, college (either CSUF or community college) or no college? Does the program (1) mean no college, or could she also be attending college?
I think you need some time to figure out exactly what the best plan of action is for your 20 year old daughter. I would sit down and discuss/think about which option is truly best for her, for her future…for her best interests, and try not to get clouded by how it would impact your other daughter (I am not saying you would do this).
I would not put 2 in college unless I was as certain as possible that there would be 2 in college. What’s the point in thinking that a school is affordable when it might not be? I would also think long and hard about whether your 20 year old would be able to finish college if she begins (I say this as a precaution- I don’t know your daughter).
What if you put 2 in college and your D is accepted to Princeton…and decides to attend. Then…what if in August your 20 year old ends up with choice #1? Then what? Princeton becomes unaffordable and she lost all of her great scholarships. Poof…gone. Would she take a gap year and reapply? Would you pay full cost for 4 years?
I would put 1 in college right now, but that’s just me. If things change in the future you can always call the school and redo the forms. I am positive that your D will get merit money to many amazing schools, and she already told you that she isn’t picky about where she attends. I would not base any of this on a sibling whose future you are currently unsure about.
I wish you the best…I know this is going to be difficult.
OP- if you have significant financial need, don’t you qualify for a fee reduction for the AP exams? They would cost $53 each, not $94. https://apcentral.collegeboard.org/ap-coordinators/exam-ordering-fees/exam-fees/reductions can you clarify-do you qualify?
I agree with all of the above.
What steps are currently being taken toward making your older dd’s plans for next yr? Is there active investigation taking place with her in the driver’s seat determining what she wants for herself either with your family’s help or a disability agent? What does her transition plan currently recommend or is it still incomplete? What is she saying she wants to do? Does she feel confident in selecting any of the options? Is she leaning more toward 1 than the other? Or is she overwhelmed and uncertain?
As the parent of a disabled adult, I can share that that with hindsight being 20-20 that focusing more on the disabled child and assisting them in stepping toward their future adulthood is probably a much higher need priority than focusing on the child who will likely succeed regardless of the final school chosen.
In our family’s outcomes, selecting 2 would have been disastrous all around. Our disabled student would have felt anxious about having any connection to his siblings’ futures bc he had enough struggles coping with his own. Additionally, he did drop out of school, and his siblings would have lost out twice…on the additional institutional funding from meeting need and the scholarship $$ they walked away from at other schools. Not a dynamic that would be fun for anyone and our disabled adult has enough fallout from his decisions to follow him around without sibling disappointment being tied to him. His decisions should only impact him, not everyone.
Agree that you shouldn’t put 2 unless you are confident it will be 2. You can always contact the schools and let them know of the change should your other D be attending. Sending FAFSA to all schools makes sense though as it will qualify you for yearly Stafford loans. The subsidized loans don’t start acruing interest until 6 months after gradution.
I seem to recall that the CSS form, which is required by most private schools, has more opportunity for you to explain unusual circumstances. Many private colleges require FAFSA, CSS, plus another college-specific financial supplement. I remember filling out several of those, including one for Penn where our S (2014) attended. As I’m sure you’re aware, you get to go through this exercise again every year your D is attending college. We had twins and it wasn’t fun. Keep copies of everything. This is a long thread, so I don’t seem to recall the age of you and your wife. If you are older and close to retirement that can also work in your favor. I think it helped us a bit. As always, good luck. It’s a long, long stressful process.
You need to be honest. Is your second child looking at college prospects now? Are you taking time to consider her different post high school options? Are you researching schools and programs?
Is there an active college application process in place for your older daughter now? Are applications being prepared?
If this student really is going to go to college, then put 2. But if she isn’t than put 1.
Frankly, from what you have posted, it seems very unlikely that child two will be attending college…and remember too…if child two doesn’t attend college in subsequent years…which is also possible, your costs will increase substantially…more than double.
Colleges like Princeton absolutely WILL verify whether there is a second student in college (once the fall term has begun) by sending you a form for your older daughter’s college to complete. The verification of enrollment form will require that the second sibling’s college verify that she is enrolled in classes…and it will note full or part time.
Remember, it’s illegal to get need based federally funded financial aid by using knowingly inaccurate information…so be honest. And schools really frown on dishonesty so if you get aid you don’t really qualify for…you will be paying it back.
I’m going to add…some colleges also take the cost of the second sibling into consideration…so if your second child is in a college program with no out of pocket costs to you, or low out of pocket costs to you (as you have implied in previous posts) this will be considered. @sybbie719 could you elaborate on this?
I agree…send the FAFSA (and Profile where required) to all schools when you complete the forms. For FAFSA, yes there is a limit to how many you can submit at once…but do the first 10, then wait until it processes…go back in and amend removing the first 10 and adding the second 10.
Remember, Princeton has its own financial aid form in addition to the FAFSA…so get that done too.
