Rookie Mom Seeks Early Advice on Financing College for Twins

@scoutmom2002, I have twins heading to college this fall, so I can definitely relate to your situation. One thing to keep in mind as you’re running net price calculators is to put down that you’ll have two children in college at once. When you complete the FAFSA, the parent contribution portion of EFC will be halved because it’s recognized that you’re splitting your EFC between two students. The student income and asset contribution will be whatever each twin has, and will be individually added to your parent contribution. If your twins end up applying to any schools that require the CSS profile, the amount the college expects you can spend will be more like 60% of your original EFC. Because of this, you may find you’re eligible for more need-based aid than you expect. Definitely seek out those schools that pledge to meet 100% (either through grants or loans) of demonstrated need.

As others have noted, you’re very fortunate to live in a state with such great public schools. But if you’re twins are looking at some OOS schools as well, encourage them to consider schools in the Midwest, which tend to be more competitive in trying to recruit students (demographic declines combined with the perennial allure of East and West coast colleges). I was happily shocked when my sweet son, with middling test scores and a solid B average, was offered a $15K annual scholarship to a university in Ohio.

One final thing to keep in mind as you’re running your calculations: recognize that your existing 529 plans won’t grow at the same rate in the years going forward because age-based 529 plans will begin shifting into bonds and away from stocks. (If your 529 accounts are NOT the age-based options–ours weren’t–consider initiating that shift yourself. The last thing you want when you’re relying so heavily on your 529 savings–we all are!–is to have a market crash erode their overall value.) Good luck!