Will my financial aid lower when my sister starts school?

<p>Well basically I'm attending a UC campus and my sister will also next year. Will my financial aid be lowered? and if so usually by how much?? thanks in advance!</p>

<p>If all the family and student financial information remains the same your financial aid eligibility should increase rather than be lowered with a sibling in school.</p>

<p>For FAFSA the parent part of the EFC is divided equally between the number of students in school at the same time. The part generated by student income/assets stays the same. Say your EFC was 12,000 and 10,000 of that was based on parent income/assets while 2,000 was based on student income assets. With a sibling in school the parent part of the EFC would be divided between the 2 students (10,000/2 = 5,000) while the student part of the EFC (2,000) would stay the same. You EFC would be 7,000 (5,000+2,000) making you eligible for more aid.</p>

<p>Hmmm, interesting. I'm not sure my fa will increase in my situation.
My situation is a little different. My EFC is 0 and it has always been 0<br>
So will mine get lowered in this situation? Will my sister get the same amount or will mine get lowered so she gets financial aid too.. but that means my family will have to contribute to my aid, but I know they can't afford to help me with school.</p>

<p>If your EFC is 0 it will stay 0. It should make no difference to your financial aid. Student's aid is calculated individually by the student not based on their siblings (other than the dividing the EFC between the students). For instance my daughter has a 0 EFC so gets a full Pell grant plus ACG and SEOG. When her older brother decided at the last minute to go back to school he also had a 0 EFC and got the full Pell but not the ACG (not eligible) or SEOG (applied for aid too late).</p>