We have a high EFC which we are not willing to pay. Child number 1 is attending a LAC with merit aid for about 55% of EFC, a price we feel we can manage. She will be a freshman in the fall.
Child 2 is a rising high school junior. Her sibling will be in college during child 2’s freshman and sophomore years. Child 2 needs to be attending a research university. Private research universities tend to only give need-based aid.
My nightmare scenario is that we get aid to send child 2 somewhere for freshman and sophomore years, then sister graduates and the price becomes unaffordable. It seems like child 2’s price needs to start out well below 1/4 of her college budget due to the price jump when EFC goes back to one kid in college, but I’m at a loss for how to model this or run numbers.
I’m almost tempted to scratch all private schools off the list and just apply to in-state and WUE exchange schools, but it would be nice to have some smaller schools on the list if possible, too.
If you’ve put more than one kid through college, how did you approach planning to pay for kid #2?
Calculate the 2nd child’s aid as if she is an only child and see if you can afford the school. Run the NPC both ways and you’ll see how much aid is based on your having 2 in college. Then, whatever you get for the first two years in extra aid because the older child is still in school is a bonus. If Child 2 goes to a public school, it’s possible (likely?) that there will be no need based aid for 1 or 2 in college if you don’t qualify for federal aid.
Child 2 could also apply for merit aid at the big research schools, private or public. That shouldn’t change when older child graduates.
@“Erin’s Dad” I’ve seen that list passed around. Due to the child 2’s niche interests, the list of schools that “fit” is going to be rather small. There are some competitive scholarships she can try for, but automatic ones aren’t a fit.
@twoinanddone It is hard to know how many competitive merit schools to try for, I have no clue how “impressive” she will seem. The lesson I learned from child 1 is that your kid probably isn’t as impressive as you think he/she is, when thinking about reach schools. Kids with seemingly better resumes post on CC all the time.
No, not really. She is a very serious science fair competitor (regional/state but unlikely to make ISEF) and already diving into the scientific literature in her field from that. She really wants to do research, and even if she didn’t research U’s have both undergrads and grad students on campus, so that she can attend talks and sit in on graduate level classes as an upperclassman (both of which she should be doing since she would go to grad school in science).
It’s not really a subfield typically offered at small LACs, though I do keep hunting.
Look not only at the average amount of non-need-based aid, but at the percentage of students who receive it. At some schools, a sizable number of students receive merit aid. And at others (e.g., Duke), only a handful of students get a full ride merit scholarship and everyone else gets zero.
Don’t you just have a number that you think you can pay? Does it matter that it is 55% of your EFC and not just $15k or $20k? Daughter 1 had to live within the budget, not the EFC and Daughter 2 has to do the same - for all 4 years! By running the NPC as a singleton, Daughter 2 will stay within the budget and her costs for years 1 and 2 may be way under budget as she’s benefiting from sister also being in school.
As far as how many merit schools to look at, I think you have to go with the schools that either give a lot of merit awards (not just 5 scholarships or 2 full rides) or have auto merit for stats.
What kind of a niche would prevent the majority of schools from fulfilling your D’s needs on the auto merit list? That might help in recommending colleges.
@AroundHere Look at schools that have the promise to not raise your need based aid regardless of future financial situation changes, thats what my sister and I did, we are a year a part and I go to Northeastern on some merit, while she is going to BU, with not as much merit but some need based, both our prices are locked in for the next 4 years. Hope this helps, there is a lot more to this but some google search will help you too. Some schoold also have a higher cut off for need based aid. Ik BC will give aid to students who parents make 80k-120k because one year cost 65k alone for full pay. Definetly depends on the university, but that’s my advice.
@“Erin’s Dad” Really, I had intended this to be a financial planning question/thread, not a college search thread. It sounds like my best bet is running the NPC’s twice - once with and without the sibling and hope things don’t change in the intervening years.
But, she’s interested in planetary geology and planetary atmospheric sciences. When it exists for undergrads at all, it’s a few elective courses at the end of a geology or atmospheric sciences degree. Generally, it seems you have to major in the “earth” part and pick up the “planets other than earth” part in grad school.
Why does it have to be a PRIVATE research university? And as you’ve noted…this could,very well require grad school as well.
Here is a thought…does your flagship university have what the “earth” part (most do) for a reasonable price? If so, could you figure out the total you spent on DD1 and perhaps offer that to DD2 with the understanding that she can have any leftover money from undergrad to pursue grad school?
Don’t let the interests of a 16 year old (even a talented one) lock her into a long term path. Kids change. Right now you see her intense focus on planetary geology and think that this is her Major, grad school, career.
Astrophysics, oceanography, meteorology, material science… there are disciplines that she’s only had a cursory view into their content and analytical methods. Her undergrad degree doesn’t need to be entirely focused on the one area that intrigues her now- A, because that’s not how science works, and B- because many kids end up majoring in something else.
I’d be looking for the strongest physical science program she can get into which meets your price parameter. I know you don’t want “where should we apply” advice, but to be candid, your question about financial planning for a second child IS the “where should we apply” question.
I think the focus on large universities is appropriate- money, labs, grad students, resources. But I wouldn’t be slicing the bologna quite so thin.
The people doing cool and cutting edge in science are frequently those with the broadest base… that’s how interdisciplinary operates. Your D needs a strong and broad base.
I would pick some good public research universities where she has a chance at merit that would bring price down to the level you want, and go visit the geology department to get a better idea about the program, research opportunities, etc.
Often the focus is on name recognition when the focus should be on the strengths and opportunities of a particular program.
@blossom I understand what you’re saying and I do hope college broadens her horizons. But she’s not going to choose a school that doesn’t meet her current interests at the time she’s applying. Her focus comes with a lot of stubbornness.
Fortunately, schools that have her interests generally have lots of other opportunities to explore once she gets there.