teresa114

I have to fill the css profile and i have a sister who my parents pay the bulk of her education because she didn't get much from financial aid from her school. My problem is my parents can't pay for 2 kids in college and if i put down what she pays for my sister would they expect them to pay the same amount for me. also if they know what they are paying for my sister they would think my parents have money which they don't and how would that affect my financial aid.

'rentof2

You're not really going to know how it will affect your aid because different colleges use the CSS Profile information in different ways. The CSS Profile only provides information to colleges, it doesn't determine what they're going to do with it.

In any case, you don't have any option but to explain your family's finances honestly and see how it all falls out, right? I mean, what are you thinking of doing instead? Low-balling what your parents spend for your sister's college? That could make a college you're interested in think they have more money available to pay for yours, right? I mean, there's no way to know how any given college is going to look at it, so.... so just tell the truth.

Colleges know that most parents get seriously squeezed with two in college. They're pretty well-informed about all of this and make whatever adjustments they want to make accordingly.

Normally it lowers what they'll expect for a given student when the parents have another student in college at the same time.