The FAFSA sibling discount is gone—but families still have options.
For years, families with two or more children attending college at the same time could count on an automatic break in their federal financial aid calculation.
That changed when the FAFSA Simplification Act went into effect for the 2024–25 academic year.
The change caught many families by surprise, especially middle-income households that don’t qualify for significant federal aid but still struggle to afford the cost of sending multiple children to college simultaneously.
The good news? While the federal “sibling discount” has been eliminated, there are still strategies families can use to maximize financial aid.
What Changed?
Under the previous FAFSA formula, the number of children enrolled in college simultaneously was included in the federal financial aid calculation. A family’s Expected Family Contribution (EFC) was essentially divided among the children attending college, often resulting in increased financial aid eligibility.
Today, that is no longer the case.
Although the FAFSA still asks how many children are enrolled in college, that information is not used to calculate the Student Aid Index (SAI).
Instead, colleges now have discretion to decide whether to consider multiple children in college when awarding their own institutional financial aid.
The intention behind the FAFSA changes was to simplify the application process and address perceived inequities among families whose children did not attend college simultaneously.
However, for many families, especially those with two or more tuition bills arriving at the same time, the financial reality hasn’t changed. Paying for multiple college educations simultaneously can place a tremendous strain on a family’s budget.
What Can Families Do?
Families can reach out directly to the college’s financial aid office and appeal based on having multiple children in college. The policy on whether to include this in their eligibility calculation varies by college, and they are under no obligation to consider the appeal.
However, many colleges are still willing to consider multiple children enrolled in college when awarding institutional aid, even though the federal formula no longer does.
Another important strategy is to consider colleges that require the CSS Profile.
Unlike the FAFSA, the CSS Profile uses an Institutional Methodology that allows colleges to evaluate a family’s financial situation more comprehensively. Continued…
My goal is to help families replace uncertainty with confidence so they can make informed decisions about college admissions and financial aid. If you found this information helpful, click the link below to read the full article on Substack and subscribe to our free newsletter!
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