Families with more than one child in college may remember when having siblings enrolled at the same time often reduced each student's Expected Family Contribution. That federal rule has changed. This guide explains what changed, what it means today, and how families can compare financial aid offers more effectively.
This does not mean every affected family will lose aid or that the family’s college bill will automatically double. It does mean families should review each student’s financial aid offer separately and avoid assuming that having multiple children enrolled will automatically produce more federal need-based aid.
Review and update information
Reviewed for: 2026–27 FAFSA cycle
Last reviewed: July 2026 | Review type: Policy-sensitive
What changed in this update:
- The video focuses on the change beginning with the 2024–25 FAFSA. This article has been reviewed for the 2026–27 FAFSA cycle.
- The current FAFSA still asks how many people in the family will attend college. However, the answer is not used in the federal Student Aid Index calculation.
- A college may use the reported number in college when considering a documented special-circumstances adjustment.
- The Student Aid Index is not a bill, a guaranteed aid amount, or the amount a family is required to pay.
- Each child must complete a separate FAFSA form and receive a separate financial aid offer.
Important: FAFSA formulas, institutional aid policies, award amounts, and financial aid appeal procedures can change. Confirm time-sensitive information with Federal Student Aid and the financial aid office at each college.
Quick Answer
Having more than one child in college no longer automatically lowers each student’s federal Student Aid Index. The FAFSA still asks for the number of family members in college, but that number is not used in the federal SAI calculation.
Some colleges may consider multiple students in college when awarding their own institutional aid or reviewing special financial circumstances, so families should ask each financial aid office how it handles the situation.
Key Takeaways
- Compare each student's complete financial aid offer—not just the Student Aid Index—before making enrollment decisions.
- The old Expected Family Contribution formula considered the number of qualifying family members in college.
- The current Student Aid Index is calculated separately for each student.
- The number in college does not automatically reduce a student’s federal SAI.
- The SAI is an index used in financial aid calculations—not the family’s college bill.
- Colleges may have different institutional aid and appeal policies.
Who This Is For
Students: Understand why having a sibling in college may not increase your federal need-based aid automatically.
Parents: Prepare for overlapping college costs and compare each child’s aid offer carefully.
Counselors: Help families understand the difference between the old EFC formula and the current SAI system.
What Changed in the FAFSA Formula
Before the 2024–25 FAFSA, the federal aid system used the Expected Family Contribution, commonly called the EFC.
For many dependent students, the old formula calculated a parent contribution and divided that portion by the number of qualifying family members enrolled in college. This often produced a lower EFC for each student when two or more children attended at the same time.
The FAFSA Simplification Act replaced the EFC with the Student Aid Index. Under the current formula, the number of family members in college is not used to calculate a student’s SAI.
The 2026–27 FAFSA still includes a “Number in College” question. Federal guidance explains that schools may use this information when reviewing a student for a special-circumstances adjustment, even though it is not part of the standard SAI calculation.
How the Old Rule Worked
Consider a simplified example.
Under the old formula, assume the calculated parent contribution before the number-in-college adjustment was $20,000. If two qualifying children attended college, the parent contribution portion might have been divided between them, producing an estimated $10,000 parent contribution for each student.
That example does not mean the family’s exact bill would have been $10,000 per student. The EFC was an eligibility index, and each college still determined the student’s aid based on its cost of attendance, available funding, and other factors.
The example simply shows why having multiple children enrolled at the same time could lower each student’s old EFC.
How the Current SAI Works
Under the current system, each student receives an individual SAI based on the financial and family information reported on that student’s FAFSA.
The calculation can include information such as:
- Parent income and certain assets for dependent students
- Student income and certain assets
- Family size
- Applicable income allowances
- The student’s dependency status
The number of family members attending college is not used to divide the calculated parent contribution under the standard federal SAI formula.
Each child must start a separate FAFSA form. Parents participating as contributors must complete the required sections for each child’s application, and each FAFSA will produce a separate FAFSA Submission Summary and SAI.
The SAI Is Not the Amount Your Family Must Pay
The phrase “Student Aid Index” is important. It is an index number used by schools when determining eligibility for certain types of financial aid.
It is not:
- The amount of financial aid the student will receive
- The exact amount the family must contribute
- The student’s final college bill
- A guarantee that a college will meet the student’s full financial need
- The student’s final financial aid offer
A lower SAI generally indicates greater financial need. Colleges use the SAI with other information—including the school’s cost of attendance and other financial assistance—to determine need-based aid eligibility.
Could a Family Receive Less Aid?
Some families with multiple children in college may receive less federal or institutional need-based aid than they would have received under the old formula.
However, the result is not the same for every student.
