Does FAFSA give more money if you have siblings in college?

(NewsNation) — The 'Sibling Discount' currently available under the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) to families with multiple enrolled children will no longer be available starting with the 2024–2025 academic year.

Does having a sibling in college affect financial aid?

Students with siblings currently in college are likely to receive less federal aid next year, as will new students who are just arriving.

Do you include siblings in FAFSA?

Your parents' household size should include yourself, your parent(s), and children (other than yourself) who will receive more than half of their support from your parent(s) between July 1, 2023, and June 30, 2024. Include siblings who would be considered dependent based on the FAFSA dependency questions.

Does having 2 kids in college help with FAFSA?

Though the FAFSA will no longer include the number of students that a family has in college, the University of Southern California says that it will still consider it when looking at financial aid.

Do colleges give sibling discounts?

While financial aid, student grants, student loans, and scholarships are all financial vehicles that can help parents and students pay for educational expenses, financially savvy individuals look for discounts, and many schools do offer sibling discounts off of tuition.

Why changes are coming to FAFSA and how it will affect financial aid for college

How does FAFSA work with siblings?

The current FAFSA calculates an expected family contribution, or EFC, which determines students' eligibility for federal financial aid. If a household has multiple family members in college at the same time – indicated by a question on the FAFSA – that number would be divided between each of those enrolled.

Why is FAFSA removing the sibling discount?

Starting with the 2024–2025 academic year, the discount currently available under the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) to families with multiple enrolled children disappears, a byproduct of new legislation that seeks to simplify the form that determines financial aid eligibility.

Will I get financial aid if my parents make over 100k?

If your parents are high earners, you might assume you won't get any financial aid to help pay for college. But that's not necessarily the case. The Department of Education doesn't have an official income cutoff to qualify for federal financial aid.

Does FAFSA give more money if you have dependents?

A student's dependency status on the FAFSA can affect the amount and types of financial aid available. In most cases, independent students will qualify for more financial aid since their parents' financial information is not taken into account.

How much student income is too much for FAFSA?

Students often skip filling out the FAFSA because they think their families make too much money to qualify for aid. However, there are no FAFSA income limits, so you can submit it—and potentially get valuable financial aid—regardless of your family's earnings.

Does FAFSA ask about sibling assets?

Only assets in your name, your parent's name (if you're a dependent student), or your spouse's name (if you're married) are reported on the FAFSA. Assets held by others, such as a grandparent, aunt, uncle, cousin or sibling, are not reported on the FAFSA, but may be reported on the CSS/Financial Aid PROFILE.

Do twins get more financial aid?

Do twins get more financial aid? Twins typically do qualify for more financial aid! When submitting the FAFSA and CSS Profile, twins will often qualify for additional need-based aid to take into account the increased financial strain of sending two students to college at the same time.

Does it matter who claims a child on taxes for FAFSA?

If you are a dependent student, and both of your parents don't live together, you would need to determine which parent's information to include. This parent may not be the parent who claims an exemption on their tax return. It also doesn't matter if neither parent claims you on their taxes and you file your own taxes.

Does having a sibling at a college increase chances?

Do younger siblings enjoy an advantage when applying to highly selective colleges their older siblings have attended? Yes, with an important caveat: They must apply in the Early Decision/Early Action round rather than the Regular Decision round if they hope to benefit from their sibling's ties to the school.

Do colleges look at your siblings?

This really depends on the intimacy of that college's admissions process. If a college has an intimate application review process, it is likely that a currently enrolled or recently graduated sibling may have an impact on a current student's application.

Is FAFSA changing for 2024?

With the 2024-2025 FAFSA, the term Expected Family Contribution (EFC) will be replaced with the Student Aid Index (SAI) – this is a new need analysis formula that we will use when awarding need-based grants and scholarships.

What makes you get more FAFSA money?

So, there are two ways to increase financial need and thereby increase financial aid. One is to file the FAFSA in a way that minimizes the SAI. The other, however, is to increase the COA. Wealthier students may qualify for aid at higher-cost colleges or when multiple children are enrolled in college at the same time.

What determines how much money FAFSA gives you?

Aid Amount: Who Decides and How

This is how they do it: The financial aid staff starts by determining your cost of attendance (COA) at that school. They then consider your Student Aid Index (SAI) (2024-25 FAFSA form) or Expected Family Contribution (EFC) (2023–24 FAFSA form).

How do I get the most money from FAFSA?

What is the income limit for FAFSA 2024?

To qualify for a zero EFC on the 2023-2024 FAFSA, a family with dependent students can't make more than $29,000 annually.

What if my parents are rich but won t pay for college?

You have multiple options to consider, including federal financial aid, scholarships, grants, a job and student loans. Although paying for college by yourself is a huge financial undertaking, it's possible with enough research, hard work and planning.

Will I get financial aid if my parents make over $200 K?

But you might be surprised to learn that there are no FAFSA income limits to qualify for aid. For example, a family with a household income of hundreds of thousands of dollars could be helped by other factors in the FAFSA formula, including school costs and the number of siblings also attending school.

Why did I get so little money from FAFSA?

Request a Reevaluation of Your Circumstances

Sometimes a family's finances are not accurately reflected on the FAFSA^® form because of changes that have occurred, such as job loss/reduction, divorce or separation, or other special circumstances.

Who gets denied FAFSA?

There are a few common reasons why the Federal Processor will reject an application: Missing signatures, inconsistent marital status with income, taxes paid are equal to or higher than adjusted gross income, citizenship questions are blank, marital status and family members blank, etc.

Who is no longer dependent on FAFSA?

You can only qualify as an independent student on the FAFSA if you are at least 24 years of age, married, on active duty in the U.S. Armed Forces, financially supporting dependent children, an orphan (both parents deceased), a ward of the court, or an emancipated minor.