FAFSA: Can universities offer additional aid when siblings attend same school?

Yes! This is absolutely something you should do! Universities often have specific scholarship programs for families with multiple kids attending at the same time. These are typically called "sibling discounts" or "family grants" and aren't part of federal aid, so they won't show up on your FAFSA results. I've worked in higher education for years, and here's what I recommend: 1. Contact the financial aid office AND the admissions department (sometimes they have separate scholarship pools) 2. Specifically mention that you have twins attending simultaneously 3. Ask if they have institutional scholarships for families with multiple enrolled students 4. Be prepared to provide documentation proving both students are from the same household Many schools offer 10-25% tuition reduction for the second student. Worth asking!

we did this last yr!! got extra $4k per kid when financial aid office realized we had 3 in college same time. but u have to ASK they wont just give it to u

The system is completely RIGGED against families with multiple children! We have 4 kids, 3 in college right now, and our FAFSA EFC was still ridiculously high. The formula basically assumes you can just multiply your contribution infinitely! When I called Student Aid about this, they basically said "too bad." The whole system needs to be torn down and rebuilt from scratch. The new SAI calculation is even WORSE for larger families like ours. 😡

You absolutely need to contact the university directly. FAFSA/SAI calculations are just federal guidelines - individual schools have significant discretion for their institutional aid packages. Here's what worked for my family: 1. Schedule an in-person meeting with a financial aid counselor (much more effective than email) 2. Bring documentation of your total household size and expenses 3. Create a simple spreadsheet showing what percentage of income would go to tuition for both children 4. Specifically ask about sibling discounts, legacy scholarships, and special circumstance adjustments 5. If initially denied, request a formal financial aid appeal process Many universities have specific policies for multiple children from the same family. In our case, we received a 15% reduction for our second child after the appeal.

I struggled for WEEKS trying to get someone at my kids' university to talk to me about our financial aid appeal. Kept getting sent to voicemail or disconnected. Finally used Claimyr (claimyr.com) to reach an actual person at the financial aid office - they got me through in under 20 minutes! Totally worth it to avoid the runaround. They've got a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ Once I actually spoke to a person, they were able to look at our special circumstances and found two scholarships my twins qualified for that weren't part of the standard FAFSA process.

Just wondering... did u have the kids apply to different schools too? Sometimes u can use competing offers to get more money. My son got way more scholarship $ when I showed his first choice what his second choice offered him lol

To answer your question about timing - I would recommend contacting the financial aid office AFTER your children have been accepted but BEFORE they formally commit/deposit. This gives you some negotiating room before you're fully committed. And definitely start with a phone call to get the process going, then follow up with a formal email or letter documenting your specific situation with the 6 kids and multiple students attending simultaneously. Universities deal with these special circumstances all the time, but they need families to actively advocate for themselves.

my cousin got a special scholarship cuz her brother was already there. they called it a legacy family grant or something. wasn't advertised anywhere on their website had to ask for it

UPDATE: Thank you all SO MUCH for the advice! I called the university's financial aid office this morning and was able to speak with an advisor. She confirmed they do have a sibling discount program that reduces tuition by 20% for the second student when siblings attend simultaneously! This wasn't mentioned anywhere in their initial materials. We need to submit a special form along with our acceptance letters. This will save us about $12,000 per year!! I'm so glad I asked - this makes a huge difference for our family.

Wow, this is such encouraging news! As someone new to navigating college financial aid, I'm amazed at how many "hidden" opportunities exist that aren't clearly advertised. Your success story gives me hope for my own situation - I have twins who will be starting college next year and I had no idea sibling discounts were even a thing. Thank you for sharing the update and for everyone's helpful advice in this thread. I'm definitely going to be more proactive about calling financial aid offices directly rather than just relying on what's posted online. Sometimes you really do have to ask the right questions to get the help you need!