absent parent proof - but is it enough?

<p>hey everyone,</p>

<p>my father has been physically absent for 7 years and has not paid child support for a majority of that time (i believe he's somewhere around $15,000 behind?). since we have no clue where he resides or any information about him, I called around to my colleges' financial aid offices and got just about the same answer: one personal letter from a parent and one letter from a professional stating that we have had no contact with him. Now, my question is:</p>

<p>is this enough proof? (or will they still raise an eyebrow?)</p>

<p>*Personal letter from mother
*Professional letter from mental health counselor (M.A.)
*Child support history as recorded by the state
*Any seperate forms per institution</p>

<p>am i missing something? or will this be enough? and how can i fill out the PROFILE? doesn't it REQUIRE information about your second parent?</p>

<p>I'm in the same situation as you minus the child support.</p>

<p>The one college I asked wanted a letter from a third party.</p>

<p>As for the CSS Profile, there is separate Non-Custodial Profile. However it says that if the colleges waive it, it's fine. Just do what the specific colleges ask you to do.</p>

<p>I deal with this a lot. Absent parents are quite common in some parts of our society. </p>

<p>In general, more proof is better than less. You might think about it from the college's point of view--a letter from a social worker, clergy, or "disinterested" party, could count more than a letter from your mother, who might have personal reasons that would skew her view (or might not, but how does a finan. officer know that). Get the papers ready, produce whatever is asked by the various colleges, and see what happens. As far as the Profile, you can start it now and see how it works. It will be important when you "register" (the first info that is asked) to state your parents' marital situation correctly. There is a Non-Custodial profile (set up so ex-spouses can't go nosing into their ex's finanaces) which some schools require and some schools do not. The Profile website has a list of what colleges require what--some want the non_cust, some don't. Some people do or don't apply to various colleges, depending on the possibility or non-possib. of coming up with the information which is flummoxing you. Good luck! Make the finan. aid people your friends--and try to bump up to an experienced staff person, IF you aren't getting understanding from someone newer on the job. No offense to those of you who are new, and competent!</p>

<p>No offense taken by this newbie. :) Of course, aid officers at my level don't get to do special circumstances appeal decisions at my school, anyway.</p>

<p>Depends on the school. We had some that took nothing more than a statement from my son via email, and others that wanted third party letters, documentation, etc. ASK the colleges you're applying to. Just send the financial aid office an email saying that you want to know their requirements for granting a non-custodial parent waiver. We did that in November/December of the application process, so that we knew early who would be easier/harder to work with.</p>

<p>All I had to submit was a letter from myself explaining the situation and a letter from a previous college adviser who knew the situation well, but I was a transfer who was more or less economically independent. I definitely didn't submit any legal paperwork, though. There's a CSS PROFILE supplement that explains how to do these things -- maybe check that out, even if you're not applying to PROFILE schools?</p>