<p>I am applying for finaid using the Fafsa in jan and the CSS/profile in Oct. My parents are divorced, but they still live together. [The marriage/divorce thing was a technicality; they've always been together. It had nothing to do with college.. they're unaware of the whole process.] My dad is a veteran and claims me as a dependent for his check; my mom claims me on her taxes every other year. They have 50-50 custody of me... I live with both of them 365 days of the year. They make about the same amount of money (each ~14K).. my EFC will still be close to 0 even if they were married. Who should I put as my custodial parent on my CSS? They literally split half and half...</p>
<p>Since it looks even Steven...put the one who declares you on their taxes. That seems the easiest solution.</p>
<p>It doesn't matter for CSS, because that one uses the info from both. FAFSA uses just one, and it should be the one who gives you the most support. One or the other must pay more for your support - who pays for your food, clothing, school supplies, etc? Do they actually split the house payments & utilities down the middle? If not, who pays? Looking at that sort of thing will tell you which to use.</p>
<p>well.. i pay for school supplies/clothes out of a small allowance that my father gives me, but my mom pays for food and all that stuff. lol. i know you put both for css, but i wasn't sure if it mattered which parent i put as custodial. i'm just going to put my mom down for custodial, i think.. doesn't matter a whole lot, i guess. thanks for your help~!</p>
<p>you need to look on the college websites you would like to attend and see if they any financial aid they reccomend.</p>
<p>I would recommend that you add some comments to the Profile (I believe there is a section for that) regarding your parent's divorce/living arrangement. Otherwise, the FA department may red-flag your application since you will be stating that your parent's are divorced -- but both parents will have the same address. Since your EFC shouldn't be effected (with both parent's income so low) it won't hurt you.</p>