<p>For the 2012-2013 year, I am attending Rutgers University (the state college of New Jersey). Financial aid wise, based on the FAFSA, I was offered about $6,000 in work study and loans because my parents together have a gross income of a little over $100k. For the 2013-2014 year, my sister will also be attending a state college (albeit one in a different state), and I was wondering if we would maybe get a little more in financial aid, this time more along the lines of grants?</p>
<p>Obviously the FAFSA does not account for debts and personal problems, but my family can't afford to pay for both me and my sibling in college. I know that because our income seems to be high, it might not be possible to get much financial aid.</p>
<p>Is there anything we can do to earn more grants in terms of financial aid? Will there be any difference in financial between this year and next year when I fill out the FAFSA?</p>
<p>My only advice is to apply earlier. Grant money is commonly disbursed first come, first served, so if you were to receive more grant aid, you need to submit the FAFSA soon. However, grant money is typically not given (unless it is institutional) for incomes that high, and your best bet would probably be to look for departmental scholarships in your major, if you haven’t already. Also, talk to your Fin. Aid office about the chance in your family’s circumstances (one more kid at college).</p>
<p>With the two in college your EFC for each child will be approximately 1/2 of what it would be for one.</p>
<p>What was your EFC this last year?</p>
<p>Even if your EFC splits with two in college, since you’re both attending state schools you may not get any “free money” if your EFC or income is too high for Pell or state grants. </p>
<p>I think that even with a split EFC it will be too high for a Pell Grant. How does NJ determine state aid? Is it strictly by family income or is it by EFC or what? </p>
<p>Rutgers doesn’t promise to meet need.</p>
<p>I think the bigger problem may be your sister’s OOS public. Unless she qualifies for merit scholarships or will be attending UVA or UNC, then that school will likely expect your family to pay all the high OOS costs except for a loan. Which school will your sister be attending?</p>
<p>I don’t understand the decisions your family has made given that money is an issue. You are going to Rutgers which does not meet need. Your sister is going to an OOS public?! With very few exceptions an OOS public is the worst aid situation you can get. The only exception is for really outstanding students in a few schools that will get merit. </p>
<p>You won’t get Pell grants. How was your family expecting to pay all this?</p>
<p>Maybe the family doesn’t understand that OOS publics will not likely give the sister need-based aid (beyond loans). Many people don’t realize that if OOS publics gave great need-based aid, then why bother charging the high OOS rates? </p>
<p>UVA and UNC are exceptions, but they only accept the very best OOS students so their aid does essentially have a “merit” component. And, supposedly, those schools may be reconsidering their OOS need based aid. </p>
<p>Or, perhaps the sister is getting a large merit scholarship to her OOS public? If not, then they may find that she can’t afford to attend. </p>
<p>With an income of a little over $100k, then the family EFC is probably around $25k-30k. So, even with two in college, each child’s EFC would be about $12-15k. That is often too high to get any “free money” need based aid from public universities…even if their COAs are much higher.</p>
<p>Thank you everyone for your advice and realism. I never really understood the aid process, and I wasn’t sure where my family’s income stands. Part of the reason I asked this question was to get an idea of where the FAFSA would place us and have a more solid argument to sway my sister’s choice of college.</p>
<p>I’ll try to talk to the financial aid office people at Rutgers, as I’m still not that good at this process (as is obvious, haha). Hopefully I’ll get this year’s FAFSA filled out early; I’ve already started, so I’m on the right track. I’m now very doubtful we’ll be getting grants, but I’ll keep my fingers crossed?</p>
<p>We’ll have to talk to my sister about her college choice (as mom2college kids wrote, I didn’t realize that OOS public was the worst at aid; I obviously wrongly assumed colleges were all equal in assigning aid), and hopefully we can come up with a way to pay for everything.</p>
<p>Thank you everyone! =)</p>
<p>OP, your family needs to search for the Net Price Calculators of the schools your sister is considering to see what kind of aid she might get. In general, your instate public school will be the cheapest and there is often state grant money and scholarship money for instate students. You can also plug in your figures on Rutgers’ Net Price Calculator and see if there will be a difference with 2 in college, versus just one.</p>
