My parents are divorced,my father is a doctor and obviously makes a lot of money and my mom only makes around 20,000 a year.When I was born my mom had to stop working because I am a triplet,pretty self explanatory considering how much my dad makes.When my parents got divorced she started taking classes and switched jobs so she doesn’t have that much saved up.My parents hate each other and are extremely disfunctional.My mom gets 50,000 a year in child support from my dad but the taxes in our town are 20,000 a year and we have a lot of expenses.My dad will pay for 50% of the college cost and my mom will pay for the other 50%.I am doubtful that she will be able to pay 90,000+ per year for my brothers and I but I am even more doubtful that I will qualify for financial aid.Would my best bet be applying to colleges that only use the FAFSA because my mom is my custodial parent?
FAFSA-only colleges are probably not the answer because they don’t have generous aid.
You would be best off looking at very inexpensive colleges (local public, maybe) and colleges offering merit aid.
If you know your dad’s income, you can try the Net Price Calculator at colleges of interest to see if there is any chance of need-based aid working for you.
Probably not since FAFSA only schools don’t typically give a lot of aid. But you can certainly try some and see what happens.
What state are you in?
You may be best to find some schools that will give you and your siblings large merit.
If I were you, I would try to get an exact figure (instead of 50%) as to how much dad will pay per child per year.
Is there a court order that states 50/50 or is that something your parents informally agreed to? If it’s an informal agreement, then try to get an exact figure from dad.
What are each triplet’s stats?
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I am doubtful that she will be able to pay 90,000+ per year for my brothers and I
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Of course she won’t be able to. She won’t even be able to pay 1/3 of that each year.
You also need to find out if the $50k per year support will “end” because INSTEAD, your dad will be paying half of college. If so, then likely your mom won’t be able to pay anything towards college or very little.
When you say taxes in your town are $20k what are you referring to? Property taxes? If so, what is your mom’s house worth and is it fully paid for?
I live in Rhode Island.I would go to the state school if it was somewhat well regarded but it is really not that nice.I have a 26 act and a 3.5 gpa.Both of my brothers have around a 3.7 gpa and a 27 act.My dad will pay 35,000 per year and is going to stop paying my mom once we go to college.
Have you checked out the thread on schools for under $25k/year?
Is your dad offering to pay $35k per kid per year? Or $35k total per year among all kids? Or half up to $35k per kid per year? Please clarify.
He will pay 35,000 per kid.
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Ok, so he’ll pay that much EVEN if your mom doesn’t match that amount???
What if you each went to a school that cost $35k per kid…would he still pay $35k per kid?
Your mom won’t be able to pay anything because she’ll soon be losing $50k per year.
BTW, URI is fine. A friend of mine has an engineering degree from there.
OK, well URI isfine if that is what works out financially. Most kids don’t like their nearby schools because ‘everyone goes there’ but you can distinguish yourself in your department and faculty should be happy to help you find opportunities.
See if anything here helps. Maybe you can get creative an find an interesting major.
http://www.nebhe.org/programs-overview/rsp-tuition-break/overview/
If you are sure your dad will actually pay $35,000 a year for each of you for all four years, do look at URI. In addition look at some of the SUNY schools. With $35,000 a year plus a direct loan, and money from your summer jobs, you should be able to afford a SUNY.
Also, does your mom get spousal support? That would count too.
He is going to make my mom pay for 50% of our tuition even though he can easily cover the whole cost.
So…Which is it?
Dad will pay 100% up to $35k per kid.
Dad will pay 50% up to 35k per kid
The taxes in your town are $20,000 a year? Is this property tax? Do you live on the RI shore in a very expensive house? Is the house fully paid for? At some private schools, your home equity will be considered in the need based aid calculation.
Is the college cost issue covered in your oarents’ divorce settlement? Which is it? $35,000 per year…or half of the costs UP TO $35,000 per year? It’s a huge difference.
he will pay 100% up to 35k per kid but will make my mom pay the other 50%.For example if a college is 40,000 per year he would pay 20,000 and make my mom pay the other 20,000.
^That clears up one question.
What about the ‘taxes in my town are $20k per year’ thing?
Does the divorce decree mention who pays what for college?
The house is fully payed for.The divorce decree doesn’t mention college just that they will split the costs for us 50-50.