I am one of the twins. My sister and I are planning to apply to the same colleges (IVYs & another private universities). After looking at the fees/cost of these universities, our parents are trying to advice us to apply for in-state public universities. Our dream has been go to one of the Ivy league schools. We are in a fix because sending two to a private college will cost a lot to our parents.
Any suggestions if there are some relaxation for twins when it comes to tuition fees?
We are both kind of similar when it comes to our applications: weighted GPA about 4.10, SAT above 1400, have taken 9 APs, great community service record. Our family belongs to higher income bracket.
I am not sure if Merit scholarships are an option for us.
Thanks
Tuition fees are tuition fees, ,period. With two students in college at the same time your EFC will be lower than if there were only one of you in school. If you are in a high income bracket you will not likely get any financial aid. It would depend on how high the income is. The Ivies and most tip top colleges do not give merit aid.
Will it make sense to call the colleges to check about it?
Looks like the only option is to apply to as much scholarships as I can (but it is a daunting task).
The colleges will not tell you anything if you call. you ill need to fill out the FAFSA and CSS profile if required. As for the availability of merit aid at a college that is on their website.
After the quadruplets last year, I don’t think twins are very exciting to adcoms. 
Having a twin is no different than two siblings enrolled in college the same year. When considering need based aid they can factor that in but keep in mind not all schools will meet need. If income and assets are high enough it may not even matter and schools may believe your parents can afford two tuition bills.
You need to listen to your parents and apply to instate publics as a financial safety. That is a good cue that that is what is affordable for them. Large scholarships are unlikely. There is always grad school for name universities.
Run the npcs
The answer is…it depends. If your family is very high income…you might not qualify for need based aid anyway…and the Ivies don’t give merit.
Have your parents told you how much they can pay annually for you both to attend college? Find that out. It is THE most important piece of information you need while crafting your lists.
We had two kids in college overlapping for one year. We are a decent income family…and that year, we were paying a HUGE chuck of change for college. HUGE. There is NO way we would have been able to sustain two college bills at the same time for four years…we just didn’t have THAT much cash to do so.
So…ask your parents.
If your parents are both employed by others who give w-2 forms…not self employed or 1099 workers, and you don’t own real estate other than your primary residence…you definitely should be running the net price calculators for EVERY college of interest. Make sure you put that TWO will be in college.
Your parents are being very clear. What you need to do it see what your stats might garner at your state school, your ACT and SAT score is important here. Competition is stiff. The reality is that Harvard was already unlikely if your SAT is @ 1400 and your GPA is 3.65…Where is your home state? What do the scholarships look like there?
BTW, are you US citizens?
Wow, that sucks for you (sorry – I’m not being flippant, I being very sincere). FWIW: My kids overlapped for **THREE years in college/b and both kids received significant amounts of “need based” financial aid – so much so – that the cost of attendance (COA) was much LESS than the cost of their flagship state college – and that’s with our family making in excess of $200K! So, the real answer to the OP’s question is: It depends on the generosity of each college you get accepted to, as all of them calculate “need” on an institutional basis.
@gibby well…the OP and her twin would need to get accepted to generous schools like Harvard…and the acceptances would be the first hurdle.
^^ Yes, and as this thread started on the Harvard forum (and then got moved), that’s what I think the OP and their twin are hoping for!
As said above, run the Net Price Calculators and see what the U’s say. Unless you parents are self employed or divorced, should give a good idea.
But OP, I suspect you don’t know much yet about what it takes to get in or how FA or merit works. Try to learn up. The sorts of kids the tippy tops want aren’t flying blind. The schools’ web pages will show much. Don’t just “dream.”
You’ll see it takes more than weighted GPA…SAT above 1400, the number of APs, etc. It also matters how you did/scores in those APs, what that “great” community service really is. And more.
Given your SAT scores, you don’t write like a native speaker of English. If I am right about that, be aware that financial aid issues are different for international students.
^^ @twinsmama: FWIW: Based upon the OP’s post history, they are attending a New Jersey High School – so not international.
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weighted GPA about 4.10, SAT above 1400,
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Sounds like they wouldn’t really be competitive for ivies, particularly not Harvard.
^^ Correct. I’m not quite up to speed on the new SAT, so I have to rely on the Concordance Table, and according the CT a 1400 SAT is equivalent to a 1990 on the old SAT, so not competitive for HYPSM. See: https://collegereadiness.collegeboard.org/pdf/higher-ed-brief-sat-concordance.pdf