An aid offer can depend on:
- The student’s SAI
- Eligibility for the Federal Pell Grant
- The college’s cost of attendance
- State aid requirements
- Available institutional grants and scholarships
- The student’s enrollment level
- The student’s year in school
- Other financial assistance
- The college’s institutional aid formula
Some colleges and private scholarship organizations use their own methods to determine eligibility for institutional funding. Those methods may include factors not used in the federal SAI formula.
Why Two Siblings May Receive Different Aid Offers
Two children from the same family may still receive different financial aid packages.
For example:
- One student may attend a college with a higher cost of attendance.
- One college may offer more institutional grant aid.
- One student may qualify for a merit scholarship.
- The students may have different income or assets.
- One student may attend full time while the other attends part time.
- One student may be eligible for a program-specific award.
- The colleges may use different institutional aid policies.
Families should compare the complete aid offer rather than comparing only the two SAI numbers.
Focus on how much the family would need to pay after grants and scholarships—not simply how much total “aid” appears on the offer.
What to Watch For
Treating the SAI like a bill
A student with an SAI of 20,000 does not automatically owe exactly $20,000. The student’s actual cost depends on the college’s charges, grants, scholarships, loans, work-study, and other resources.
Assuming the number-in-college question disappeared
The question still appears on the 2026–27 FAFSA. The change is that the answer is not used in the standard federal SAI calculation.
Assuming every family will lose the same amount of aid
The impact varies. Pell Grant eligibility, school costs, institutional funding, student information, state programs, and other factors may produce different results.
Assuming colleges handle siblings the same way
A college may use the federal SAI for federal aid while applying a separate method to its institutional grants. Ask each school how it treats multiple family members attending college.
Counting loans as a discount
Loans can help cover the remaining cost, but they must generally be repaid with interest. Separate grants and scholarships from loans when comparing offers.
Comparing the total aid number only
An offer containing $20,000 in grants is different from an offer containing $5,000 in grants and $15,000 in loans, even though both may display $20,000 in total financial assistance.
What To Do If This Happens
Your family’s aid is lower than expected
Start by checking the FAFSA Submission Summary for each student.
Confirm that:
- Family size is correct.
- Income and asset information is accurate.
- The correct contributors completed the form.
- Each student listed the correct colleges.
- No required signatures or consent steps are missing.
An incorrect FAFSA response can affect the SAI. Some errors can be corrected online, while other financial changes must be discussed with the college.
The college did not consider both children’s costs
Contact the financial aid office and ask whether the school considers multiple family members in college through institutional aid or a special-circumstances review.
Federal guidance allows schools to use the number-in-college information when considering an individual adjustment. However, an adjustment is not automatic, and each college must follow its own documented process.
Your family’s finances have changed
The tax information used on the FAFSA may not reflect a recent:
- Job loss
- Reduction in work hours
- Divorce or separation
- Death in the family
- Major uninsured medical expense
- Loss of income
- Other significant financial change
Submit the FAFSA as instructed, then contact the college’s financial aid office. Ask whether the school has a special-circumstances, professional judgment, or financial aid adjustment process.
The school may require written explanations and supporting documentation. Approval is not guaranteed, and the college’s decision is generally final for federal aid purposes.
Two colleges provide very different offers
Ask each financial aid office to explain:
- Which awards are grants or scholarships
- Which awards must be repaid
- Whether grants are renewable
- Whether the award assumes full-time enrollment
- Whether housing and meal costs are included
- Whether the school considered special circumstances
- What requirements the student must meet to keep each award
Different offers do not necessarily mean one school made an error. Colleges may have different costs, institutional resources, scholarship policies, and approaches to meeting financial need.
The remaining cost is still unaffordable
Discuss practical options before accepting additional debt.
These could include:
- Requesting an aid review
- Applying for local or institutional scholarships
- Asking about payment plans
- Comparing lower-cost colleges
- Beginning at a community college and transferring
- Living at home when appropriate
- Reviewing work-study or part-time employment
- Reducing optional housing or meal expenses
- Reconsidering how much the family can safely borrow
Do not accept loans simply because they appear on the aid offer. Review the loan type, amount, interest, fees, and expected repayment responsibility.
Questions to Ask the Financial Aid Office
Use specific questions instead of asking only, “Can you give us more money?”
Consider asking:
- Does your institution consider having multiple siblings in college when awarding institutional aid?
- Can the number of family members in college be reviewed as a special circumstance?
- What documents are required for an aid adjustment request?
- Does your college have a formal financial aid appeal form?
- Is the student’s grant aid renewable each year?
- Could the award change when a sibling graduates?
- Does the offer include loans or work-study?
- What is the remaining cost after grants and scholarships?
- Are there institutional scholarships the student can still apply for?
- When is the deadline to request a review?
What To Do Next
1. Complete a separate FAFSA for each student
Each child must begin and submit their own form. Parents should use their own StudentAid.gov accounts and accept the correct invitation for each student.
