But Twin 1 wants Penn too. And he does not want to be punished for getting free ride and forced to go to UMD. Imagine, you are a Twin 1. You got to Rice, Duke, Pen, bunch of UCs and your mom asks you to go to UMD because she needs to pay for a brother… How do you think will be dynamic in this family? And brother will go to Penn or UCs…
I do not want to be twin1 or OP.
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I understand but It’s a tricky situation. If finances weren’t a concern UPenn would be the clear and easy choice for both.
But since they are a concern we are laying out options here. Not ideal, but we also don’t want the twins to be in a situation where the costs rise up significantly due to dad’s increased income and he may be unwilling to pay more.
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Why can’t both go to a UC then? Great education, and maintains parity between the two of them.
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My kids were expected to use their own money for things like eating out, Greek dues, spring break trips, and when the 529’s ran out, rent and groceries. The bank of mom and dad is always open for interest free loans if they come up short, the answer is always yes.
I’d find out if UPenn actually gives a twin/sibling discount, and how much it is. My twins weren’t offered any discounts from college they both applied to, and having several kids close in age, any time I was offered a special sibling discount, it wasn’t much at all (my daughters’ dance school would say they had a sibling discount, but never publicly said how much, it was actually a savings of $5 a month).
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I think Rice will have the same issue as UPenn - if income goes up, aid goes down. They gave him additional merit scholarship though ($20K). We haven’t visited Rice and given other options we don’t consider Rice.
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They would also be over budget - so it’s not really an option.
The way it looks to me, from the first post,UMD has to happen to get both under $60K - assured for all four years, not just year one and the increased income will impact 2-4.
I understand the student wouldn’t be happy but that’s the choice.
It’s a top rate education and it immensely helps the family.
Any other choice, based on post #1, seems fraught with risk.
If Penn is giving a additional financial aid to families with multiple siblings in college, it is highly likely it would include siblings at any college, not just Penn. Definitely ask the policy, but that would be a surprise if the discount only applies if both sibs attend Penn (again assuming they are still giving more financial aid for multiple siblings in college).
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In other words, your target parent contribution limit is $25k per year, split equally between the parents (so your target is $12.5k per year) for each, or a total of $200k ($100k for you)?
Penn for both mean that both need to work or take federal direct loans, and risk having to drop out if future year financial aid is reduced due to the other parent’s increased income.
UCs for both would be at the outer edge of affordability at best (due to housing / living expenses), meaning federal direct loans and need to work (and may not be enough unless they are very frugal with personal and miscellaneous costs and can stay on a parent medical insurance plan).
If the one student takes the UMD full ride, that makes it a bit easier to squeeze college for the other into the budget, but that could create resentment issues if UMD is not the preferred choice of that student.
How well informed were the students of the financial constraints before they applied to any colleges?
budget is around $30K a year. They both are expected to take federal loans, I will cosign small private loans if needed. They also are expected to work during summer and during school year starting sophomore year.
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I will definitely not finance any spring breaks/summer travels and such. They both are expected to take Federal loans and work during school year and every summer. They know that.
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Based on this information, I encourage you and your son to reconsider the true full-ride scholarship to the University of Maryland as financial stress can affect one’s performance in all areas of life.
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UC at in-state rates with federal loans and summer work (and on campus work if needed) seems within budget. And if the students can graduate a year or semester early, if they want, then total cost goes down too.
Budget is $30K per year per student. This was discussed with both kids. Based on NPC, I thought UPenn would be around $50K, but they offered more aid bringing it down to around $30K a year for each kid.
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Does the 30k budget include federal student loans and their summer/semester earnings? California has a high minimum wage😊
They consider multiple kids in school at the same time, but they said they give an additional discount if two kids are at UPenn, don’t know how much.
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I personally saved 120K, but would be happy to pay $25K a year 
I can’t force him. I will be OK if they have up to $50K in student loans.
Twin 2 wants UPenn too, but doesn’t mind UCLA
I don’t know if you are talking about each kid taking out $50K or $50K combined. There is a $31K (total) limit to how much each kid can take out in loans.
https://studentaid.gov/articles/subsidized-vs-unsubsidized-loans/