Both of my twins were both accepted to the same 2 schools today… Pitt and Chatham.
Chatham offered $19K each per year for 4 years. They were told in their letter that they should apply for more Chatham scholarships, as well as others.
Pitt sent the acceptances via a video, and said more info will be coming soon via regular mail.
Between my wife and I, we make over that “110K” distinction that colleges use to give a general idea of costs… and because of that we know we will get very little - if any - need based money.
But, as I am sure MANY of you know, having 2 kids in school, starting at the exact same time, is super expensive. I have read many a thread where parents say they fought for more money, and got more money.
I am guessing that they are playing one school against another as far as money goes. But I don’t know what to do beyond that.
Both kids have the same GPA… 3.9 UW, and 4.6 W. Both have 33 ACTs ( superscored ) 1 has a 1390 SAT, the other has a 1440.
One does a ton of ECs. The other just does 2 or 3.
How can I hope to get more aid? My kids have each applied for about 40 scholarships so far. We have heard nothing on any of them.
What a school offers in aid is far less important than what the net cost is after the aid is factored in.
What is this “110k distinction” that you are talking about? I’ve never heard of that. Different schools will use different criteria to determine how much need-based aid will be offered.
A major website breaks it down by how much you earn. I won’t violate any rules here by naming the site. But they break it down at about 5 total price points for every school on their site.
You’ve had a change in financial circumstances since the period when the FA paperwork covers or was filled out.
You realize there is some piece of info you missed giving them earlier that affects the aid calculation.
Your kid has a better FA offer (lower overall cost of attendance) at a comparable/peer institution. If the school isn’t a peer (or is your in-state public), you likely won’t have any luck.
I’d caution that you are asking them a favor to give you more aid. If you approach it as a fight, they won’t give you more. You want to be a supplicant — act like it when asking. Be polite and ask for their help.
In my opinion, this negotiation should be carried out by the parent. Few students are able to handle this in a nuanced and informed way.
I successfully negotiated for an extra $10K in aid for one of my kids freshman year. I sent an email to the FA office, followed by a phone call. I gave them 1 add’l piece of financial info, and also said that we were struggling with the decision to attend their school because school X (peer) had a cost of attendance that was $10K cheaper. And that my D really liked their school, but the finances were a challenge. Could we please get a review of her aid package with this in mind?
They then asked to see the FA offer from the other school, which I sent upon their request. And then they improved her aid offer.
But… another school high on her list would not give me the time of day. So it doesn’t always work. It can make you kind of mad at the school that won’t negotiate. But I think it is important to set that feeling aside when making the final decision.
Also, if the school mentions their specific scholarships, be sure your kids are right on top of any applications or due dates for those.
Yep we pitted schools against each other and got more money. But these were small Lacs and my daughter was in demand for a bfa program. Some schools mostly larger won’t fall for this pry. Is there something that you have to add to your expenses. Did you have a lot of medical bills this year? Is there a downturn in your industry that could affect your income.
One thing we asked for when the aid /scholarships dried up was help with housing. The person said no one has ever asked for that. We got additional $3,000/year. Never hurts to ask.
I have 2 on college and feel your pain. Does the colleges know you will have 2 in college at the same time BTW… That is an extra bonus for you… Make sure that didn’t slip through by calling and asking.
Also we found to just be upfront about your situation. Most schools want your kids to attend. Some say to wait 2 weeks prior to the deadline of acceptance to put pressure on them and some say to do it now.
I would guess you are more likely to be able to appeal for aid successfully at Chatham than at Pitt, simply because Pitt is a public school. When I worked at a public U, we had very strict rules by which aid was awarded. Private schools can be more flexible IF they really want a particular student. That said, not all private schools have a lot of extra money with which to be flexible.
You want aid, not merit, right? Merit at those stats just isn’t going to be big at desirable schools. Superscore is not the actual score, you will know if your target schools accept SS for merit, many do not superscore for merit purposes. More merit will just cut your aid. Have you applied to schools you can afford? The fact is your kids are the nice but no cigar for merit outside of the auto merit schools that you might not want to attend. FA is not generous outside of the tippy top schools that wouldn’t be in the mix. The math has to be especially correct fro twins. I know nothing about Chatham but the COA is 50K and you have been offered 19 (per kid). I assume your 110K isn’t an actual figure? If they are calculating you will pay 38K?
I had two in at the same time. That was considered on the FAFSA and their need based aid granted with that new figure. As you know, it may not make a difference in grants - if the EFC is $20k and it drops to $10k because you have two, you still get no Pell but you might get some SEOG or school or state aid. If you make $200k (which is over your $110k magic number) and your EFC for one in school is $40k and half for two in school is $20k, you are less likely to get need based aid. It really depends on your numbers.
I don’t know if ‘fought for’ is the right characterization. Many ask for more aid, and some do receive it. Sometimes the family (with one or more than one in school) can show a school that there is more need because of having two in school, because another family member has medical needs, because of a loss of income. My daughter’s school gave a $2500 award to each sibling in school at the same time (but not if one was a grad student).
I think you need a chart to show what schools are offering and the tuition charges. Are you able to use PA state grants at private schools? Can you use outside scholarships at any schools? What is the bottom line for each school?
Can you answer those questions though? Your situation is tricky, you need to be honest with yourself at this point. Your kids are not going to garner great merit (unless you have bama or similar), but may well gain admission to a wide spectrum of schools. Hopefully you have had a come to jesus talk with your kids and have affordable safeties. For many people this is a commutable 4 yr. In your ED thread, the “need met” school’s NPC gave you a 33K figure, is that right? Just for one twin?
We had twins (2014) - and, yes, were successful in getting a bit more $$$ from a couple of schools - but we didn’t ask for it until mid-late April when we were in the final decision making process. At that point, we were able to show competing offers and ask politely for a bit more. We got between $2K - $5K, but that’s per year so substantial. These were FASFA + CSS schools. I think a lot depends on how the school’s yield is going and how much they want your specific child.
My advice: wait until all of the results are in. See where each twin is leaning. Narrow to 2 or 3. Politely ask. Be prepared to send competing offers from peer schools. No harm in trying. We also found that several of the safeties on the kids’ list periodically upped the merit $$$ they’d initially offered without us even asking!
They should apply there soon if they are hoping for merit.
Slippery Rock is pretty popular as well, or West Chester.
And they might get merit at Temple with their stats.
Pitt superscores the SAT as far as I know. If they took the SAT again, that might help, but there is no guarantee.
Pitt does not require them to live on campus. Any chance the twins could live together in a shared apartment or with family? That might save some money.
Or could they commute to a nearby PSU branch for two years, save up their student loans, and then finish up at PSU main, living off campus?