<p>MomCares…great points. My girls, though two years apart chronologically, attended college just one year apart. Thus, other than the first year for oldest D, I had two kids in college at the same time throughout the four years that younger D was in college (older D also went to four years of grad school). With two in college, our need shot way up, like yours did. In fact, D1 attended a school that meets 100% of need and her grants were way higher starting in her sophomore year when D2 started at NYU. So, anyone with more than one kid in college at the same time is going to be able to show more need. </p>
<p>Like with your kids, the colleges funded things too. D2 got two free trips with NYU/Tisch…including one to Brazil. She also was hired in a performing capacity several summers by NYU and that came with free housing and food, on top of a salary. Obviously, there were other opportunities that I can’t put a price on but just mentioning these “freebies” so to speak. NYU/Tisch also nominated her for a national award that she won upon graduation and that award came with prize money. I will also mention that NYU gave my D the best FA package and scholarships than all the other BFA in MT programs she was accepted to. I will also mention that at D1’s undergrad school, Brown, which is an expensive university, but offers to meet 100% of need, upgraded their policies right after my D graduated and had she attended after 2008, she would have gotten a far more generous grant than the already very generous grant because they increased the income level of families that would qualify for a lot of aid. That D attended two well known grad schools and got into many other well known ones and all offered some of the aid in the form of scholarships. Granted, after all these scholarships for both daughters, we still have had to fund a lot of money and have taken out a lot of loans that I am still paying back. But the ticket price to these well known expensive colleges were not the original ticket prices listed and not necessarily the most expensive schools when all was said and done. Also, I forgot, but D1 got grants for trips overseas from her first grad school, including one summer after she was no longer even enrolled! Oh, and at undergrad school (as well as a grad school), D1’s schools paid her to be a TA. </p>