Your thinking on this is illogical. Under what scenario would half price (if that’s even true – you haven’t proven that it is) be a better deal than NO PRICE? I can’t even follow your logic.
And what do you think would happen after your sister graduates? If you go to UMD, you are still going for FREE. If you go someplace where you did not get a full ride, you are not going for free.
This makes ZERO sense. If you’re not getting any aid, then you do not qualify for aid from that school!
Nothing about your post makes sense and makes me wonder how you qualified for the Banneker/Key Scholars program. Seriously.
Sorry for all the confusion - Financial aid is a new thing for me and I’ve just been trying to understand stuff. My intentions in asking this was to see if my sister would get aid for having a sibling in college even if I wasn’t paying anything. Also, I guess we don’t qualify for aid from CMU, but every other college that accepted her two years ago gave her need-based aid.
Since CMU does not guarantee to meet full need for all students, there is absolutely no guarantee she will get a nickel more in need based aid than she gets now.
My older kid went to a private university about the same cost as CMU. When his little sibling was a college freshman, he got a rousing $250 additional merit aid. Let’s just say…that didn’t come close to paying much for his college costs…but every penny counts.
Our family also did not quality for need based aid with one in college.
If your sister (or parents) had wanted to save money, perhaps one of the colleges that offered need based aid to your sister would have been a better choice.
You have the chance to go to undergrad for FREE. That is a huge gift to both you and your parents. UMD is a terrific school. I’m having trouble figuring out why you don’t understand this.
FAFSA asks how many students are in college and doesn’t ask how much Student A is paying or how much Student B is paying. It’s purely how many are in college. Having a sibling in college i the same year basically cuts the FAFSA EFC in half. However, all the federal EFC determines is federal grants (Pell) and usually whether the student loan is subsidized. If your sister’s EFC is $60k, cutting it in half brings it to $30k, and that pretty much means no federal benefits for her.
You are at UMD and if your EFC was cut from $30k to $15k, you’d still get few federal benefits. MAYBE a subsidize loan.
CMU is a CSS school so your sister had to fill out the CSS and that changes everything. The CSS does ask about the sib’s COA, and CMU may consider that cost (doesn’t have to, but can).
Do not go to another school. Worry about your own education. B/K is a great opportunity, not only for the tuition but for the experience.
Just bc your EFC is x does not mean CMU will say ok great let’s give her Y to get the family to X. CMU is not a meets full aid school and they may not give her anything knowing she is a JR and unlikely to transfer, enjoy UMD
Are you nuts? Someone just handed you $200,000 to go to college! This frees up resources for your parents so they can pay for your sibling’s school. Usually, two kids going to private school doesn’t end well for the parents. If they’re already paying for your sister, then nothing is different. You have a guaranteed scholarship in writing, and those are numbers you can depend on.
A NPC is not reliable. It’s just a ball park estimate that can change from year to year. When actual financial aid numbers come in, it’s very common to be short-changed.
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Though your sister was eligible for financial aid at SOME colleges, for whatever reason, CMU decided not to give her any. Your parents and she decided to pay CMU’s full price and somehow did so for two years.
It’s entirely up to CMU Ad to how much they will give her this year with a sibling going to college in addition to her going this third year. Upperclassmen generally get their awards after incoming freshmen do, but if she is going to continue at CMU, she’s at their mercy as to what they decide to give her in aid. As I said earlier, they are highly likely to take your costs and awards into consideration. However, that doesn’t mean they will come up with grant money— I’ve known past CMU kids offered loans to meet gaps in aid. They are not a particularly generous school.
You should have a talk with your parents about what they are will and able to pay. They likely feel on the hook with CMU since your sister is half finished there. How much are they truly willing to spend for you? if they really cannot pay much more than what they are for your sister, the answer is pretty clear where you should go