2. Review each FAFSA Submission Summary.
Confirm the information and locate each student’s SAI.
3. Estimate costs before offers arrive.
Use the Federal Student Aid Estimator and each college’s net price calculator as early planning tools. Estimates are not final aid offers.
4. Compare offers using the same categories.
For every school, list:
- Total cost of attendance
- Grants
- Scholarships
- Loans
- Work-study
- Remaining estimated family cost
5. Contact each financial aid office.
Ask how the school handles families with multiple children attending college and whether an individual review is available.
6. Document special circumstances.
Gather relevant notices, statements, bills, income records, or other documents requested by the college.
7. Recheck the plan each year.
Students must submit a new FAFSA for each award year. Income, family circumstances, college costs, and aid policies may change.
Official / Trusted Links
Federal Student Aid — FAFSA Application
Use the official application to submit or manage each student’s FAFSA.
Federal Student Aid — FAFSA With Multiple Children
Review the steps parents and students must complete when more than one child is applying for aid.
Federal Student Aid — Student Aid Index Explained
Use this guide to understand what the SAI does and does not represent.
Federal Student Aid — Aid Estimator
Use this official tool for an early estimate of possible federal student aid eligibility.
Federal Student Aid — Options When Aid Is Not Enough
Review steps such as requesting an aid adjustment and comparing other funding options.
2026–27 Federal Student Aid Handbook — Filling Out the FAFSA Form
Review official guidance explaining that number in college is not used in the SAI calculation but may be considered for a special-circumstances adjustment.
Related Your Future Blueprint Resources
Your Future Blueprint™ resource: FINANCIAL AID TRACK
Best Next Step
Complete a separate FAFSA for each student, compare each financial aid offer side by side, and contact each college's financial aid office if your family's circumstances or multiple students in college may warrant an institutional review.
Counselor Share Note
This article is designed to help students and families understand a significant FAFSA formula change. Families should confirm individual aid questions with Federal Student Aid and the financial aid office at each college, career school, or trade school.
Sources & References
Last Reviewed
July 22, 2026
Review cycle: 2026–27 FAFSA cycle
Recommended review frequency: Annually and whenever the FAFSA formula or federal financial aid guidance changes
Disclaimer
This content is for general educational purposes only and does not constitute financial, legal, tax, academic advising, or professional advice. Students and families should consult with school counselors, financial aid offices, college representatives, school administrators, official agencies, or trusted advisors before making final decisions.
View Transcript
Transcript note:
This transcript reflects the original video content, which focuses on the FAFSA change beginning with the 2024–25 aid year. The 2026–27 FAFSA still asks for the number in college, but that information is not used in the standard federal Student Aid Index calculation. The SAI is also an index—not the amount a family is required to pay. Please use the reviewed article and official links above for current guidance.
You might remember that the old FAFSA asked how many family members were in college.
That number used to significantly lower your Expected Family Contribution. But under the new FAFSA, beginning with the 2024–25 aid year, that adjustment is gone.
This is a significant change, and it creates a new financial reality for many families with multiple children in college.
Under the old FAFSA, if you had multiple children in college at the same time, your Expected Family Contribution, or EFC, was divided by that number.
For example, if your EFC was $20,000 and you had two children in college, the FAFSA essentially reduced the expected contribution per student to $10,000 each. It functioned like a built-in discount.
Under the new FAFSA, the Expected Family Contribution has been replaced by the Student Aid Index, or SAI.
The biggest shift for families with multiple children in college is that the SAI is not divided by the number of children attending at the same time. Each student receives an individual SAI.
For some middle-income families with multiple children in college, this may result in a significantly higher Student Aid Index.
A family that previously had a $10,000 EFC for each student might now see a $20,000 SAI for each student.
This does not necessarily mean the family’s costs will double. Colleges differ in how they meet financial need. However, the change may affect the amount of need-based aid offered and could increase the family’s out-of-pocket costs or reliance on loans.
Here are four steps families can take.
First, understand each student’s new SAI. Visit StudentAid.gov and review each student’s FAFSA information.
Second, contact colleges directly. Talk with the financial aid office at every college your children attend or plan to attend. Ask how this FAFSA change may affect each student’s aid package. Colleges may meet financial need differently.
Third, ask about a special-circumstances appeal. If your family has experienced unusual financial circumstances, such as a job loss or major medical expenses, you may be able to request an individual review.
Fourth, continue researching scholarships that are not based only on federal financial need. These may include merit scholarships, local awards, and scholarships connected to specific skills, interests, or achievements.
The FAFSA changes have altered the financial landscape for families with multiple students in college.
By understanding the change and taking practical steps, families can build a clearer plan for covering education costs.
Your school counselors and teachers can help guide you. Your Future Blueprint™ can serve as another resource to help you stay organized and ask informed questions.
