<p>This fall we have two college students in my family. I was wondering how colleges calculate when there are two college students in the same family. My younger one's college posted FA Award letter, but I was wondering it is being considered that there is another college student. The college expect a lot more than the FAFSA EFC. I might have to call the FA office and ask but any one had similar situations before?</p>
<p>The FAFSA splits the EFC in half but, as you probably know, no school agrees to meet the FAFSA efc. </p>
<p>Do these schools meet full need? If they do, they use their own formula and can come up with anything they want. Unlike the FAFSA, they may take home equity, noncustodial parent income and other things into consideration. The College Profile does suggest using 60% of total financial contribution for each child but schools can change that. </p>
<p>If the schools don’t meet full need, then what you may be seeing is a gap between what they know you can pay and what they are willing to give your kid.</p>
<p>FAFSA EFC is basically a total family number that’s divided among the number of children in college. If one child has more in income or savings than the other, then the child’s contribution to EFC will be different. But all other things being equal, if you have two in college then each child’s FAFSA EFC will be one half of what it would be if there were only one in college.</p>
<p>I have two in college as well. S1 is in his 2nd year at a Cal public, S2 in his first year at a private. Both colleges are FAFSA-only. Their calculated EFCs are close to half of the family’s total EFC. S2 has a bit more in a UTMA, so his EFC is a little higher than S1’s. My son in the public school has an EFC higher than the published COA, so he gets no need-based aid. My son in the private school has a grant that makes up the difference between EFC and COA, and merit scholarships on top of that which bring the total COA down to close to that of S1’s. I’m expecting S2’s grant to go away when S1 graduates from college, but when I asked the financial aid office what I could expect in year 4 they indicated that awards typically didn’t change very much from year to year. We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.</p>
<p>Each school handles the calculation differently, so it’s best to call the Fin Aid office to check the school’s specific policy.</p>
<p>vballmom, you might be pleasantly surprised. A friend of mine works at a private college, and they award the same grants all four years, even if the number in college is fewer in subsequent years. She says they call it “tuition discounting.”</p>
<p>Thank you, 2collegewego and vballmom. </p>
<p>D1 and D2 both will be attending private colleges 2011 fall but I was very surprised to see the FA award from my D2’s college. D1’ s college is extremely generous with FA and it has been much less than FAFSA EFC every year. </p>
<p>D2’s award is much more than splited FAFSA EFC. I called D2’s college this morning, and they said it is already being considered that there is another student in college with the award. It means I will be expected to pay even bigger amount next year… </p>
<p>I don’t think college education in US is doable for most of middle income families.</p>
<p>kelsmom, I’d be happy to be pleasantly surprised 
I guess one clue will come when I get next year’s award letter for S2, since our EFC has changed slightly from last year.</p>
<p>northwestern - best of luck to you and your family.</p>