Paying for twins....basically

<p>My stepbrother and I are the same age and will be going to college at the same time. Our parents (the two we live with are the only ones in the picture) will thus have to pay for two tuitions at once, and then one a few years later. Will colleges take this into account when we apply for financial aid? Granted, my brother wants to go to a state school, but still, two tuitions makes kind of a hefty load. Anyone deal with something similar?</p>

<p>Yes, having two kids in college at the same time will make a significant difference in the amount of aid you will get, unless you are quite well-off. It would be interesting and instructive for you to go to the finaid website, and fill in the figures in their calculator. Try it with just one in college, then two to see what the difference will be in your EFC (Expected Family Contribution.)</p>

<p><a href="http://www.finaid.org/calculators/finaidestimate.phtml%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.finaid.org/calculators/finaidestimate.phtml&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>I don't know any of the figures. My parents won't reveal ANYTHING about their finances. We are well off, I guess, but definitely not super rich. The only thing my dad has told me is 30k for my college education and no loans. I'm happy because this is really generous, but for my top choices, it's more like 40k. I'm going to try and convince him on the loan idea.</p>

<p>If you go to a private college, they vare just not going to accept that the other parents aren't in the picture. Unless you can prove bthey never paid child support and you haven't seen them for years, they will be expected to contribute too.</p>

<p>One is dead and the other's been gone for the last, oh, 15 years. I don't think we'll have a hard time proving that much. The only money is coming from what the current family earns and any savings.</p>

<p>
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The only thing my dad has told me is 30k for my college education and no loans. I'm happy because this is really generous, but for my top choices, it's more like 40k.

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This is very attainable if you look for colleges that give merit aid. A $10K merit scholarship is not that hard to come by. </p>

<p>You actually are very lucky that your dad has given you such specific numbers -- it tells you exactly what you have to work with.</p>

<p>The only thing better than being twins is being TRIPLETS.. congratulations!</p>

<p>fatherofthe - do you have triplets? i may have misunderstood you....
calmom - I'm definitely on the hunt for merit scholarships!</p>

<p>I am a twin myself and my sister and I both received awesome financial packages from our colleges. I am sure you will too!</p>