<p>Hi all,
I'm new to the site and obviously have never posted before. Our daughter is a junior in H.S. and is leaning heavily towards Fordham (RH). She lives with me and my husband who make about 200,000 annually combined. My ex makes about 80,000 annually. Unfortunately, we have not been able to save much at all towards college :-( due to having a mortgage and a rent to pay- 2 separate homes). OK, my question is -do we have any shot at a decent financial aid package or are we going to have to take out equity on our home AND do all 3 parents need to list their income on financial aid forms? We have given my ex the child care deduction for the past 5 years or so. Does this impact in any way? Sorry for the very long post.</p>
<p>You should post this over in the Financial Aid Forum on this site. They have some amazing people there who will give you accurate information regarding your situation.</p>
<p>Whether you have a shot at aid depends on many things, even though your income seems “high” at first glance — for instance, are there a few kids at home besides the 11th grader? Or three in one household & three in the other? Are there a lot of unreimbursed medical expenses? Are you also paying tuition at private elementary/high schools for other kids? Or is your ex also paying tuition for school kids or college students? </p>
<p>A few of these can pile up pretty fast and put you in the eligible-for-at-least-some-aid group.</p>
<p>Go to the FAFSA site and start reading — you will get a good start on understanding the application process there. And, if applying to Fordham, there are two forms you will be filling out–the FAFSA & the “CSS Profile”-- all done online during senior year. </p>
<p>I would suggest to my daughter she work on on very high grades – in hopes of qualifying for merit scholarships. These are not dependent on income, only grades, essays, and sometimes on special categories (such as those offered by outside organizations like the Daughters of Penelope, for Gk Orthodox girls).</p>
<p>Truly appreciate your help! Yes, we have 2 younger daughters in elementary school and he has 1 daughter as well. D knows she had better get the BEST grades possible or Fordham is not even an option. She is a good student with the potential to be a great student! Thanks again.</p>