@4Gulls the age of the older parent is used to determine the FAFSA asset protection allowance. I don’t know how long ago your kids were in college, but this asset protection allowance has gone down substantially…I’m talking a reduction of 75% or more in the last 10 years. It’s about $7000…maybe less…for a parent near retirement age now. Is that what you mean by “it helped you”?
I would send FAFSA to schools that provide need based aid either based on FAFSA alone or with CSS profile, or to schools that require FAFSA for merit.
Since you don’t qualify for need based aid at UCs and most schools except maybe super generous ivy league type schools, that list probably won’t exceed 10.
You can always update the FAFSA later when merit numbers and aid numbers come in.
We have a similar dilemma.
Our oldest is in professional school. If she gets a high level scholarship for next year that covers tuition, then she could potentially be counted as member of household and student in college on her brother’s FAFSA because we would be paying more than 50% of her support (her scholarship doesn’t count towards her support).
But we won’t find out about this until June possibly.
So if we do the FAFSA now, we have to put that we have a household of 4 and 1 in college. Our FAFSA EFC will be too high for her brother to receive the state grant.
Without the scholarship, she pays the tuition with graduate loans and savings, and we cannot contribute that much because we are already helping her brother pay for undergraduate school.
If the situation changes in June, we will notify our S’s school.
It looks like for your situation it might not matter for FAFSA EFC whether both attend college or not.
If D1 is accepted to Princeton, most likely the cost will be above the set budget.
If D2 attends college part time or at community college, and she pays for it with savings and student loans, then you might not be providing more than 50% of her support and then she won’t count as member of household and student in college for FAFSA purposes.
Why would you need to contact the colleges? Why can’t you run the net price calculators to see the cost difference between having one in college…or two?
But really…be honest. Frankly from your description above, it sounds like options other than full time college are being considered first and foremost for your older daughter. That being the case…one…is the right answer for number in college.
At places like Princeton where full need is met for all, I’m betting that if your second daughter does enroll in college, they will adjust your need based aid.
Not only will you have to pay back the monies, your D could be dismissed from school for willful misrepresentation because you sign that **all of the information/b that you provide is true. In this current climate where college admissions and financial aid are being scrutinized, that is a situation that you do not want your D or your family to be caught up in.
Have you looked at what vocational rehab services are available to your D once she completes school?
https://www.dor.ca.gov/Home/StudentServices
As you know, schools that use the CSS profile or give their own institutional need based aid, will want to know how much you are paying your your second child to attend school. If you are paying very little or if your child is attending for free, you will see very little or any increase in your financial aid.
@KevinFromOC …your younger daughter will succeed wherever she goes. Be happy that she will likely receive significant merit to many great schools…that is no easy feat and is something to be proud of. She is going to soar regardless…she can be happy anywhere.
Your older daughter is the one who requires…and deserves…some serious attention right now. This is where I would put a lot of my energy.
It’s very easy to get caught up in the top school frenzy…but those years fly by fast. I would focus on life beyond that…and that includes your older daughter and doing what is best for her.
Being over 18 she also qualifies for all adult services. I don’t know about CA, but services can be quite extensive.
Remember also that to count as a student in college…your older daughter will need to be an accepted, matriculating student…pursuing a degree. IIRC.
So perhaps the most prudent (and accurate) approach is to put “one”, and perhaps the schools, especially the Profile schools (or ones like Princeton who uses their own, and has a place for an explanation of extenuating circumstances) might come in with more grant money.
The schools might look at that Profile explanation, but the need based aid award will be based on the financials the family puts on the Profile form. The student won’t get more grant money just by saying they have a special circumstance. That will require a completely different application requesting a special circumstances consideration…and doing whatever the college asks them to do to be considered for this.
While the CC search function leaves MUCH to be desired, its quite likely this question has been addressed in other threads (eg when its uncler HM offspring will be in college the next year, since some don’t go, drop out, take a LOA, etc). Have you looked through CC for some of these answers?
For FAFSA, putting 2 in college will basically cut the EFC in half for each child. The OP has said his income is about $150k, so even half of the EFC is not going to put the student in Pell-eligible range, and may not even put them in big FA position for the public colleges and the privates that don’t meet full need with an EFC ~$20k instead of $40k.
For a school like Princeton, they may consider more of the family’s overall expenses, including the sister’s extra needs for college or vocational school. It’s a different situation. That can be explained on Princeton’s form, but the FAFSA doesn’t allow explanation.
I’d put down the best case scenario (2 in school) but make sure your daughter knows that if her sister doesn’t go to school, the FA picture can change. If you don’t and the FAFSA shows an EFC of about $40k for one in school, FA from the school or that the school controls (SEOG, work study) may be gone by the time the 2nd decides to go to school. You can always give it back but it might be hard to get if the school has given out all their FA in April.