Disadvantage of kid #1

nskifan
Fri, 20 Apr 2012 14:35:35 +0000

I think you’ve forgotten that Child #2’s costs will go up once Child #1 graduates.



No, I haven’t forgotten that. Kid #1 will likely go to graduate school, but how that works with financial aid is a subject for a different thread …



If Child #1’s school promises to meet need, then you will get more money when #2 enrolls.



Right, so that is my question: Has anyone had experience in getting some guarantees or assurances from colleges that kid #1 would get need based aid when kid #2 goes to college?

I realize the answer is talk to each school’s Fin Aid office about my specific situation. I just want to know what people’s experience in doing this.

I have frustration that kid #1 opens an acceptance letter for college XYZ and sees a price tag of $50K, while two years later kid #2 will get an acceptance letter from the same college XYZ and see a cost of $30K. Yes, I realize that kid #2 will be paying more the last two years. It is human nature that kid #2 is more likely to attend college XYZ than kid #1.