<p>The way it works is that the federal government has the PELL grant for those who are in the lowest economic strata. That’s a maximum of $5550 with a zero EFC. But even with two in college, it is doubtful you will get much of that. The other thing the government does is offer Stafford loans to students. You are eligible for $6500, I believe as a sophomore and $5500 as a freshman. A portion of that can be subsidized if you have need. Your parents are also eligible to apply for PLUS which are DIrect Parent loans.</p>
<p>The rest is up to the school. Rutgers might have work study, Perkins loans, SEOGH from the federal government, but those funds are limited, especiall the last two items and usually go to PELL eligible kids. They also have their own funds. It appears that last year Rutgers did not give you any of their own funds, but you did have some need, and they met it with work study awards and the Stafford loans, maybe some of them subsidized.</p>
<p>This year your parents’ EFC will be cut in half due to having two in college. But other than the Staffords, nothing is guaranteed. It’s up to the school. Most schools, not just state schools, but most schools do not guarantee to meet need and they usually do NOT meet 100% of it. </p>
<p>Absolutely not–all colleges are not equal in assiging aid or even defining need. Colleges like Princeton will meet 100% of demonstrated need, but they will ask for additonal info other than FAFSA and define that need themselves. But they are great in that their aid does not have loans and work study, from what I have seen. THen you get others schools that will meet need, but do it with mostly loans and workstudy, and may also be need aware in admissions. Just as schools cost different amounts, have varying difficulties in admissions, they differ in the financial aid they give. IT’s not always the case that an OOS public will give the worst of all aid–I’ve seen some give generous aid packages to the students they most want, and there can be some nice merit awards they give out too. You are in state for Rutgers and they have not been very generous in that all they gave you was self help.</p>
<p>My guess is that you will get most of your Stafford loan on a subsidized basis, and work study and that’s it. Probably a referall for your parents to apply for a loan through PLUS. IF they are turned down, you’ll get an additional $4k or so in loans you can take. The same with your sister. The issue with her is that her OOS choice probably costs a lot more than Rutgers which is in state for you. She’ll probably get the same aid you do, but the gap is likely to be more because the cost would be.</p>
<p>^^ What cptofthehouse said is my experience. Two of my kids applied to oos publics-- one applied to 2: received no aid from one and $6K/year from the other, but it still put costs substantially higher than our state school. The other kid was accepted to several oos publics and got $6K in merit at one (the same scholarship sibling had received) and about $15K in music scholarships from each of the others, bringing the costs at each of these two below our instate sticker price. These were not colleges with guaranteed merit or colleges known for their merit. The truth is it’s a bit hard to predict which is why it’s important to check the net price calculators and for your sister to include a school on her application list that will be affordable.</p>
<p>One of our members here, had a student in a school that did not guarantee to meet full need, but it gave a respectable financial aid package to the student. When the second student went to college, so that there were now two in school, and the parental EFC was halved, the first school did not ante up the additional as indicated by EFC,. They had absolutely no obigation to do so they are a school that does not guarantee to meet full need, and that they did freshman year to that student did not mean they would up the amount when the need increased. They threw in a little bit more, but nowhere close to the EFC level. The school that the second student was attending was also a school that did not meet full need, and they did not either. So the EFC was halved, but the needs were not met at either school. These were both private schools, but the same can happen with publics as well, in state or OOS.</p>
<p>Though in my personal situation, our instate publics have come in with the best cost for an away college experience, that is not always the case. My son goes to an OOS public that does give a decent amount of aid, both merit and financial to OOSers. Another school in that same state traditionally has not. So it depends on the individual school, whether it’s instate, OOS, even in the same states, private.</p>
<p>When paying for college is an issue, and you’ll eventually have multiples in college, then attending schools that “don’t meet need” when you’re not getting big merit can easily mean that the family will be expected to pay a LOT more than its EFC.</p>